Miller Time in Arizona is Now
By: David Bagga, Columnist
Photo Credit: Luke Adams - Arizona Athletics
Photography
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“Summa, Summa, Summa-time… we’ll just sit back and unwind”.
Those are the words from the famous song “Summertime” by Will Smith. And oh so eloquently do they describe the summer for mostly everyone…except college basketball players and coaches around the country, specifically Sean Miller and his staff at the University of Arizona.
Miller, who left Atlantic 10 heavyweight Xavier to coach at Arizona, knew when he accepted the job that it would be a challenge to return the program to where it once was, but it’s a challenge that he embraced from day one.
To understand that challenge let's rewind to April 7, 2009. Upon news of Miller's hiring there was immediately a buzz present that had been absent on the UA campus for a while. You see, prior to Miller’s arrival the word stability would never have been used to describe the situation on the ground at Arizona. Between Lute Olson's health issues, Kevin O'Neill's interim tag, and the unknown of whether Olson would return and when, distractions and uncertainty ruled the day.
But Miller's hiring ushered in a long overdue feeling that the primary building block for success was finally in place.
In Miller, Arizona has itself one of the best young coaches
in the country (he’s 40 years old), and a guy who is
charismatic - whether at media sessions or in dealing with fans at
banquets and events - and has embraced everything about the
University of Arizona since arriving in the desert.
One year later, Miller remains no less focused on the task at
hand. “The obvious word is improve,” said Miller.
“I don’t say that to avoid a prediction, but I think
right now the one common theme that should be prevalent in
everything we do is just stability. We have a number of
players who have done everything at least once before and when you
come from the perspective of four coaches in four years, to me that
is very meaningful.”
Just how dedicated is Miller to bringing Arizona back to a
national contender? During the recently concluded July high
school recruiting period, Miller and his staff traveled like many
staffs to Las Vegas... but didn’t eat until 12:00am
each day so they could continuously watch games and scout the
recruits for the 2011 and 2012 classes. “We’ve
had a good summer so far. Last summer was so much
patchwork. We weren’t sure if Nic (Wise) was coming
back. We didn’t have Derrick Williams yet.”
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As Miller alluded, this time last year he barely had enough
players on his team to fill a YMCA roster. Now he has
quickly assembled a team ready to contend in the Pac-10 with
aspirations of returning to the place where Arizona fans
expect their season to begin: the NCAA Tournament.
“Around this time last year we had players scattered
throughout the country, including our staff. But as
I’ve watched us move through this summer, it’s much
more about the right things,” Miller said.
In 2010-11, it starts on the hardwood with his two go-to
guys, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward and Pac-10 first-teamer
Derrick Williams (15.7 ppg., 7.1 rpg. in 2009-10) and the lone
senior, small forward Jamelle Horne (9.4 ppg., 5.6 rpg, 44% 3pt. in
2009-10). Williams, who garnered various accolades such as
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, is seen as a future lottery pick and
is primed to raise his game and production to another
level in this his sophomore season.
Horne is expected to share in shouldering the load. Since he arrived on campus, many have compared him to former Wildcat and current NBA forward Richard Jefferson because of his freakish athleticism and his ability to be a lock-down defender.
While Horne and Williams will anchor the Wildcats, they'll have help from feisty juniors Kyle Fogg (11.1 ppg., 42% 3pt. in 2009-10) and Brendon Lavender, sophomores Lamont “Momo” Jones, Solomon Hill, Kreal Natyazhko, and defensive stopper Kevin Parrom. Throw in freshmen Daniel Bejarano and Jordan Mayes, and there’s much optimism that with the Wildcats' depth and Miller’s system, it's a roster ready to challenge in the Pac-10. “We have our entire roster here for the summer, including newcomers,” Miller said. “It’s a time for them to lift weights, shoot and try to develop some chemistry. They are working on their skills with their shared goal of returning for next season improved, both as an individual and as a team.”
It’s amazing the difference a year makes. Last August, Miller was adjusting to a whole new environment, a new group of players, and a new city. Now just a year later he’s poised to make noise in the Pac-10.
If that happens, maybe Miller will sit back and unwind at season's end... even if only for a minute.
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Click here for David Bagga's book, “The Walk-On” which is a story about the journey of a walk-on through four years of Division One basketball
