After being known as one of the best young coaches in America, Sean Miller has cemented his place as one of the top coaches in college basketball while leading the University of Arizona program to powerhouse status nationally. Miller has established Arizona as the pinnacle of the Pac-12 Conference, a pipeline to the NBA Draft and a beacon of academic success for student-athletes.
In his 12 seasons in Tucson, Miller guided UA to five regular season conference championships, three conference tournament titles and a Pac-12 winning percentage that trails only John Wooden and Lute Olson. Arizona has produced ten NBA draft selections, including five top-ten picks, during that span as well. The impressive streak of 46 of Miller's college seniors who completed their eligibility as part of his program, at Arizona and Xavier, have earned their college degrees. That list included 2020 graduate Stone Gettings, who became the first Arizona men’s basketball player to be named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Widely respected by coaches throughout college basketball, a proven winner at the international level and a rallying figure for Wildcat fans, Miller has established a winning culture and developed Arizona Basketball into “A Players Program”.
A bona fide winner at every level, Miller owns a 422-156 (.730) record in 17 years as a head coach, while attaining a 302-109 (.735) mark at Arizona and a 150-68 (.688) record in Pac-12 play. With an 85-80 win over Southern California on Feb. 6, Miller reached 400 career wins in just 542 games, which tied for 22
nd on the NCAA list for fewest games to 400 wins. He is ahead of names like Bob Knight, Bill Self, John Wooden, Bob Huggins and Rick Pitino on the list. He picked up his 300th win at Arizona in just 408 games, the third-fewest games to reach the 300-win plateau in Pac-12 Conference history.
In 29 years on the collegiate sidelines, Miller’s teams produced 26 winning seasons and averaged better than 20 wins per year. He also has three gold medals as a member of the USA Basketball program, one as a player, one as an assistant coach and one as a head coach.
Miller has been a part of 17 NCAA Tournament teams as a player, assistant coach and head coach, including 11 in his 16-year head coaching career, and would have added another one to that list in 2020 before the season was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. He has guided teams to seven Sweet 16’s and four Elite Eights, and owns a 20-11 (.645) record as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament.
Success at Arizona didn’t happen overnight, but is instead a product of a tireless first year of work that instilled a process of daily hard work and dedicated effort that has been followed by each member of the program since those early days.
From an initial team meeting that featured just six players, Miller worked exhaustively to build from within and fashion an attacking system in which defensive intensity and offensive cohesiveness form a relentless unit on both ends of the court.
Additionally, Miller has reestablished and rejuvenated recruiting ties that have aided the Wildcats in assembling seven recruiting classes with top-ten national rankings in nine seasons.
Arizona is averaged 25.2 wins per seasons under Miller’s guidance, best in program history for a coach with at least four years at the school. The Wildcats reached the 20-win mark in nine of Miller’s 12 seasons at the helm, including four 30-win campaigns. The Arizona Basketball program recorded 30 or more wins in seven different seasons with four of those coming with Miller at the helm.
After a 17-15 record during the 2018-19 season, the Wildcats and Miller rebounded with a 21-11 record in 2019-20 before the season was abruptly cut short after a win over Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic that swept the globe and forced nearly all sporting events to be canceled or postponed. The star-studded trio of freshmen, led by Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Zeke Nnaji, accounted for 54 percent of the Wildcats points on the year. Nnaji became the fifth UA player to receive the top freshman award from the conference and the 10
th in school history. He was joined on the All-Pac-12 team by classmate Nico Mannion, who garnered second team accolades as well as all-freshman team honors. When adding Josh Green's all-around accomplishments during the season, the trio combined to score 1,321 points, the most of any freshman trio in the country and the most by a Pac-12 freshman trio since 2012-13. Senior Dylan Smith capped his career by earning Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention status.
Miller’s ninth season in Tucson saw Arizona win the 2017-18 Pac-12 regular season crown and the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament, becoming just the second team in conference history to win four conference championships in two years. Deandre Ayton, a consensus First Team All-American, became the first player in the history of the Pac-12 Conference to win Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season. Allonzo Trier, Rawle Alkins and Dusan Ristic joined Ayton in earning all-conference honors with Ristic graduating as the all-time winningest player in program history with 115 wins.
The Wildcats were one of the nation’s top offenses in 2017-18, with the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the country. The team’s 50.4 percent shooting mark from the field was its highest since the 1991-92 season. Arizona’s offense also finished in the top 20 nationally in efficiency for the seventh time in nine seasons, according to KenPom.com. UA propelled the legacy of McKale Center during the 2017-18 season with a home mark of 15-1 to push Arizona’s home record from 2014 to 2018 to a ridiculous mark of 82-3. The nation’s best home record in that time is matched by the 2017-18 season and that season became the 34
th consecutive year Arizona has led the Pac-12 Conference in attendance.
The 2016-17 season saw the Wildcats finish with a record of 32-5, which was the fourth-best record in program history. The high mark was fueled by UA’s 16-2 record in league play, which tied for the sixth best league mark in program history. Arizona was especially successful on the road in conference play in 2016-17 with a mark of 8-1. Only the 9-0 mark posted by the 2002-03 Wildcats was a better conference road record.
Over the two-year stretch from 2014-15, Arizona won 67 games, which tied for the most nationally over those two seasons and represented the best two-year total UA has ever produced. Those two campaigns were also the first back-to-back 30 win seasons ever at Arizona.
Miller’s “A Player’s Program” philosophy has been a guideline that has tied together the program’s reemergence. Under the plan, everything that takes place within the program is geared toward three focal points: honoring the past players and coaches who laid the groundwork, ensuring that the current student-athletes have the best means and opportunities to maximize their potential, and attracting high-level prospective student-athletes who will embrace the challenge of building on the program’s storied tradition.
Arizona Highlights
Miller’s first season in Tucson was one that befit his penchant for honoring the process, as the Wildcats finished 16-15 despite making drastic improvements over the course of the 2009-10 campaign.
Though the first season of the Miller Era was trying, it didn’t take long for the larger benefits of that initial struggle to be felt within in the UA program.
The 2010-11 squad had a banner year by even the lofty standards of the Arizona program, winning 30 games, capturing the Pac-10 regular-season championship and roaring to the Elite Eight with a convincing victory over top-seeded Duke in the regional semifinal.
The overall improvement of the program from year one to year two was personified by the rise of the forward Derrick Williams. A late addition to Miller’s first UA recruiting class, he garnered Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2010 before blossoming into a consensus All-American and the conference Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Miller’s 2011-12 UA team won 23 games and earned a postseason berth in the NIT, securing back-to-back 20-win seasons for the Wildcats for the first time in five years. For the second-straight season, UA finished in the top five nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense and limited opponents to an average of 62.7 points per game, a figure that was, at the time, the lowest for the program in more than two decades.
The Wildcats placed three players on the All-Pac-12 teams following that season, as Kyle Fogg and Solomon Hill garnered first-team recognition and Jesse Perry was an honorable mention honoree.
The 2012-13 edition of the Wildcats captivated the nation with its electrifying 14-0 start before tying for second in the Pac-12 and earning the second NCAA Tournament berth of Miller’s tenure. UA reached its second Sweet 16 under Miller, where it fell to Ohio State in a back-and-forth affair to finish with a 27-8 record.
Hill was rewarded for a stellar senior season with his second-consecutive inclusion on the All-Pac-12 first team and was joined by teammate Mark Lyons, who led the Pac-12 in free throw percentage in his lone season at UA.
With high expectations swirling around the program prior to the 2013-14 campaign, the Wildcats didn’t disappoint. Instead, UA turned in a season for the ages. Arizona finished the season 33-5, at the time the second-best single-season win total in school history, claimed its 13th Pac-12 regular-season title, secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second Elite Eight of the Miller Era.
Miller’s charges won the Pac-12 regular-season title by three games in a tightly-contested year that saw just three games separate the second and ninth places in the league.
The Wildcats spent eight-straight weeks during the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, establishing a new program record for longevity in the top spot, and its No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament was a first for the program since 2003.
Arizona was a major factor in the national statistical rankings in 2013-14, ranking fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.0), sixth in scoring defense (58.6) and ninth in rebound margin (+7.1). The 2013-14 squad was the first UA team to lead the Pac-12 in scoring defense since the school joined the conference in 1978, and its mark of 58.6 points allowed per game was the program’s best since the 1950-51 season.
In a tribute to both Miller’s pedigree and that of the UA coaching staff, the Wildcats established a program record with an average of just 10.2 turnovers per game and ranked 12th nationally with a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio.
As would be expected following a season of that caliber, individual accolades were forthcoming for numerous Arizona players. Foremost among that group was Nick Johnson, whose hard work and dedication paid off with a meteoric rise from all-conference-caliber player to first-team All-American, Pac-12 Player of the Year and a finalist for all three major national Player of the Year awards.
Aaron Gordon was rewarded for a thunderous rookie season with third-team All-America and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors, as well as first-team All-Pac-12 accolades. He was also one of six finalists for the Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year award.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was honored as a member of the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team along with Gordon, while T.J. McConnell was a second-team All-Pac-12 performer. Both Johnson and McConnell were also named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team.
Despite losing both Gordon and Johnson to the NBA Draft following the 2013-14 season, Arizona seemingly didn’t miss a beat in 2014-15, when the Wildcats produced one of the finest seasons in the history of the program.
Miller’s sixth UA team went 34-4, swept the Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships and made another Elite Eight run after garnering the No. 2 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats’ 34 wins marked the second-best single-season total in school history and gave UA its first-ever set of consecutive 30-win seasons, while their run to the West Regional final represented just the second time in school history that they went to the Elite Eight in back-to-back years.
Arizona won the Pac-12 by three games with a 16-2 record in the league, its best since 2003 and the best by any team in the conference since 2008.
The Wildcats were a handful on both ends of the floor in 2014-15, finishing the season as one of just two teams nationally to rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. With McConnell ranked among the national leaders in both assist average and assist-to-turnover ratio, UA ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage (.488), while also leading the nation in defensive rebound percentage (.776) and ranking second in rebound margin (+8.8).
Arizona was also the best team in the nation at getting to, and converting at, the free throw line in 2014-15, leading the country in both makes (700) and attempts (974).
That 2014-15 team success led to numerous individual accolades for Arizona players, headlined by Stanley Johnson earning third-team NABC All-America accolades, USBWA Freshman All-America honors and the inaugural Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award. He also became the second Arizona player in as many seasons to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Johnson joined Hollis-Jefferson and McConnell on the All-Pac-12 first team, while the latter two were also named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Brandon Ashley was recognized as an All-Pac-12 performer with inclusion on the honorable mention squad, and he also took home Pac-12 Tournament MOP honors after helping lead UA to the championship in Las Vegas.
The 2015-16 season saw Arizona advance to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. Miller moved into third place in Arizona coaching history in just his seventh season in Tucson, trailing only Fred Enke (509) and Lute Olson (589) who spent a combined eight decades at the helm of the program. His .710 winning percentage in conference games is the fourth highest in the history of the Pac-12 for head coaches with at least six seasons spent in the league. Miller trails only John Wooden, Lute Olson and Jim Harrick in that distinction.
Under Miller’s tutelage, Ryan Anderson (First Team), Kaleb Tarczewski (Second Team) and Gabe York (Second Team) earned all-conference honors from the Pac-12 while Allonzo Trier was named to the All-Freshmen team. Tarczewski was also named to All-Defensive team. The senior center also graduated from the program tied with Matt Muehlebach as the winningest Wildcat in program history with 110.
Miller’s eighth year in Tucson, coming during the 2016-17 season, saw Arizona continue to rewrite the program’s record books. The team split the regular season Pac-12 title with Oregon before winning the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. It was the fifth time UA has won at least a share of the conference title and won the league’s tournament in the same year. The Wildcats were ranked in every AP poll of the season for a fourth consecutive year, extending the nation’s second-longest active ranking streak to an impressive 97 polls.
For his efforts, Sean Miller was named the 2017 John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The conference coach of the year award was the fourth of his coaching career and third while leading the Arizona program. Miller, alongside his brother Archie Miller at Dayton, became the first brothers in the history of the NCAA to win conference coach of the year awards in the same season.
UA would place Wildcats throughout the league’s postseason awards list, starting with Lauri Markkanen’s selection to the Pac-12 All-Conference First Team. A pair of Cats, Allonzo Trier and Kadeem Allen, took home All-Pac-12 Second Team accolades. Allen would also be voted to the All-Defensive team. Markkanen, joined by Rawle Alkins, was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team.
Player Development
Throughout his coaching career, Miller has made player development a top priority, matching one of his biggest talents as a coach with one of his biggest passions about the profession.
At Xavier, Miller helped mold Indianapolis product Justin Cage from a little-used freshman into a three-time All-Defensive Team selection in the Atlantic-10. While with the Musketeers, he also did the same for Justin Doellman and Derrick Brown, who went from seldom-used reserves to a first-team All-A-10 pick and the No. 40 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, respectively.
That track record has more than been extended during Miller’s time at Arizona, starting with a player who would go on to become the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Williams was considered to be the least prolific player in Miller’s first UA recruiting class. However, from the time he set foot on campus, Williams steadily improved to the point where he was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year following his first season. In 2010-11, his explosiveness and ferocity on the court made the nation take notice, and before submitting his name for the 2011 draft, he has consensus All-America honors and Pac-10 Player of the Year accolades to his credit.
Hill became the second member of that recruiting class to hear his name called during the first round of an NBA Draft when he did so in 2013. Hill steadily evolved from a role player as an underclassman to the Wildcats’ undisputed leader as a senior, finishing his career as one of the most statistically well-rounded players in program history.
Johnson followed a path similar to Hill’s, adding to his game each year before breaking out as one of the nation’s most versatile and explosive players as a junior in 2013-14. The first-team All-American nearly doubled his scoring average from his freshman year by the time he was a junior, and was taken 42nd overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Kadeem Allen showed what buying in to Miller’s player development program means. The former National Junior College Player of the Year, and leading scorer in the nation in the NJCCA, would transfer to Arizona and redshirt the 2014-15 season. Allen bought in to his coach’s plan for him and was the team’s everyday starting point guard as a junior in 2015-16. The lone senior of the 2016-17 class was an all-defensive team selection and made the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team despite averaging fewer than ten points a game. Allen starred at the Portsmouth Invitational after graduation and was later selected by the Boston Celtics with the 53
rd pick of the NBA Draft.
Nnaji was a consensus Top 40 recruit when he chose the Wildcats out of Hopkins High School in Minneapolis, but he was overshadowed in the media by a pair of Top 15 signees in Mannion and Josh Green who were also headed to Tucson. But from day one in the summer, Nnaji’s tenacity in the paint was on full display and those around the program knew he was destined for a great season and he went on to lead the Pac-12 in double-doubles (14) and was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
The Next Level
In 12 years under Miller’s direction, the Arizona program has produced a total of 13 draft picks, including five lottery picks among a total of nine first-round selections.
In a testament to the player-development prowess of Miller and his UA coaching staff, Williams became the first Wildcat drafted under Miller’s watch when he went No. 2 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011. In just two years’ time, Williams went from the least heralded of Miller’s initial five-man recruiting class to matching Mike Bibby as the highest overall draft picks in Arizona history at the time.
The 2013 NBA Draft was a significant night for the UA program under Miller, as Hill became the 18th first-round pick in program history when the Indiana Pacers selected him 23rd overall. Grant Jerrett gave Arizona two picks in a single draft for the first time since 2009 when his name was called with the 40th overall selection.
Miller and the UA staff sent two more Wildcats into the NBA ranks via the 2014 draft, when Gordon was taken fourth overall by Orlando to become the second lottery pick of the Miller Era and Nick Johnson was chosen 42nd overall by Houston.
The 2015 NBA Draft was the third in a row in which multiple Arizona players were chosen, but the first since 1998 in which UA had multiple first-round picks. Stanley Johnson became the third lottery pick of the Miller Era when he was chosen No. 8 overall by the Detroit Pistons, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson became the 21st first-round pick in program history when he was taken by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 23rd overall pick.
Lauri Markkanen and Kadeem Allen wrote the 2017 NBA Draft chapter of Miller’s impressive coaching career. Markkanen was selected seventh overall by the Chicago Bulls while Allen was taken 53
rd overall by the Boston Celtics.
The 2018 NBA Draft was a historic one for both Miller and Arizona. Freshman Deandre Ayton, coming off perhaps the most decorated season in program history, became Arizona’s first-ever No. 1 overall pick courtesy of the Phoenix Suns.
Most recently, the 2020 NBA Draft saw Josh Green (18th), Zeke Nnaji (22nd) and Nico Mannion (48th) all selected, marking the first time since 2001 that three or more Wildcats were selected in a single draft.
The first player to be drafted during Miller’s head coaching career came in 2009, when the Charlotte Bobcats made Brown a second-round pick.
Numerous players who have been part of Miller’s programs at both Arizona and Xavier have forged successful professional careers overseas. In 2014, Fogg was named Player of the Year in Finland after averaging 27.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for Lapua, while Doellman was named MVP of La Liga Endesa in Spain the same year.
Honors and Awards
As the architect of some of the finest seasons in the history of two storied college basketball programs, it is only fitting that Miller recognition from both his coaching peers and the media for his efforts.
Miller has been named Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year three times in the last eight years, receiving the honor in 2011, 2014 and 2017. Combined with his Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year honor in 2008, Miller has been a conference coach of the year four times in his coaching career.
His coaching peers in the NABC have also recognized Miller’s coaching prowess three times in his career, naming him District 10 Coach of the Year in 2008 and District 20 Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2014. The 2014 season also saw Miller recognized by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as its District IX Coach of the Year.
His award history also includes international accolades after being named the 2015 USA Basketball National Co-Coach of the year after helping the U.S. earn the gold medal in the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championships.
Prior to Arizona
Miller’s path through the college coaching ranks began at Wisconsin in 1992, when he served as a graduate assistant on a UW staff that also included former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Following one season in Madison, Miller spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio). During his time at Miami, Miller helped lead the Red Hawks to a 42-18 (.700) record, the 1995 MAC regular-season title, a 1995 NCAA Tournament appearance and a 1994 NIT berth. Miller spent the 1995-96 season as an assistant at his alma mater, Pittsburgh.
Starting with the 1996-97 season, Miller had a five-year term as an assistant coach at North Carolina State. During his tenure in Raleigh, NCSU made four postseason appearances, including a run to the 2000 NIT semifinals.
Miller made the move back to southwestern Ohio in 2001, joining the staff at Xavier as the program’s first-ever associate head coach. In three years as the top assistant on Thad Matta’s staff, Miller helped lead XU to a 78-23 (.772) record, two regular-season A-10 titles and a pair of A-10 Tournament championships. The Musketeers made the NCAA Tournament in each Miller’s three seasons as associate head coach, reaching the program’s first-ever Elite Eight in 2004.
Miller took over as Xavier’s head coach prior to the 2004-05 season and proceeded to embark on one of the best five-year runs in program history. Miller led XU to a 120-47 (.719) record, winning at least 25 games in each of his last three seasons at the helm. The Musketeers captured three A-10 regular-season crowns and one conference tournament title during the Miller Era, while making four NCAA Tournament appearances that yielded two Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight run.
In total at Xavier, Miller helped the school post a 198-70 (.739) record, make seven NCAA Tournament appearances and win seven conference titles (four regular season/three conference tournament). His 120 wins as XU’s head coach still rank third on the program’s career list for coaching victories.
Focus on the Total Person
In Miller’s head coaching career, winning championships and helping student-athletes reach their potential on the basketball court have gone hand-in-hand with helping them flourish as students and members of a broader community.
In Miller’s 16 seasons as a college head coach, all but one of the 48 players who have completed their eligibility under his direction have earned their college degrees. Sixteen of those graduates came during his time at Xavier, and he has helped 32 players earn their degrees in 11 years at Arizona.
Under Miller’s watch, Arizona has also experienced Academic Progress Rate (APR) success, as evidenced by its most recent multi-year score of 1,000, which reflects the program’s performance from 2011-14. The Wildcats produced single-year APR scores of 1,000 in both 2010-11 and 2011-12 and exceeded the 1,000-point mark in 2013-14 by earning bonus points from former student-athletes returning to obtain their degrees. Arizona went on to earn another perfect score of 1,000 in APR for the 2017-18 season.
Part of Miller’s philosophy is also centered on community involvement and giving back to those who support the UA program. To that end, the Wildcats have been frequent visitors to Diamond Children’s Hospital at the University of Arizona Medical Center during Miller’s tenure, as well as taking part in activities with other local organizations.
Miller has also been active in the annual Coaches Charity Challenge, competing against other coaches across the nation for votes to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona and Casa de los Ninos in Tucson.
The International Stage
In addition to establishing his place among the elite coaches in the college game, Miller is also a prominent figure in the international arena with USA Basketball for his abilities both as a coach and an evaluator of international-caliber talent.
After being elevated from assistant coach to head coach of the U.S. Men’s U19 National Team in 2015, Miller led the United States to the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Crete, Greece. The win was the second-straight gold medal at the event for the U.S., marking the first time a team repeated at the event since the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Miller’s U19 squad posted a perfect 7-0 record en route to the gold medal, winning its games by an average margin of 25.3 points. Current Arizona guard Allonzo Trier was a key member of the team, averaging 8.7 points on 55.3 percent shooting from the floor to earn his second international gold medal.
In June 2014, Miller served as an assistant coach with U.S. Men’s U18 National Team at the FIBA Americas Championship, helping lead the United States to a gold medal. During that tournament, Miller helped mentor Stanley Johnson to tournament MVP honors and his third international gold medal, while Trier collected his first piece of international basketball hardware.
In 2013, Gordon claimed tournament MVP honors at the FIBA U19 World Championship after leading Team USA to a gold medal.
Miller got his USA Basketball coaching start in 2011, when he was a court coach at the USA Basketball Men’s World University Games Team training camp.
Miller’s first gold medal with USA Basketball came as a player in 1991, when he helped propel the U.S. to gold in men’s basketball at the World University Games in Sheffield, England.
Playing Career
Regarded as the best three-point shooter in the history of the Pittsburgh program, Miller was a Big East All-Rookie Team pick in 1988.
Miller helped lead the Panthers to the 1988 Big East regular-season title, as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances. He was an integral part of one of the most famous plays in college basketball history, delivering the assist to Jerome Lane for “The Dunk,” which Bill Raftery immortalized with the phrase, “Send it in, Jerome!”
A member of the Pitt All-Centennial Team that was convened in 2005, Miller currently ranks 18th on the program’s career scoring chart with 1,282 points. He also ranks 10th on the NCAA Division I free throw shooting list at .885 and stands third on the Big East’s career assists chart (744).
He served as the Panthers’ team captain for the 1991-92 campaign.
A legend at Blackhawk High School in the Pittsburgh area, Miller was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Hall of Fame in June 2012.
The Miller File
Date of Birth: Nov. 17, 1968
Hometown: Beaver Falls, Pa.
Education: Pittsburgh ’92 (B.A.)
Wife: Amy
Children: Austin, Cameron, Braden
Hired at Arizona: April 7, 2009
Career Record: 422-156 (.730)
Record at Arizona: 302-109 (.735)
Pac-12 Record: 150-68 (.688)
Playing Experience
Pittsburgh, 1987-92
U.S. World University Games Team, 1991
Coaching Experience
Wisconsin, assistant coach – 1992-93
Miami (Ohio), assistant coach – 1993-95
Pittsburgh, assistant coach – 1995-96
N.C. State, associate head coach – 1996-2001
Xavier, associate head coach – 2001-04
Xavier, head coach – 2004-09
Arizona, head coach – 2009-present
U.S. Men’s U18 National Team, assistant coach – 2014
U.S. Men’s U19 National Team, head coach – 2015
Coaching Honors
USA Basketball National Co-Coach of the Year – 2015
USBWA District IX Coach of the Year – 2014
NABC District 20 Coach of the Year – 2011, 2014
NABC District 10 Coach of the Year – 2008
Pac-12 Coach of the Year - 2017
Pac-12 Coach of the Year – 2014
Pac-10 Coach of the Year – 2011
Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year – 2008
| Miller Year-By-Year |
|
|
|
|
| Xavier (5 seasons) |
| Year |
Overall |
Atlantic 10 |
Postseason |
| 2004-05 |
17-12 |
10-6 (2nd) |
- |
| 2005-06 |
21-11 |
8-8 (7th) ** |
NCAA 1st Round |
| 2006-07 |
25-9 |
13-3 (1st) |
NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2007-08 |
30-7 |
14-2 (1st) |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2008-09 |
27-8 |
12-4 (1st) |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
XAVIER
TOTALS |
120-47 |
57-23 |
4 NCAA Apps. |
|
|
|
|
| Arizona (11 seasons) |
| Year |
Overall |
Conference |
Postseason |
| 2009-10 |
16-15 |
10-8 (4th) |
- |
| 2010-11 |
30-8 |
14-4 (1st) |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2011-12 |
23-12 |
12-6 (4th) |
NIT 1st Round |
| 2012-13 |
27-8 |
12-6 (T2nd) |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2013-14 |
33-5 |
15-3 (1st) |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2014-15 |
34-4 |
16-2 (1st) ** |
NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2015-16 |
25-9 |
12-6 (T3rd) |
NCAA 1st Round |
| 2016-17 |
32-5 |
16-2 (T1st) ** |
NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2017-18 |
27-8 |
14-4 (1st) ** |
NCAA 1st Round |
| 2018-19 |
17-15 |
8-10 (9th) |
- |
| 2019-20 |
20-11 |
10-8 (T5th) |
COVID-19 |
| 2020-21 |
17-9 |
11-9 (5th) |
Self-imposed ban |
ARIZONA
TOTALS |
302-109 |
150-68 |
7 NCAA Apps
3 Elite Eights
2 Sweet 16's |
CAREER
TOTALS
(16 seasons) |
422-156 |
207-91 |
11 NCAA Apps
4 Elite Eights
3 Sweet 16's |
| ** - denotes conference tournament champions |
