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Daniel Dillon answers the question with good humor.

No, the Aussie swears, he hasn't thought of freshman guard Laval Lucas-Perry's transfer as an opportunity for more playing time.

Yes, he knows his time spent on the court has gone up and down like a kangaroo.

"I've been trying to stay ready," the senior guard said. "That's what Coach (Lute) Olson always told me — to stay ready. When you're called upon, you'll come in. That's pretty much what I've been doing — just working every day in practice and trying to pretty much just fit in."

Which is where, exactly?

The senior stammers for a minute, then laughs.

"It's been sporadic," he said.

Dillon will play more with Lucas-Perry gone. Or he won't. Interim head coach Kevin O'Neill uses matchups and feel to determine his rotation, and those things change.

One of only four regular guards on the UA and one of the team's best defenders, Dillon could play markedly more against smaller teams — such as Sunday's opponent, Fresno State.

"Daniel's played significant minutes earlier," guard Jawann McClellan said. "Just take it game-by-game — you never know when your opportunity comes. Daniel's probably gonna have more of an opportunity now to step up and show what he can do. But he's been showing what he can do day in and day out in practice.

"It's just a game-time decision, and you know how Coach O'Neill feels about who should be in there and who shouldn't."

Truth is, there might not be that much time to be had.

"It's not like Laval was getting a ton of minutes," O'Neill said.

Lucas-Perry averaged 9.8 minutes per game, but totaled only 10 minutes in the last three.

Dillon, who has logged 18.6 minutes per game, played only 21 minutes during the last three.

Dillon started Games 2-4 for the UA, scoring a career-high 14 points against UMKC and playing all 40 minutes against Adams State. The next game, he played two minutes. Then 17 against Cal State-Fullerton, then not at all against Texas A&M, then only four minutes against Illinois.

That's in stark contrast to last season, when Dillon's playing time was far more consistent — though not as relevant. Dillon played in all but one Pac-10 regular-season game, logging between six and 20 minutes 15 times.

Dillon's friends and family ask him why his playing time has fluctuated this year.

"I don't really know how to answer it," he said. "I say, 'I do what I do. I come in when I get called.' "

That's life under O'Neill for all but the UA's four main players — Chase Budinger, Jerryd Bayless, Jordan Hill and McClellan.

"I look at the Illinois game," O'Neill said. "A lot of people were, 'Why didn't Daniel and Laval play more?' Well, Nic (Wise), Jerryd, Chase and Jawann played pretty well. And you can't play everybody.

"There's this belief for some reason, especially in college basketball. It's a little bit different for me than the NBA is. 'Why didn't this guy play, why didn't that guy play?' You can't play everybody. You've got to play a certain number of guys you think are going to be effective. And there will always be some guys that don't play, and there will always be questions about why those guys play or don't play."

Since Lucas-Perry's departure, Dillon said he and Wise have played on the "red" team — with backups David Bagga, Lucas Spencer and Mohamed Tangara — in practice scrimmages. The senior won't return to Australia for Christmas, and instead will likely spend the holiday with Tangara and forward Bret Brielmaier in Tucson.

They're not sure exactly what they will do. Like Dillon's playing time, it might be a game-time decision.

"It's something you have to learn to do," he said of his role on the team. "I don't know if it's going to get more consistent coming up. I guess it will be. So we'll see what happens."