Reason No. 9: Miller’s coaching staff
New UA coach will rely on his lieutenants
STREAK FACT: When Arizona’s consecutive NCAA tournament appearances started March 15, 1985, former UA forward Luke Walton was only 4 and was living with his father Bill in Boston. The elder Walton, who announced his retirement from ESPN last week, was still two years away from his NBA career ending with the Celtics at the time.
By Javier Morales
Lute Olson had firm control of the Arizona program but he was not a micro-manager.
He hired his assistants with the confidence they can scout opponents, relate to the players more on a personal level than he could and deal with the media so he would not have to do that all the time. In all three phases, Olson was mostly impeccable with his choices.
Jim Rosborough, for example, was his right-hand man for almost two decades and he could scout with the best of them, as evidenced by Olson allowing him to scout Kentucky for the 1997 NCAA title game. A half-hour before Arizona took the floor in Olson’s most important game to date, Rosborough stood before the team in the locker room and talked about the objectives at hand.
Olson, trying to finally win his first NCAA title, was totally at ease with that.
He was comfortable with the way Rodney Tention, Jessie Evans, Josh Pastner and the late Ricky Byrdsong — to name a few — related to their players. These coaches also served as scouts and strategists similar to Phil Johnson, Kevin O’Neill, Scott Thompson, Ken Burmeister and Jay John.
Olson had control of the game management: substitutions, diagramming specific plays, explaining the many situations in a timeout. He was as good as anybody in the business in X’s and O’s, whether it was the first 10 minutes of the game, the first five minutes of the second half or crunch time.
He is a Hall of Fame coach for a reason. All of his assistants at Arizona share in that honor. Without them, Arizona would not be in search of its 26th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The list includes Russ Pennell and Mike Dunlap, who Olson hired before last season. They were instrumental along with Reggie Geary in getting the Cats back to March Madness.
So what does this have to do with Sean Miller and his staff in relation to the UA’s NCAA tournament streak?
Miller’s staff is important in getting the young Cats headed in the right direction, and by all accounts, it appears they are more than capable.
Emanuel RichardsonEverybody knows about Emanuel “Book” Richardson‘s recruiting ability with two New York-area players on the roster (Lamont “MoMo” Jones and Kevin Parrom) and another on his way (Class of 2011 recruit Sidiki Johnson).
Richardson knows how to communicate with the players, which allows them to better understand and feel comfortable with their roles. The mind of an 18- or 19-year-old can be a tenuous one, especially when it comes to playing time and feeling appreciated. You can’t place a value on how important Richardson is in this scenario.
He can also coach. Richardson’s Under 18 Red team captured the gold medal at the 2007 USA Basketball Men’s Youth Development Festival. He was the youngest coach to win the event. He was the first AAU coach to be selected by USA Basketball as a head coach in the festival.
James WhitfordAlthough Miller’s brother, Archie Miller, is the associate head coach, it appears that James Whitford and Sean Miller have a similar relationship as Olson and Rosborough.
They go back at least 17 years ago. Whitford served as a manager for the Wisconsin basketball program for three seasons. Miller was an assistant coach for Wisconsin during the 1992-93 campaign, Whitford’s junior season at UW.
Miller told the media last month that he does not assign specific roles to assistants — a slight difference from Olson — but Whitford’s specialty is coaching man-to-man defense.
While talking to a number of recruits recently, including the recently signed Daniel Bejarano, I’ve learned that Whitford is somewhat of a free spirit. The recruits love communicating with him. “I could hear him crack jokes all night if I had to,” Bejarano told me.
Rosborough also had somewhat of a dry sense of humor. Former UA players endear themselves to him.
Archie MillerArchie Miller looks young enough to still be playing for North Carolina State. People in the know consider him on the fast track to a head coaching position, although he is only 31. If Arizona does better than expected this season and next don’t be surprised to hear his name surface as a potential candidate.
The trend of hiring younger coaches is taking hold as evidenced by Sean Miller (who was hired by Xavier at age 35) and by Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel, who began coaching when he was 27 at VCU. The younger Miller has so much promise with game strategy, recruiting and relating one-to-one with the players that Ohio State coach Thad Matta made him his top assistant when he left ASU for Ohio State two years ago.
The college basketball world will hear a lot about how Sean Miller has made an impact in Tucson — he already has with his recruiting and ability to keep Nic Wise on board — but the men behind the scenes make the coach.
In many aspects, The Streak will live another year because of Richardson, Whitford and the younger Miller. The nine freshmen and sophomores must be pointed in the right direction. Miller is already off to a good start by putting together a credible staff who can not only relate to these kids, but coach them as well.
THE TWENTY-SIX REASONS WHY UA WILL GET ITS FIX WITH NO. 26:
8. Hint: All’s well that ends well
9. Those closest to Miller on the bench
10. Wise motivations
11. Hill climbing once again
12. Home cooking non-conference style
13. These teams don’t Pac a punch
14. The Fogg will be rolling in
15. A fire is lit under Derrick Williams
16. Players X, Y and Z
17. Don’t tread on McKale Center
18. Re-energized with Miller High Life
19. The Joe Lunardi Factor
20. The New York state of mind
21. Would a marathon runner stop at Mile 25?
22. The Streak Mystique
23. The Olson Presence Factor
24. Not OK with Coach K’s streak
25. Two Wises make for a smart team
26. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
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Tags: Archie Miller, Book Richardson, James Whitford, Jim Rosborough, Lute Olson, Sean Miller
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