ARIZONA FIRES SEAN MILLER AS COACH
Arizona had stuck by men’s basketball coach Sean Miller through an NCAA infractions investigation that stretched nearly four years.
When the school didn’t extend his contract beyond next season, it became clear a decision would need to be made.
The wait came to an end Wednesday when the school announced Miller was leaving after 12 seasons and associate head coach Jack Murphy will serve as interim head coach.
“We’re evaluating the overall position of the program, and that includes on-court and off-court elements,” Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke said. “When you step back and evaluate where the program is, we have incredibly high standards to have success on and off the court. We evaluated it and we decided at this time it’s the appropriate time to make a change so we can restore and rebuild the overall status of this world-class basketball program.”
Miller and the Wildcats have been in the NCAA’s crosshairs since being ensnared in a 2017 FBI investigation into shady recruiting practices.
The NCAA issued a Notice of Allegations last year and the case is currently going through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Arizona issued a self-imposed postseason
ban this year and finished 17-9, 11-9 in the Pac-12.
Miller became the third Wildcats coach to reach 300 wins with the program and went 302-109 in 12 seasons. Arizona reached the Elite Eight three times, won five Pac-12 regular-season titles and three Pac-12 Tournament titles under Miller.
But Arizona failed to reach the Final Four under Miller and had not won an NCAA Tournament game since reaching the Sweet 16 in 2017. The school said it will honor the final year of Miller’s contract.
Miller routinely pulled in some of the nation’s top recruiting
classes after being lured from Xavier in 2009, but his recruiting methods came under scrutiny when assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was among 10 people arrested as part of a federal corruption investigation into college basketball.
Richardson was fired by the university and later pleaded guilty to accepting $20,000 in bribes from aspiring business manager Christian Dawkins. He was sentenced to three months in prison in 2019.
Miller sat out a game in 2018 after ESPN reported that he was heard on an FBI wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to future No. 1 overall NBA pick Deandre Ayton. Miller vehemently denied the report and Robbins announced a few days later that Miller would remain the Wildcats’ coach.
The NCAA Notice of Allegations sent in October had nine counts of misconduct, including a lack of institutional control and failure to monitor by the university, and lack of head coach control by Miller.
“It was obviously a difficult and very important decision,” Heeke said.
Notable
Guard Myreon Jones, who was Penn State’s leading scorer at 15.3 points a game, is heading to Florida.
• Michigan State added high-scoring guard Tyson Walker, a transfer from Northeastern who averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 assists and 2.4 steals last season as a sophomore.
• Tennessee freshman guard Keon Johnson says he’s declaring for the NBA Draft and will sign with an agent.
• Maryland agreed with men’s coach Mark Turgeon on a contract extension through the 2025-26 season.
• Syracuse forward Marek Dolezaj is not returning to the Orange for a final season and will seek to play professionally.
• Wake Forest program great Randolph Childress is leaving the Demon Deacons coaching staff to explore “other opportunities” after his ninth season.