Deandre Ayton, Allonzo Trier, and Rawle Alkins not returning to Arizona next season

Sean Miller confirmed it after Saturday’s regular season finale

Saturday was Senior Day for the Arizona Wildcats, but they included three underclassmen — Deandre Ayton, Rawle Alkins, and Allonzo Trier — in the postgame festivities, too.

And there’s no need to read between the lines. Arizona head coach Sean Miller confirmed that all three will forgo the rest of the college eligibility to go pro at the end of the season.

“Yeah, they’re not coming back,” Miller said after Arizona beat Cal 66-54 to clinch the Pac-12 title outright.

The Wildcats have been in this situation nearly every year where they had at least one or two players obviously headed for the pros after the season — like Lauri Markkanen last season — but they did not celebrate them with the seniors.

Why the change this time?

“What it used to be sometimes isn’t today,” Miller said. “You have to adjust with the times. Those guys deserved an ovation just like the seniors because they’re not going to play in McKale again.”

Ayton scored 26 points and 20 rebounds in the win over Cal, while Alkins had 15 points. Trier tallied a career-low three points.

Ayton is expected to be a top-three pick in June’s NBA draft pick, while Alkins and Trier are projected as second-rounders or late first-rounders by most publications.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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