We live in a world of instant gratification. There is a demand for results, now. Kevin Durant to the Warriors is an obvious NBA example. In college, it is mostly shown through the coaching carousel. I was very open with my thoughts that John Thompson III should have been fired (he has been), and I was also on the Tom Crean out of Indiana train. So, maybe I have fallen into the trap of this instant gratification cycle. These are guys that failed on basic elements of their jobs, though.
On another level of coaches is those that simply can’t perform in March. Every other month is all theirs, there is just something about the helter-skelter of the tournament that is their kryptonite. Earlier today, Anthony Ventura wrote about Huggy Bear and his March inadequacies. I’d like to add Arizona’s Sean Miller to this list.
Sean Miller is a brilliant coach that runs one of the best programs in the countries. His teams are always stacked with NBA-level talent. He consistently has monsters in his frontcourt and bucket-getters in his backcourt. In terms of his actual accomplishments at Arizona, he has been the coach of the year in conference three times, won the PAC-12 regular season four times and the conference tournament twice. Of his seven recruiting classes, five have been in the top four in the nation. He has produced NBA-level talents like Derrick Williams, Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson and TJ McConnell. In his eight years in Tuscon, he has made the National tournament six times and past the first weekend five of those times.
But, that is basically where the resume ends. Based on that, it is undeniable that he is running a fantastic program, but the March accolades simply aren’t there. Including the loss to Xavier on Thursday, he has led a team to a loss in the Sweet Sixteen twice and has never made it to the Final Four.
This isn’t a call for Miller’s head. He is one of the best coaches in the country and runs one of the most sturdy programs in the NCAA. Instead, it is a question as to why. Why is it that there is a class of elite coach that simply can not crack the code for March? Sometimes, it isn’t entirely the coaches’ faults. Sean Miller falls into that camp.
His first trip to the NCAA tournament was an Elite Eight bid that ended against eventual national champion UCONN Huskies, after defeating the one seed Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. It’s easy to write off this loss, especially for a coach in his second year with a new team. 2013 was ended in the Sweet Sixteen by higher seeded Ohio State with national player of the year Evan Turner. 2014 is the real year of disappointment. With a LOADED roster, the Wildcats fell short to the twelfth seeded Badgers of Wisconsin in the Elite Eight. Personally, I write off any loss to Wisconsin in March because March is what the Badgers do.
The next year was again ended by the Badgers, but this time in the Elite 8 and not in upset fashion. As a two seed, they took on the powerhouse Badgers, who lost in the final to the even more powerhouse Duke. 2016 ended in the first round against eleventh seeded Wichita State, which is another team that always thrives in March. This year, they lost to a well-coached Xavier team that was ranked in the top ten until losing Edmond Sumner. Without Sumner, they still showed capabilities of winning, including a win over Butler in the Big East Tournament. If Xavier can beat Gonzaga tonight, this will seem like even less of a bad loss for the Wildcats.
Out of those years, only one or two are major disappointments. 2016 is a wash because the whole season was a bit of a disappointment. This year can be explained simply by their lack of true point guard. Other than that, the Wildcats aren’t a disappointment in March. Sean Miller will get the Final Four monkey off his back, unlike his counterparts in the March-inept coaching candidates Bob Huggins and Scott Drew. Miller’s system is one that is more than capable of winning in March. He will consistently have talent, both freshman and otherwise, to lead him to glory. Eventually he is bound to run into a team that isn’t going to make an improbable run (UCONN) and isn’t a team that you don’t want to see in March (Wisconsin, Wichita State). Miller will coach his way out of the March-inept category within the next two or three years. He is too good of a coach with too much talent not to.