In hiring a new Texas men’s basketball coach, the university turned to its most recent opponent.
The American-Statesman reported Sunday that Texas is preparing to hire Xavier coach Sean Miller as the new men’s basketball coach. The Longhorns fired former coach Rodney Terry four days after the Longhorns’ First Four loss, falling to Miller and Xavier in a First Four game.
Here are five things to know about the new Texas coach.
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Sean Miller’s coaching history
Miller began his career at Wisconsin as a graduate assistant before becoming an assistant at Miami (Ohio). From there, Miller made stops at Pittsburgh and North Carolina State, eventually landing as an assistant at Xavier in 2001. He was promoted to head coach in 2004, leading the Musketeers to an Elite Eight appearance in 2008.
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Arizona hired Miller away in 2009, where he coached for 12 years and made three more Elite Eights. He returned to Xavier in 2022, leading his team to the Sweet 16 in that year’s tournament before losing to Texas.
Miller’s NCAA scandal at Arizona
Arizona was one of the first schools exposed in the 2017–18 NCAA men’s basketball corruption scandal, during which an investigation was launched into schools that illegally paid athletes to commit to their programs.
Former Arizona assistant coach Emmanuel “Book” Richardson was one of the main targets of the investigation, and he pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery. The FBI intercepted a call between Richardson and aspiring sports agent Christian Dawkins, during which they talked about how Miller would pay former No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton $10,000 a month to attend Arizona.
Miller denied any wrongdoing and Arizona eventually fired the coach, who ended up back at Xavier and received no punishment for the incident.
Sean Miller’s playing career at Pitt
Miller had a decorated playing career at Pitt, playing alongside future NBA players Charles Smith and Jerome Lane. Recruited by then-Pitt assistant John Calipari, he earned the starting point guard job as a freshman and didn’t look back, averaging 10.0 points, 5.8 assists and two rebounds during his four-year career.
A cerebral player and natural leader, Miller’s understanding of the game drew rave reviews from his teammates who haven’t been surprised by his success.
“He understands the game because he played the game,” said Darrelle Porter, one of Miller’s former Pitt teammates. “He can really relate to the players, which is so important in today’s game.”
Sean Miller … podcast maestro?
If Texas fans want to learn more about their new coach, Miller has his own podcast with more than 60 episodes recorded. He looks at his experiences at Arizona and Xavier, hosting some of his former players and prominent media personalities like Stan Van Gundy.
Whether he’ll keep it going during his time at Texas remains to be seen, but the podcast offers an inside look into Miller’s life and his coaching history.
Sweaty Sean
Miller might be the sweatiest coach of all time. No, really. The coach went viral in 2016 for soaking through his white dress shirt in 10 minutes of game action. It got so bad that the Arizona managers returned to the team hotel to get Miller a substitute shirt in which to change.
Texas might be the right basketball fit for Miller, but the weather won’t be. His wardrobe will suffer through Austin’s 100-degree summers.
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