Ah what could have been - Sean Miller met with Heather Lyke about a week before she hired Jeff Capel.
Heather actually wanted to hire him and he was ready to leave Arizona for obvious reasons. But there were too many in upper administration and a few of the trustees and in the legal department who all said "absolutely not" so it was dead on arrival.
But it was a nice thought while it lasted.
I thought maybe Pitt could hire Miller away from Xavier in a year but that ship has now sailed. The "Sean Miller to Pitt" train will not happen as he has once again reached the top of the profession and landed one of the elite jobs out there. Texas has wasted loads of talent, loads of resources and loads of prospects right in their backyards and is one of the most underachieving programs in the country.
But that doesn't change the fact that Texas should be one of the premier programs in the country because, well, they do have resources, recruiting pipelines and loads of talent.
Miller is obviously an excellent coach but is he an elite coach? That remains to be seen. He would have been perfect at Pitt because he has made a living out of winning with less. And he is obviously a beloved figure in the program history and has all kinds of ties and whatnot.
The thing is, when he was at Arizona he had plenty of elite talent and plenty of opportunities to get that program over the top and never could. And for all of his accolades and all the praise he receives remember this - he has never (not as a player, not as an assistant coach, not as a head coach) been to the Final Four.
I think this is a good hire for Texas, Miller will get them to a Sweet 16 level most years and they will consistently win and be in the tournament. At a place like Pitt, that would be good enough, but at Texas, they aren't hiring him to "win 25 games a year" they are hiring him to get to the Final Four and win a championship.
Heather actually wanted to hire him and he was ready to leave Arizona for obvious reasons. But there were too many in upper administration and a few of the trustees and in the legal department who all said "absolutely not" so it was dead on arrival.
But it was a nice thought while it lasted.
I thought maybe Pitt could hire Miller away from Xavier in a year but that ship has now sailed. The "Sean Miller to Pitt" train will not happen as he has once again reached the top of the profession and landed one of the elite jobs out there. Texas has wasted loads of talent, loads of resources and loads of prospects right in their backyards and is one of the most underachieving programs in the country.
But that doesn't change the fact that Texas should be one of the premier programs in the country because, well, they do have resources, recruiting pipelines and loads of talent.
Miller is obviously an excellent coach but is he an elite coach? That remains to be seen. He would have been perfect at Pitt because he has made a living out of winning with less. And he is obviously a beloved figure in the program history and has all kinds of ties and whatnot.
The thing is, when he was at Arizona he had plenty of elite talent and plenty of opportunities to get that program over the top and never could. And for all of his accolades and all the praise he receives remember this - he has never (not as a player, not as an assistant coach, not as a head coach) been to the Final Four.
I think this is a good hire for Texas, Miller will get them to a Sweet 16 level most years and they will consistently win and be in the tournament. At a place like Pitt, that would be good enough, but at Texas, they aren't hiring him to "win 25 games a year" they are hiring him to get to the Final Four and win a championship.
