Stoudamire suspended indefinitely before home loss to Huskies
Washington 89 - Arizona 84
The UA men's basketball team suffered its second home loss of the season last night against Washington while playing without leading scorer Salim Stoudamire, who was suspended indefinitely for "failure to meet team responsibilities," according to a press release.
The suspension, which was made official by the UA athletics department shortly before the game, confirmed rumors that had arisen earlier this week on fan Web sites.
"It was just immature actions on my part," Stoudamire said after the Wildcats' 89-84 loss, their second straight. "It was detrimental to the team."
Coaches would not comment on the nature of the junior guard's infraction.
Head coach Lute Olson said Stoudamire may not play tomorrow against Washington State.
The loss dropped the No. 17 Wildcats (17-8, 9-7 Pac-10) into third place in the Pacific 10 Conference behind the unranked Huskies (14-10, 9-6). Arizona had not lost to Washington at home since 1996, and UW swept the season series for the first time since the 1983-84 season.
Olson said he was disappointed by the way his team played without Stoudamire, whose 16.8 points per game led the team entering last night's game.
"It's getting very old for me," Olson said. "The thing that is getting old is the lack of our ability to inspire guys to play like their lives depend on it. That's been an Arizona tradition."
Stoudamire has been suspended since Monday for unspecified actions after Arizona's Saturday night loss at Oregon State.
Stoudamire's teammates said the suspension was a distraction.
"It's not basketball," senior guard Jason Ranne said of Arizona's poor performance. "It's beyond basketball."
Ranne, a four-year letterwinner, said the whole team should share the blame for its performance.
"Hopefully, we'll have it ironed out by the end of this week," Ranne said. "If not, these guys have to look in the mirror about making sacrifices and sacrifices for your team. At this point, I'm not one to say this bunch of guys are ready to do that, including myself and the scout team."
Stoudamire's absence may have figured into the game down the stretch. After Hassan Adams drew a charge to give Arizona possession, the Wildcats found themselves down by three with 23 seconds remaining and their best 3-point shooter ÷ Stoudamire ÷ on the bench in street clothes.
Instead, Arizona's final possession came down to an 18-footer by center Channing Frye. The shot missed, and Washington got the rebound, pushing the ball downcourt to a wide-open Hakeem Rollins, who sealed the win with a dunk.
"Late in the game, we obviously played like we had no clue of what was needed," Olson said.
The Hall of Fame coach said the final play, which his team runs every day in practice and is intended specifically for last-possession situations, was designed to go down low to Frye, who would then kick the ball out to a guard for an open shot.
"We obviously made the wrong decision today," Olson said. "It's unfortunate for Channing, because I think he played really well and hard for us."
Frye led all scorers on the evening, pouring in 25 points and missing a double-double by a rebound.
Jumping out to an 8-0 run to start the game, Olson's squad looked to be responding well in the wake of Stoudamire's absence. Falling behind in the half's final minute proved not to be a problem for the Wildcats, as Adams drilled a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left to give Arizona a 42-41 edge heading into halftime. Adams
finished with 23 points and eight rebounds.
After the game, the talk was all about Stoudamire. Ranne, who benefited the most from Stoudamire's benching by logging 14 minutes, said he noticed a difference.
"It hurt not having our leading scorer out there," Ranne said.