The NCAA ruled Allonzo Trier, pictured at Gill Coliseum in 2017, ineligible Thursday for a second failed drug test.
The way Allonzo Trier described it last season, not being able to play for 19 games as a sophomore was only part of the penalty he had to pay for a positive PED test.
There was also that matter of just sitting there while everyone watched, something he went back to doing Thursday after the NCAA suspended him again for another positive PED test.
“A lot of people don’t know what it’s like,” Trier said during last season’s Pac-12 Tournament, when he was named MVP. “Everybody was so worried about what the issue is and why I’m out. Nobody really takes a look at what I’m actually going through, what it feels like to be me. I’m hounded every single day. You become so magnified in the media and you’re not really a normal person because you’re a high-level college basketball athlete. But at that point, I was living in a glass house. Everyone was looking at me.
Arizona's Allonzo Trier made the trip to Oregon, but is unlikely to see the court after being deemed ineligible.
“You try to stay strong and sometimes, when you’re alone, you break down and cry. It’s a tough feeling, but you have to stay strong. You have to stay mentally tough. It’s something that made me mature a whole lot and it’s something you can’t prepare for, but I guess it happened for a reason. I’m here now and put it behind me.”
Trier played the final 18 games last season and played in all 27 of the Wildcats’ games prior to Thursday night. UA has said it is appealing the decision to suspend Trier again for what it said was a trace reappearance of the same substance that kept him out last season, and that it hopes he will regain his eligibility soon.

