Arizona Basketball 2019-2020

[GatorAZ]

This was always the risk of not firing him earlier. I was on board keeping him because the recruiting was still too good... Well now even top-5 classes don’t mean squat if they’re not being coached. So whatever happens, happens.

 

[1Sun]

This was always the risk of not firing him earlier. I was on board keeping him because the recruiting was still too good... Well now even top-5 classes don’t mean squat if they’re not being coached. So whatever happens, happens.

If we want to keep any semblance of dignity, it needs to happen now, before the season spirals out of control. Sadly, the more I observe Miller and his impact on his players, the more I am reminded of...Kevin O'Neill.

 

[Timm Rosenbach]

This was always the risk of not firing him earlier. I was on board keeping him because the recruiting was still too good... Well now even top-5 classes don’t mean squat if they’re not being coached. So whatever happens, happens.

Never thought it would collapse like this. Need a new coach who can live through a season of whatever comes. This is likely it for Miller

 

[1Sun]

Never thought it would collapse like this. Need a new coach who can live through a season of whatever comes. This is likely it for Miller

Should have been gone two years ago, right after the Book mess.

Any way Luke Walton would be willing to leave the Sacramento Kings and come back to Tucson? He would be perfect for us, in my opinion.

 

[Timm Rosenbach]

Should have been gone two years ago, right after the Book mess.

Any way Luke Walton would be willing to leave the Sacramento Kings and come back to Tucson? He would be perfect for us, in my opinion.

I admit 1Sun. You were right and I was wrong. But man is this going to cost the program

 

[1Sun]

I admit 1Sun. You were right and I was wrong. But man is this going to cost the program

Already has, in case you haven't noticed. Outside of this one class (Mannion, Green, Koloko) Miller isn't really even recruiting at a high level anymore and is being left to scramble for transfers and last-minute additions.

We are back to square one. As in pre-Lute square one. We need a big name to come in and right the ship over the next few seasons. I don't think Walton will leave Sacramento, so does anyone have any ideas?...

 

[1Sun]

BTW, the defense gave up 51 points in the second half tonight against a very poor offensive team. If that's not quitting, I don't know what is.

 

[GatorAZ]

If we want to keep any semblance of dignity, it needs to happen now, before the season spirals out of control. Sadly, the more I observe Miller and his impact on his players, the more I am reminded of...Kevin O'Neill.

They aren’t firing him now. If he gets hit for Lack of Institution Control they can probably fire him with cause and save money. I’m not sure but it’s probably a better question for TJ.

 

[1Sun]

They aren’t firing him now. If he gets hit for Lack of Institution Control they can probably fire him with cause and save money. I’m not sure but it’s probably a better question for TJ.

Can't believe I'm rooting for the NCAA to get it over and done with. We need to cut the cord ASAP. Miller has become toxic on all levels in my opinion.

Another replacement option, thinking outside the box (since we likely aren't getting a Mark Few, Bruce Pearl, Thad Motta, Steve Kerr, Luke Walton, etc.)...Joseph Blair or Reggie Geary.

 

[Russ Smith]

Already has, in case you haven't noticed. Outside of this one class (Mannion, Green, Koloko) Miller isn't really even recruiting at a high level anymore and is being left to scramble for transfers and last-minute additions.

We are back to square one. As in pre-Lute square one. We need a big name to come in and right the ship over the next few seasons. I don't think Walton will leave Sacramento, so does anyone have any ideas?...

I'm no Miller fan but what has Luke done other than one stretch when the Warriors were the best team in the league to justify it? Sac was 39-43 last season, they're 15-24 under Walton, 4 games under last year 9 games under so far this year. Yes they have had injuries but they did last season too. Obviously a full season of Bagley and Fox would help but so far the Kings are one of the bigger disappointments in the NBA. I doubt they will fire Walton after 1 year but he's not exactly an established coach yet.

You just never know if an NBA guy will be interested in college the job is so different because of recruiting.

 

[Russ Smith]

I guess the bright side is the conference is still wide open. Stanford is 3-0, biggest surprise of the season nice freshman guards and DaSilva has become a star, well coached but not a ton of depth. Oregon looks good Colorado looks good USC looks good. Cal surprising. UW was my pick but they started conference badly and just lost Quade Green to academics. There is no dominant team so if Miller can figure some things out with UA he can still win the conference.

 

[1Sun]

I guess the bright side is the conference is still wide open. Stanford is 3-0, biggest surprise of the season nice freshman guards and DaSilva has become a star, well coached but not a ton of depth. Oregon looks good Colorado looks good USC looks good. Cal surprising. UW was my pick but they started conference badly and just lost Quade Green to academics. There is no dominant team so if Miller can figure some things out with UA he can still win the conference.

And if he can't, we could end up finishing 10th in the conference...

 

[1Sun]

I'm no Miller fan but what has Luke done other than one stretch when the Warriors were the best team in the league to justify it? Sac was 39-43 last season, they're 15-24 under Walton, 4 games under last year 9 games under so far this year. Yes they have had injuries but they did last season too. Obviously a full season of Bagley and Fox would help but so far the Kings are one of the bigger disappointments in the NBA. I doubt they will fire Walton after 1 year but he's not exactly an established coach yet.

You just never know if an NBA guy will be interested in college the job is so different because of recruiting.

I'm grasping at straws. With the program in it's current state, we will be lucky not to have to pluck some unproven mid-major coach or someone like Damon Stoudamire or Josh Pastner...

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm grasping at straws. With the program in it's current state, we will be lucky not to have to pluck some unproven mid-major coach or someone like Damon Stoudamire or Josh Pastner...

I actually think Damon is a good coach I was watching them on tv the other night and they look to be really well coached. Huge jump from Pacific of course and allegedly he had some issues before where he told people as an assistant he wasn't particularly eager to recruit but he can coach.

I have no idea honestly if UA didn't fire Miller during all this I wonder if they will now just because they're not as good as they expected? Maybe they don't care about perception but you know what the national theme would be, stood behind him with all the FBI stuff but fired him because they lost too many games, they were willing to overlook alleged cheating as long as he won enough games.

I didn't watch any of the OSU game.

Coaching is weird, I think UW probably has the best coach but they're 1-3, I think USC has one of the worst coaches but they're something like 12-3 this year. They came off one of the worst shooting games in USC history in their loss to UW, barely broke 40 points, and then shot like 70% from the floor in the 2nd half against UCLA and blew it open. It's a bizarre game.

I actually never felt UA's talent was as good as people were saying, I think there's 3 legit NBA prospects on the roster and they're all freshmen, good yes but I didn't see them as this ultra talented team. I think losing the other PG has been a major blow and whatever is wrong with Jeter has been a huge loss too. Boy do they wish Jordan Brown had gotten an exemption and been eligible this year.

What I think is disappointing is right now there's a half dozen very talented freshmen in the conference that everyone thought was going to raise the national image and really outside of USC it's not happening and even with them only 1 of their freshmen, Okongwu, is performing well. Right now it looks like another disappointing year from the conference so I hope someone figures it out.

 

[1Sun]

I actually think Damon is a good coach I was watching them on tv the other night and they look to be really well coached. Huge jump from Pacific of course and allegedly he had some issues before where he told people as an assistant he wasn't particularly eager to recruit but he can coach.

I have no idea honestly if UA didn't fire Miller during all this I wonder if they will now just because they're not as good as they expected? Maybe they don't care about perception but you know what the national theme would be, stood behind him with all the FBI stuff but fired him because they lost too many games, they were willing to overlook alleged cheating as long as he won enough games.

I didn't watch any of the OSU game.

Coaching is weird, I think UW probably has the best coach but they're 1-3, I think USC has one of the worst coaches but they're something like 12-3 this year. They came off one of the worst shooting games in USC history in their loss to UW, barely broke 40 points, and then shot like 70% from the floor in the 2nd half against UCLA and blew it open. It's a bizarre game.

I actually never felt UA's talent was as good as people were saying, I think there's 3 legit NBA prospects on the roster and they're all freshmen, good yes but I didn't see them as this ultra talented team. I think losing the other PG has been a major blow and whatever is wrong with Jeter has been a huge loss too. Boy do they wish Jordan Brown had gotten an exemption and been eligible this year.

What I think is disappointing is right now there's a half dozen very talented freshmen in the conference that everyone thought was going to raise the national image and really outside of USC it's not happening and even with them only 1 of their freshmen, Okongwu, is performing well. Right now it looks like another disappointing year from the conference so I hope someone figures it out.

The player talent might not be as good as advertised, but it is not bad enough to get blown out by Oregon State and to yield 51 points in a half to ANY team. The talent also wasn't as bad as the results ended up being last year, either. And we all know what happened in the Bahamas and in the NCAA Tournament Game against Buffalo the year before. We are at the point where the baggage that Coach Miller has brought to the table from the NCAA investigation has created a dark cloud over the team, and at this point it is clear Miller is not a good enough coach to overcome it.

Coach Miller SHOULD have been fired 2 years ago, and it is quite likely that the firing could have been for cause. The way the Athletic Department handled the whole fiasco was abhorrent, and so now we are in this mess. All I know is that at this point, the longer Sean Miller is the head coach here, the worse it will get. It's really reminding me of what happened to the Arkansas basketball program under Nolan Richardson. It's now 18 years later, and the once-elite Arkansas basketball program still hasn't recovered. The only difference is that Nolan Richardson built that program, while Sean Miller hasn't done squat for ours...

 

[GatorAZ]

I'm grasping at straws. With the program in it's current state, we will be lucky not to have to pluck some unproven mid-major coach or someone like Damon Stoudamire or Josh Pastner...

Give me Damon with Pastner as assistant coach. Josh should never be a head coach in D1 but he’s a grinder on the recruiting trail.

 

[1Sun]

Give me Damon with Pastner as assistant coach. Josh should never be a head coach in D1 but he’s a grinder on the recruiting trail.

I could get behind that, though this is the first year Damon has had any success as a coach.

 

[1Sun]

The U of A Athletic Department needed to do what the Houston Astros just did...

 

[Russ Smith]

Give me Damon with Pastner as assistant coach. Josh should never be a head coach in D1 but he’s a grinder on the recruiting trail.

So the obvious question and not picking on UA fans, we all do this. If those 2 guys were not former UA players would they be on the top of your list? Same goes with Luke Walton.

 

[1Sun]

So the obvious question and not picking on UA fans, we all do this. If those 2 guys were not former UA players would they be on the top of your list? Same goes with Luke Walton.

Not doing this out of deference to U of A guys. The reality is that the program is now toxic and pretty darn near to being at an all-time low. If we thought it was difficult to attract a head coach in 2009, that was nothing compared to now. We're going to have a heck of a time convincing anyone who is remotely qualified to come here for what promises to be a very difficult rebuild, particularly under a sub-par athletic director. Former U of A guys are our best shot here...

 

[GatorAZ]

So the obvious question and not picking on UA fans, we all do this. If those 2 guys were not former UA players would they be on the top of your list? Same goes with Luke Walton.

I’ll answer your question with a question. Can we get anyone good without AZ ties given the circumstances of the program? Not only sanctions but the Athletic Department is an absolute mess...

 

[Phrazbit]

Damon Stoudemire has a losing record in a tiny conference. I would be really disappointed if they aimed so low.

Miller's run has been odd. Early on, when he had comparatively less talent, he looked like a great in game coach. But the last 6 years or so, as a recruiting power house, his teams have chronically under achieved, he blows games late and his players fail to develop.

Great recruiter, bad coach... time for him to go.

As far as replacements, if they want to go young then I'd have to wait until tourny time, see what small school coaches stand out. If they're looking for at more experienced coaches who would probably start winning right away... maybe Bruce Pearl?

 

[Phrazbit]

I’ll answer your question with a question. Can we get anyone good without AZ ties given the circumstances of the program? Not only sanctions but the Athletic Department is an absolute mess...

They have a great facility, a massive following and lots of built in recruiting advantages, and most importantly... money talks... as long as they're willing to pay like an elite program, I honestly don't think it will be a problem.

Will they be able to target the right coaches? That is a bigger concern.

 

[Dback Jon]

Damon Stoudemire has a losing record in a tiny conference. I would be really disappointed if they aimed so low.

Miller's run has been odd. Early on, when he had comparatively less talent, he looked like a great in game coach. But the last 6 years or so, as a recruiting power house, his teams have chronically under achieved, he blows games late and his players fail to develop.

Great recruiter, bad coach... time for him to go.

As far as replacements, if they want to go young then I'd have to wait until tourny time, see what small school coaches stand out. If they're looking for at more experienced coaches who would probably start winning right away... maybe Bruce Pearl?

His system isn't made for one and dones. He does better when he can keep a core of over-achievers together.

 

[Dback Jon]

They have a great facility, a massive following and lots of built in recruiting advantages, and most importantly... money talks... as long as they're willing to pay like an elite program, I honestly don't think it will be a problem.

Will they be able to target the right coaches? That is a bigger concern.

Agreed. Whether Stoudamire, or any other non-Power conference coach (and even some power ones) UA still has advantages and cash.