After 12 seasons at Arizona – the latter few of which were mired in controversy – Sean Miller has been let go by the Wildcats.
Reports emerged that Miller met with the school about his future and the one year remaining on his contract. At the conclusion, the two sides decided to go their separate ways.
Miller’s tenure was the second-most successful in Arizona history after the late, great Lute Olson. He won five Pac-10/12 regular season titles, three Pac-12 Tournament titles and reached the Elite Eight three times.
But over the past few years, Miller’s coaching run has been overshadowed by his alleged role in the ongoing NCAA basketball corruption scandal. Arizona took a self-imposed ban from the postseason this year in hopes of getting the NCAA off their back.
Kevin Sweeney of SI Now believes that Arizona’s recent struggles – not any NCAA penalties – were the main reason that the Wildcats parted ways with Miller. The NCAA penalties didn’t help Miller, but three straight years finishing fifth or worse in the Pac-12 wasn’t good enough for the Wildcats to keep defending him.
Sean Miller stopped winning.
That’s the bottom line.
Arizona didn’t just now come to its senses about Miller’s NCAA violations. They just couldn’t extend a guy who hadn’t built an at-large team in three years, especially with the NCAA penalties coming. https://t.co/InKe1AgQ7N
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) April 7, 2021
Others have taken a sillier tone, joking that Sean Miller and his brother Archie – recently fired by Indiana – will both either be coaching in the mid-majors or nowhere at all next year:
Archie and Sean Miller at the next family dinner pic.twitter.com/D8xKPavUY0
— Pregame Empire (@PregameEmpire) April 7, 2021
Archie Miller and Sean Miller next year coaching a mid major together somewhere… pic.twitter.com/kkdoeXIHGe
— Kevin Cochran (@thekevincochran) April 7, 2021
Sean Miller has proven success in both the Power Five and the mid-majors. Prior to joining Arizona in 2009, he had five wildly successful years with Xavier when they were still in the Atlantic 10.
During his five years with the Musketeers, Miller went 120-47 with three Atlantic 10 regular season titles, one Atlantic 10 Tournament title, and four NCAA Tournament appearances. Miller took the Musketeers to the Elite Eight in 2008 and the Sweet 16 in 2009.
Where will Sean Miller go next?
The post College Basketball World Reacts To The Sean Miller News appeared first on The Spun.
Leave a Reply