Current Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller has released a statement this past Wednesday clearing up that he’s not on the running race for the Pittsburgh Panthers coach job. The announcement came after multiple sport news sites reported that Mr. Miller had met with Pittsburgh Athletic director Heather Lyke to discuss a proposal for the position. The coach made public his position in a single tweet where he also wished the best of luck to the team in their current search for a new coach. Given the coach’s background as a former point guard for Pitt and his past as a student at Blackhawk University, the rumor mill went stronger until the coach denied any involvement with the team. He’s been working with The Arizona Wildcats since the year 2009 and has several accomplishments under his belt such as his seven NCA tournament appearances over nine seasons.
Miller: A Figure Surrounded with Controversy
Sean Miller’s tenure as coach hasn’t gone unnoticed or without controversy, either for his achievements or the rumored activities involving him directly or people working with him. Last year Miller’s assistant Emanuel Richardson was arrested for facilitating bribes to secure a strong center player called DeAndre Ayton for the Arizona Wildcats. ESPN did a feature reporting how sources had informed that the FBI had the couch wiretapped in having a conversation with a running agent to discuss a payout of $100,000 for the player. Mr. Miller denied the claims and was backed up by the administration of the Arizona University. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is undergoing its second week hunting down a new coach after letting go Kevin Stallings at the beginning of March after two seasons with a losing streak of 5-34 facing ACC teams.
The Numbers Backing Miller’s Talent
Analysts have stated that hiring Miller would be a bold move by Heather Kyle since the coach has a staggering resume leading the Arizona Wildcats through five Pac-12 championships with a lifetime record of 247 victories against 74 loses. For the 17/18 season, he ranked a 27/8 score by winning the Pac-12 tournament again. The only thing the coach needs is to win an NCAA championship, but sadly this year was not meant to be either since his team lost to the Buffalo Bulls in the first round of the tournament. His personal record as a player for the Pittsburg Panthers it’s also very flashy and attractive. The man managed to rank as the #2 player with the most assisted plays in program history with 744 interventions and is listed as #21 on the scoring list of the team with 1,282 points. He became an assistant coach at the school in the year 1995.
The Pittsburgh Offer
At the moment The Pittsburgh Panthers are still looking for a coach since they need one fast. The school is offering a contract of $3 million to whoever lands the position. Some other names have been thrown around such as Rhode Island’s current coach Dan Hurley or the former Ohio State coach Thad Matta. Tom Cream was also rumored to be on the lead, but he was recently signed by the Georgia Bulldogs.