Houston Chronicle

Indiana fires Miller as dry run worsens

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Archie Miller’s $10.3 million buyout was one of college basketball’s priciest.

Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson decided keeping Miller would prove even more costly.

Dolson fired Miller on Monday, armed with enough cash from private donations to cover the buyout and ready to answer a fan base angered by four straight mediocre seasons.

“It’s a results-oriented business and I didn’t feel like we had made enough progress,“Dolson said on a late afternoon Zoom call. “I thought we needed a new voice and a new direction.“

The Hoosiers were already headed in the wrong direction before Miller arrived in March 2017 and four years later, the groans only grew louder.

Miller was 67-58 with the Hoosiers. He never made the NCAA Tournament during his time at the school though many believed Indiana would have received a bid last year had the tourney not been canceled because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.

Miller never beat rival Purdue, going 0-7. The Boilermake­rs have now matched their second-longest winning streak in series history at nine.

Younger Pitino loses job at Minnesota

Minnesota fired Richard Pitino after the coach compiled a 54-96 regular-season record over eight years in the Big Ten and had only three conference finishes higher than 10th place.

The Gophers went 14-15 this season, dropping 11 of their last 14 games and were 141-123 with only two NCAA appearance­s under Pitino, the 38-year-old son of Rick Pitino.

Kansas arrives without 3 players

Kansas forwards Jalen Wilson and David McCormack and guard/forward Tristan Enaruna did not make the trip to Indianapol­is with their teammates and coaches on Monday.

Coach Bill Self said Sunday that McCormack and Enaruna, who have been in COVID-19 protocols the past several days in Lawrence, were expected to travel on their own to Indianapol­is at some point this week in advance of Saturday’s firstround game against Eastern Washington “as long as nothing happens in the meantime.”

Self has said nothing specifical­ly regarding Wilson, who has started 26 of 28 games and averages 12.1 points and 8.2 rebounds. McCormack averages 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds. Enaruna sees limited action.

Odds and ends

Iowa State and coach Steve Prohm have agreed to part ways after the Cyclones went 2-22 overall, 0-18 in the Big 12. Prohm went 97-95 in six seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearance­s, but the Cyclones’ downturn started last season with a 12-20 record. …

DePaul fired coach Dave Leitao six years into his second tenure at another effort to lift a once-proud program. Overall, Leitao was 127-146 over nine seasons at DePaul. … Boston College hired Earl Grant, who was 127-89 in seven seasons at the College of Charleston. Grant replaces Jim Christian, who was fired after not reaching the NCAA Tournament in seven seasons.

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