Trying to keep its spot atop the Pac-12 Conference, UCLA will likely remain shorthanded against a team that likes to go deep into its bench.
Freshman guard Amari Bailey did not practice Tuesday as he continued his recovery from discomfort in his left foot that has sidelined him for nearly a month, putting his availability in doubt for the No. 5 Bruins’ game against Arizona State on Thursday night at Desert Financial Arena.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Bailey was progressing in his attempt to return from the injury he suffered when Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe stepped on his foot last month. Bailey aggravated the foot four days later against UC Davis and has not played since, sitting out the last five games.
Cronin said the injury was similar to the stress reaction that former Bruins guard Johnny Juzang suffered in his foot that sidelined him for the first four games of the 2020-21 season.
“It’s not serious,” Cronin said, “but it could be if you don’t let it calm down, so it’s just constant bone scans and all that type of stuff. … At UCLA, most of our players are going to have a post-UCLA career, so you have to be conservative with stuff like that.”
The Bruins’ fifth-leading scorer with averages of 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, Bailey had progressed to what Cronin described as an active shooting session Monday. But the coach said Bailey would need to practice before making his return in a game.
“I’m not going to put a guy in a game that I don’t think he’s ready,” Cronin said. “You can’t go from no practices to playing in games, so how many would depend [on how he looked]. I would need to see.”
Senior guard David Singleton has started every game in Bailey’s absence, helping the Bruins (16-2 overall, 7-0 Pac-12) extend their winning streak to 13 games. But Cronin said he would need to get more production out of reserves Will McClendon, Dylan Andrews, Abramo Canka, Kenny Nwuba and Mac Etienne against Arizona State (15-3, 6-1), whose rotation consistently goes 10 deep.
“Our starters are not going to be able to log and play the ironman-type minutes against Arizona State,” Cronin said, “so those [reserves] are going to have to give us some quality minutes.”
