I'm suprised that they are getting turned down by guys who are coaching at programs with less history. I mean Tim Floyd should have jumped at the AZ job, USC has never been a great basketball school. And Sean Miller at Xavier while he's done a great job and seems to be a guy who would be looking to move to a job like AZ where going to the tournament and making Final Fours is much more likely than at Xavier. Yet they both turned down Az. I'm suprised to say the least. Also I thought the Gonzaga coach was just waiting for the retirement of Lute Olsen to move to AZ.
Looks like somebody had a change of heart.... http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=dw-miller040609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Perhaps he read this board this morning.
The Skybox reaches far and wide!! Seriously though it really made no sense to turn down a job like AZ. Xavier has consistently been a good program and he's done well since taking over when Matta left for Ohio State. But in the long run, he can reach much higher at AZ than he can at Xavier. I'm sure he'll be paid more money, not that he was hurting at Xavier, but it's still a mid-major program and not a premier program like AZ. Good luck to him at AZ, but Xavier will likely find another guy who is on the rise like they did with their previous coaches and make some deep runs into the NCAA tourney.
Mark Few is biding his time for the Oregon job, which could open up after next season. As for Miller, he's leaving a good program and team for a sure rebuilding job, since two years of interim coaches have decimated Arizona's '09 and '10 classes. Miller could have stayed on another year waiting for a job like Pitt to open up, and have a much easier transition. I like the hire, although I do hope Miller picks up a strong west coast recruiter. We'll see how it goes.
Miller can coach. But he's never recruited the Southwest or the West I would imagine. Lute used to be able to pull players out of Houston. Is L.A. and So.Cal the prime AZ basketball recruiting ground. What kind of talent is available in Az and New Mexico?
BDR...recruits <t>BDR, what do you think about the recruiting job miller is doing? I am happy to have recruits in the 2009 class and Hill signing is great. If we can get Parrdom and a few more we are looking more and more likely to stretch the streak to 26 year. What are your thoughts?</t>
I'm happy with the Russian, particularly since the ASU boards were all but certain that Miller's hiring at Arizona would make Kyryl choose ASU over Xavier and Pitt. It was quite a surprise to them when he chose Arizona without taking a visit. I don't know that Alex Jacobsen is ever going to develop into a center, and Natyazhko is an immediate upgrade, even though he does want to play power forward down the rooad. Getting Solomon Hill back was huge. I'm glad he never signed a letter of intent and instead waited to see who the new coach would be. I only wish some of the other recruits - particularly Gaddy - had done the same thing. I don't know what our chances really are with Parrom. I just think he's going to stay in the east. If Miller does pull that off, it will hopefully signal that he and Book are going to be able to continue to mine their east coast connections. It's just with the Pac-10's goddamn Fux TV contract I think it's going to continue to be a battle to get those kids out west. As far as 26 straight, the infusion of talent is big, but Miller also needs to make sure Wise returns, and that Fogg and Lavender continue to develop. I love Fogg and thought he made great strides last season as a freshman. Lavender has a great attitude, and I would love to see him spell Wise for about ten minutes every game. Jamelle Horne, if he can work on his handle and improve his perimeter shooting (not to mention in-game decision making) could be a real X factor next season. He's no Richard Jefferson or Andre Iguadola, but he has the talent to be a great offensive rebounder. I haven't Judkins play that much, but he's back and we need bodies. Hopefully he and Shumpert can contribute. I just hope Miller gives Judkins a very short leash. Best case scenario - We make it 26 straight and ASSU fails to make it 2 straight. I'd be good with that.
Well, Parrom committed to Arizona today. That's the third 4-star 2009 commit that Sean Miller has landed since his hiring a little more than a month ago. Talk about hitting the ground running...