Sean Miller on Pitts and Gordon

Sean Miller on Elliott Pitts and Aaron Gordon, after Arizona beat Oregon St:

Elliott Pitts missed all three three-pointers he took, but grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes and played defense that Miller commended.

“Elliott has done a real good job in the three (recent) games he’s played,” Miller said. “I thought all three shots he took were good ones. It’s not easy to make them when you’ve been sitting so long this year but we’ve talked to him about being aggressive and … he gives us another shooter, opens the court up, gives us a different look for sure.

“The thing I’m most proud about with him is he’s really battled defensively. As a young player, he’s ahead of the curve on defense. He guarded (OSU’s Eric) Moreland at times, he guarded the perimeter, and there wasn’t a big dropoff. Seeing him be responsible and contribute as much defense as he did is a good sign for us.”

and

...When asked about Gordon’s three-pointer in the right corner during the first half, Miller said:

“We’ve talked to him about taking responsible, wide-open threes,” Miller said. “He’s a much better shooter in practice than he’s shown in games and the same thing at the free throw line. … He shot only one (free throw, a miss) today but the one looked good. He wasn’t tight. He was relaxed. He just needs the ball to go in a little bit and his percentage will definitely rise.

“He’s not a 70-percent free-throw shooter but he’s a much better free throw shooter than he’s shown and I believe that will play out as the year keeps moving forward.”