Ryan Luther’s 3s are 'good shots' and a major shot in the arm for Arizona

Getting a sense for an athlete’s personality can be difficult when he’s sitting at a postgame interview podium.

But Arizona forward Ryan Luther may have given himself away Thursday when he described his shot-fake-drive-and-dunk during Arizona’s 76-51 win over Cal on Thursday.

“The guy just flew by me,” Luther said of Golden Bears defender Matt Bradley, “so I was able to put it on the floor and, you know, score it.”

Score it. OK.

But it was arguably more than that, no matter how understated Luther’s words were.

Just like Luther’s 3-point shots are, too.

Those are the lifeblood to what the Arizona Wildcats’ offense has become late this season, especially without guard Brandon Williams on the floor.

Just a 33.3 percent 3-point shooter until Williams went out with a knee injury after the Wildcats lost at UCLA on Jan. 26, Luther responded by hitting 5 of 8 from long range on Jan. 31 at ASU to help take the Sun Devils to overtime.

He disappeared from the perimeter a week later against Washington, taking just three 3s and missing all of them in the Wildcats’ 67-60 loss.

This was not something UA coach Sean Miller believed the Wildcats could afford.

“You know, I think we had our epiphany moment with Ryan against Washington,” Miller said. “He’s unselfish to a fault. He’s such a great kid off the court. That’s awesome.

“But on the court, his greatest weapon is his ability to shoot it on a team that doesn’t shoot well. So when he gives up open 3s and makes one more pass to a player that has a worse percentage than him, it’s actually really selfish.”

Sean Miller on Ryan Luther’s 19-point performance against Cal: pic.twitter.com/C3KNdRnL6B

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) February 22, 2019

Miller said once he framed it like that, he and Luther went through the numbers and spoke about Luther’s responsibility to take every open shot he can get.

“And if he goes 0 for 10, those are 10 really good shots for Arizona,” Miller said.

Since then, Luther’s shots taken — and made — from 3-point range have both dramatically climbed. He’s averaged eight 3-point attempts in the Wildcats’ past four games, making half of his 32 total shots from long distance during that span.

Luther is now shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range, making him the Wildcats’ best 3-point percentage shooter. Dylan Smith has made one more, a team-high 40, while shooting 36.7 percent from 3.

On a team that still has the worst two-point shooting in Pac-12 games, hitting just 44.1 percent from within the arc, Luther’s 3s have been critical.

Though of course, Luther wouldn’t quite frame it like that.

Luther said after the Cal game that everyone is having to contribute more without Williams around. Though he did answer affirmatively when asked if he felt the team needs him to shoot more than ever.

“Yeah, I mean, if I’m open, it’s a good shot for my team,” Luther said. “I step in with confidence and shoot it.”

Miller’s heart had reason to sink when guard Dylan Smith rolled his ankle in the first half Thursday against the Bears, with Williams out and with Alex Barcello having bruised his knee at Colorado on Sunday. The Wildcats were temporarily left with just seven healthy players again.

But after leaving the floor to have trainer Justin Kokoskie retape his ankle, Smith returned, albeit in limited form. He played 23 minutes, finishing 1 for 7 from the field.

“I just take it as it comes, there’s been a lot of things that have happened,” Miller said of Smith’s injury. “He wasn’t 100 percent. He played the rest of the game but he couldn’t move as well. I thought it affected his shot as well. But Dylan’s a warrior. He plays hard, always has. Even if he doesn’t play well, he gives you great effort.”

Miller didn’t rule out having Williams play Sunday against Stanford, but he also cautioned that there’s still no guarantee of any return.

“I would look at him as being not available on Sunday,” Miller said. “I guess there’s a slim chance depending on how the next couple of days go. But you know, I think once we get beyond Sunday, (he’ll become) potentially more probable as we go on. But he could get a setback in the next couple of days or over the next five days and not play a single minute the rest of the year.

“So it’s really about being really smart with what we’re doing. And the only way he would play is if he’s pain-free.”

Miller said even if and when Williams returns, he will likely need time to progress back to normal, similar to how center Chase Jeter has been less consistent since returning from a two-game absence for a sore back last month.

“When you’re out as long as he’s been out … you don’t just wave a magic wand and all of a sudden and he’s going to score 18 points and look like he did against UCLA” when Williams had 19 points, Miller said. “I mean, there’s going to be a progression. So he knows that, we know that, but we will be better with him than without him.”