Multiple sources are reporting that Sean Miller is talking to Arizona AD Jim Livengood in Albuquerque, N.M. Unless they offer a boat load of $$$ I don't see him taking it. "You don't replace the legend. You replace the guy who replaced the legend." This is from the Cincinnati Enquirer: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090405/SPT0102/304050038/1065
Report: Miller Arizona candidate
By Dustin Dow • ddow@enquirer.com • April 5, 2009
FOX Sports is reporting that Xavier coach Sean Miller is meeting with Arizona today. Citing sources, the article says Miller was picked up in a private plane on Sunday morning and will meet with Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in Albuquerque, N.M.
CBSsports.com is also reporting that Miller is flying to Arizona this morning.
Both publications reported last week that Arizona, which was turned down by USC coach Tim Floyd, was interested in Miller.
But as of Friday Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski said the reports were nothing more than rumor.
"More of the same - can't control or be responsible for substantiating unfounded rumors," Bobinski wrote in a text message to the Enquirer on Friday.
Calls to Bobinski this morning were not immediately returned.
Miller, 40, has been the Xavier coach for five seasons, and taken the Musketeers into the NCAA Tournament four times, including this year's Sweet 16 run which ended with a narrow loss to No. 1 see Pittsburgh.
The Musketeers are expected to be a pre-season top 10 team in 2009.
Wouldn't the guy who replaced the legend be Kevin O'Neil ... ?
Quote from: warrior07 on April 05, 2009, 12:35:24 PM
Wouldn't the guy who replaced the legend by Kevin O'Neil ... ?
Actually technicaly not as Lute returned over the summer and bailed out as in October when full practices began.
Kevin O'Neil and Russ Pennell were both interim head coaches.
Chris Mack will be a fine replacement for Miller at Xavier.
Quote from: Nukem2 on April 05, 2009, 12:38:54 PM
Actually technicaly not as Lute returned over the summer and bailed out as in October when full practices began.
By bail out you mean told by doctors to retire for health reasons, right?
Shouldn't this all happen under the cover of darkness with America finding out b/c one of Sean's celeb in-laws breaking the news and then all of Xavier's players and Admin finding out via the ticker?
Quote from: The Lens on April 05, 2009, 03:39:59 PM
Shouldn't this all happen under the cover of darkness with America finding out b/c one of Sean's celeb in-laws breaking the news and then all of Xavier's players and Admin finding out via the ticker?
This way Miller gets his raise from Xavier.
Quote from: Stone Cold on April 05, 2009, 04:23:02 PM
This way Miller gets his raise from Xavier.
+1
I read that he's making $800k/year @ Xavier and could possibly make $2m/year @ Arizona. That's a lot of cash to turn down! The AD is under the gun to find a "name" replacement.
Quote from: The Lens on April 05, 2009, 03:39:59 PM
Shouldn't this all happen under the cover of darkness with America finding out b/c one of Sean's celeb in-laws breaking the news and then all of Xavier's players and Admin finding out via the ticker?
Like Bennett at Wazzu? By the way, how did New Orleans find out about Buzz leaving after just one year on the job? I don't know that answer, that's why I'm asking. I suspect he told them, nevertheless I'm sure after only one year on the job they weren't very happy, especially considering the recruiting season was done and they couldn't do much to replace him.
Buzz went up to the AD and said "you ain't got my money, I'm going to *$&^ing kil.....I'm leaving."
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on April 05, 2009, 06:14:49 PM
Like Bennett at Wazzu? By the way, how did New Orleans find out about Buzz leaving after just one year on the job? I don't know that answer, that's why I'm asking. I suspect he told them, nevertheless I'm sure after only one year on the job they weren't very happy, especially considering the recruiting season was done and they couldn't do much to replace him.
Chicos,
Serious question from a blog-challenged poster: How does one put a previous post inside the rectangular box with the blue-purple color?
Thanks,
Quote from: wildbillsb on April 05, 2009, 06:44:04 PM
Chicos,
Serious question from a blog-challenged poster: How does one put a previous post inside the rectangular box with the blue-purple color?
Thanks,
Click on the little link in the upper right hand corner of each post titled "quote"
Miller is staying at Xavier per FoxSports:
http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox
arizona boards are in meltdown mode.
one poster is sporting this as his sig:
(http://i42.tinypic.com/29yh4w5.jpg)
Makes our selection process last year look good compared to Zona's.......
They should go after J. Vangundy (Personal favorite as he's from my hometown and coached my beloved knicks)
Also, I read something during their wooing of Calipari that their ceiling for pay was pretty low, does anyone think that is why an elite program cannot attract a quality coach?
What about Josh Pastner taking the job? He's a great, hard working assistant who knows the program. He brought some key recruits to Arizona.
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on April 06, 2009, 07:17:31 AM
Makes our selection process last year look good compared to Zona's.......
They should go after J. Vangundy (Personal favorite as he's from my hometown and coached my beloved knicks)
Also, I read something during their wooing of Calipari that their ceiling for pay was pretty low, does anyone think that is why an elite program cannot attract a quality coach?
It's not an elite program. Bad location prospect-wise. Facilities aren't great. And don't give me the weather crap - if weather was all that important to college athletes the Big East wouldn't be so dominant in basketball.
Dumping O'Neill was a big mistake on their part. He knew the place, knows how to recruit (and they need a recruiter) and obviously has a history of success. They should have stood up to Lute at that point.
I agree with a lot of what you say but you cannot deny its an elite program....
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on April 06, 2009, 07:53:27 AM
I agree with a lot of what you say but you cannot deny its an elite program....
Sure you can. It's a historically bad program that had an elite run with Lute Olsen. They were very bad before he got there outside of maybe three years under Fred Snowden in the mid 1970s. They have yet to prove that they can have success without Lute or his players involved and until they do they are not a truly elite program.
The one thing thye have going for it right now is a ravenous fan base. It's a religion down there.
Same thing could be said about UCLA prior to wooden.....but none the less its an elite program
Quote from: CAINMUTINY on April 06, 2009, 09:28:00 AM
Same thing could be said about UCLA prior to wooden.....but none the less its an elite program
Difference is that UCLA has now proved that they can be successful without Wooden. They've gone to Final Fours without him, they've won titles without him, they've proven to be an elite school, not just a school with an elite coach.
Arizona hasn't shown that yet, and until they do they are not an elite job, just a program that had an elite coach. And there's a huge difference.
Arizona without Lute and Memphis without Cal = mediocrity.
Elite programs are those that sustain success over the course of time no matter who the coach is. UCLA, Indiana, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, etc. are all "elite" programs. Arizona might get there, but they are not there now. If Olson's successor sustains what he built, then the program is elite. If not, they were just an Olson-driven flash in the pan.
If you think about the success that schools like Georgetown, Louisville, Michigan State, etc. have had over the course of time, Arizona starts looking less and less "elite."
Quote from: mu77vegas on April 06, 2009, 10:13:11 AM
Arizona without Lute and Memphis without Cal Marquette without Al = mediocrity.
making it relevant
Seriously? its been, what? say two years since Lute has been there? give me a break. Two years isn't enough time to come to a conclusion on this subject.
Memphis has been to three final fours over the course of 30+ years with three different coaches. Arizona has not had that sustained history of success.
Quote from: bma725 on April 06, 2009, 09:36:05 AM
Difference is that UCLA has now proved that they can be successful without Wooden. They've gone to Final Fours without him, they've won titles without him, they've proven to be an elite school, not just a school with an elite coach.
Arizona hasn't shown that yet, and until they do they are not an elite job, just a program that had an elite coach. And there's a huge difference.
Sorry to sidetrack the thread, but I've always wondered about being an "elite" program. How many programs have really been elite and consistently successfully under more than one coach? Off the top of my head, I can only think of UNC, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA. I suppose Michigan State could say so, as they've won national championships with more than one coach (which makes me wonder how many programs have won with more than one coach). But IU, Duke, UConn, and Arizona are often referred to as elite, despite the fact that their solid success happened only with one coach.
Quote from: The Wizard of West Salem on April 06, 2009, 10:17:35 AM
Memphis has been to three final fours over the course of 30+ years with three different coaches. Arizona has not had that sustained history of success.
Unfortunately, without Calipari (who was hired when the CUSA was strong) Memphis will probably never reach even an Elite 8 again. The CUSA is a HUGE drawback in Mempis' hiring process.
IU won two national championships under Branch McCracken and had plenty of success prior to Bob Knight. Duke was a NCAA tournament regular, including having a national championship game appearance, long before Coach K.
UConn I would agree with you though.
Quote from: Henry Sugar on April 06, 2009, 10:15:36 AM
making it relevant
+1
I hate the way Crean left MU but respect the fact that he brought the program back to where it is now. Buzz seems to be off to a great start. We will see what he does with his own players and how they pan out.
Quote from: The Wizard of West Salem on April 06, 2009, 10:22:46 AM
IU won two national championships under Branch McCracken and had plenty of success prior to Bob Knight. Duke was a NCAA tournament regular, including having a national championship game appearance, long before Coach K.
UConn I would agree with you though.
Good point about IU (I just looked up NCAA Tournament winners and see their championships in 1940 and 1953), and I don't want to imply that success and elite status come only from winning the tournament. About Duke, I do recall the Jim Spanarkel years, but I don't remember them as consistently top-notch. My memory says that DePaul and Notre Dame were at a higher level than Duke. In any case, point taken, and to get back to the thread, did Arizona ever have much success prior to Lute Olsen?
When Georgetown played here in the 70's in the Milwaukee Classic their program was awful; sucked sewer water.
Quote from: mug644 on April 06, 2009, 10:34:32 AM
Good point about IU (I just looked up NCAA Tournament winners and see their championships in 1940 and 1953), and I don't want to imply that success and elite status come only from winning the tournament. About Duke, I do recall the Jim Spanarkel years, but I don't remember them as consistently top-notch. My memory says that DePaul and Notre Dame were at a higher level than Duke. In any case, point taken, and to get back to the thread, did Arizona ever have much success prior to Lute Olsen?
Outside of some mild success in the mid-70s (and thanks to bma for that information) Arizona has been awful. In fact, I remember when Lute left Iowa for Arizona, some people thought he went nuts.
Arizona was in the WAC until the late 70's.
When Lute Olson took the job they had only been in the Pac 10 about 4-5 seasons. This was there committment to "big time".
Quote from: mug644 on April 06, 2009, 10:34:32 AM
Good point about IU (I just looked up NCAA Tournament winners and see their championships in 1940 and 1953), and I don't want to imply that success and elite status come only from winning the tournament. About Duke, I do recall the Jim Spanarkel years, but I don't remember them as consistently top-notch. My memory says that DePaul and Notre Dame were at a higher level than Duke. In any case, point taken, and to get back to the thread, did Arizona ever have much success prior to Lute Olsen?
Duke had a bunch of success prior to the Spanarkel years. They made 3 Final Fours in the 1960s including one championship game under soon to be Hall of Fame coach Vic Bubas. They were ranked in the top 10 for most of the 1960s, they had multiple All Americans, conference championships, and multiple National Player of the Year winners. Plus, if you go back further they could have been even better but they played in the Southern Conference which for a period did not allow post season play. So despite winning the conference and being eligible they did not go to either the NCAA or NIT.
As for Arizona, they have not done much without Lute. Arizona has 28 NCAA appearances total. 25 of those came once Lute Olson got there. They had no tournament wins outside Fred Snowden's Elite Eight run in 1976.
Not only that, but it's not as if they were getting screwed out of the NCAA and then did well in the NIT. They've only made two NIT appearances(both prior to 1952) and haven't won a game there either.
Quote from: bma725 on April 06, 2009, 11:33:33 AM
Duke had a bunch of success prior to the Spanarkel years. They made 3 Final Fours in the 1960s including one championship game under soon to be Hall of Fame coach Vic Bubas. They were ranked in the top 10 for most of the 1960s, they had multiple All Americans, conference championships, and multiple National Player of the Year winners. Plus, if you go back further they could have been even better but they played in the Southern Conference which for a period did not allow post season play. So despite winning the conference and being eligible they did not go to either the NCAA or NIT.
As for Arizona, they have not done much without Lute. Arizona has 28 NCAA appearances total. 25 of those came once Lute Olson got there. They had no tournament wins outside Fred Snowden's Elite Eight run in 1976.
Not only that, but it's not as if they were getting screwed out of the NCAA and then did well in the NIT. They've only made two NIT appearances(both prior to 1952) and haven't won a game there either.
Without the successes of the Snowden years, I doubt that Lute would ever have gone to AZ. Fred proved you could get talent to the desert.
I just heard on ESPN radio that Sean Miller has changed his mind and has ACCEPTED the Arizona job - according to Yahoo Sports! It's all about the "benjamins"!?
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-miller040609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-miller040609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)
Just when Musketeer fans thought they had dodged the bullet... It's Arizona! It's Arizona!
A link to their board...
http://www.musketeermadness.com/board/viewforum.php?f=1
They had threads yesterday, "Send Your Thank You's Sean Miller For Staying"
Yikes...
I can't imagine the vitriol if Crean turned down a job, committed to Marquette, then the next day flipped flopped.
The musketeermadness board is at max capacity...
Quote from: Stone Cold on April 05, 2009, 04:23:02 PM
This way Miller gets his raise from Xavier.
Or maybe not
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-miller040609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Wow, Cal & Miller both left for schools and their schools weren't blind-sided, amazing.
Of course neither Cal or Miller have super cool, famous in-laws to go on the radio and break the news.
Quote from: mu77vegas on April 06, 2009, 12:16:05 PM
I just heard on ESPN radio that Sean Miller has changed his mind and has ACCEPTED the Arizona job - according to Yahoo Sports! It's all about the "benjamins"!?
Seven years...$18 million.
Wow.
Quote from: The Lens on April 06, 2009, 12:43:08 PM
Or maybe not
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-miller040609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Wow, Cal & Miller both left for schools and their schools weren't blind-sided, amazing.
Of course neither Cal or Miller have super cool, famous in-laws to go on the radio and break the news.
The Lens, was New Orleans "blind sided" by their last coach? Don't forget to factor in that the last coach left in JULY (not April), a mere 6 weeks before school started.