Arizona freshman big man Sidiki Johnson is back on campus, but won’t practice with the team as he remains on indefinite suspension.
The Bronx native had been home in New York since Nov. 18, when the Wildcats lost to Mississippi State in the 2K Sports Classic title game.
“He missed only 2 1/2 days of school last week,” Arizona coach Sean Miller told the Tucson Citizen Sunday. “That was our decision to allow him to stay home. It wasn’t his decision.
“Now, it’s a matter of him working very hard off the court academically, being a good person, being somebody who represents all the characteristics that we want all of our players to have at Arizona and kind of earning his way back into being a part of our team.”
Johnson was kicked out of Oak Hill Academy during his senior season for a violation of team rules and finished up at Wadleigh in New York.
The 6-foot-8, 235-pound was expected to help Arizona up front where they are lacking, yet he managed just one point and two rebounds in seven minutes across three games.
“Sidiki Johnson is someone from a physical perspective — rebounding, giving us quality minutes, developing as our season grows — who we were really counting on to complement the big guys that we already have,” Miller said.
“Him not being with us is not a positive. We’ll find out in the next week or so if he remains with us. If he does, hopefully he can contribute down the line. … To me, the depth inside took a little hit there.”
