Sean Miller: The Thread

[bleedXblue]

It's going to take more than one bad season where we lost our 2 best big guys weeks before the season started to have me question Miller.

He's a great head coach, a proven winner at the highest levels of basketball. He took Xavier to the Sweet 16 in his first year back after 4 straight non tourney seasons.

Of course he has work to do, but he has nothing to prove to any of us if he's capable.

totally agree.......101% behind him and I hope he knows 99% of Xavier feels the same way

[drudy23]

All of this is Steele's fault.

He literally set this program on a trajectory it hasn't seen before, and not in a good way. It's really hard to completely dismantle the potential launching pad of a 1 seed, but here we are. We fell hard.

[xudash]

totally agree.......101% behind him and I hope he knows 99% of Xavier feels the same way

I agree with you that 99% of people who care about Xavier and Xavier basketball feel that way, given that they clearly understand that we have one of the best coaches in the game, that he is truly loyal to X, and that this year has turned out to be an anomaly, primarily due to terribly unfortunate injuries to key players.

A S16 right out of the gate as soon as he comes back.

This patched together, limping season.

What to expect from here? We'll move on with Sean building it back up and hopefully taking us to places we've never been before as we move forward. People who are around college basketball and know college basketball do not look at the Xavier program and see an organization in dire straights. They see the exact opposite.

I believe Sean believes that and that he feels the support from the X Community. A S16, a hiccup, and we're off to the races beyond this season - with Sean Miller at the helm.

[MHettel]

I agree with you that 99% of people who care about Xavier and Xavier basketball feel that way, given that they clearly understand that we have one of the best coaches in the game, that he is truly loyal to X, and that this year has turned out to be an anomaly, primarily due to terribly unfortunate injuries to key players.

A S16 right out of the gate as soon as he comes back.

This patched together, limping season.

What to expect from here? We'll move on with Sean building it back up and hopefully taking us to places we've never been before as we move forward. People who are around college basketball and know college basketball do not look at the Xavier program and see an organization in dire straights. They see the exact opposite.

I believe Sean believes that and that he feels the support from the X Community. A S16, a hiccup, and we're off to the races beyond this season - with Sean Miller at the helm.

Ok, but…..

Steele sucked and Jonas Hayes was able to coach that team to an NIT championship.

That roster was pretty good. Boum made it very good. Sean had ALOT to work with.

So if you want to give him credit for what he did last year, then it’s only fair to give him credit for how this year has gone. This is his roster.

[A Fan]

I think it is safe to assume that 99% of people who care about Xavier and Xavier basketball feel that way, given that they clearly understand that we have one of the best coaches in the game, that he is truly loyal to X, and that this year has turned out to be an anomaly, primarily due to terribly unfortunate injuries to key players.

A S16 right out of the gate as soon as he comes back.

This patched together, limping season.

What to expect from here? We'll move on with Sean building it back up and hopefully taking us to places we've never been before as we move forward. People who are around college basketball and know college basketball do not look at the Xavier program and see an organization in dire straights. They see the exact opposite.

“ People who are around college basketball and know college basketball do not look at the Xavier program and see an organization in dire straights. ”.

People who are around College basketball and talk to the Sport’s Lawyers know it is a new era. Jay Wright knew what was coming and had the prescience to get out on a high note. Great coaches could recruit great players because they knew the coach could elevate their game. Jay Wright’s players may have left a year or two early to enter the NBA and monetize their value but they stayed with him till ready. Today the good players can monetize their value out of high school and the portal. Putting togeter a roster will be annual event. Sean Miller has been a great coach. Unfortunately he has a very weak roster. To think he can add a few players out of the portal and have a 24/25 roster which is in the top 5 of the Big East is in my opinion a stretch. Xavier is not the only team looking for a front court and a sizzling 3 point shooter. And you will have to pay up to be a bidder. This is a multi year rebuild.

[Xville]

“ People who are around college basketball and know college basketball do not look at the Xavier program and see an organization in dire straights. ”.

People who are around College basketball and talk to the Sport’s Lawyers know it is a new era. Jay Wright knew what was coming and had the prescience to get out on a high note. Great coaches could recruit great players because they knew the coach could elevate their game. Jay Wright’s players may have left a year or two early to enter the NBA and monetize their value but they stayed with him till ready. Today the good players can monetize their value out of high school and the portal. Putting togeter a roster will be annual event. Sean Miller has been a great coach. Unfortunately he has a very weak roster. To think he can add a few players out of the portal and have a 24/25 roster which is in the top 5 of the Big East is in my opinion a stretch. Xavier is not the only team looking for a front court and a sizzling 3 point shooter. And you will have to pay up to be a bidder. This is a multi year rebuild.

IMO it depends. If free and or hunter are healthy next year, I think miller can turn it around in one year. I’m not concerned with replacing q, he’s a hell of a player but there are always a ton of guards available. Not concerned that miller won’t secure one or two. Now the big is another story and 1 isn’t going to cut it. But if it’s one plus a healthy free and abou available for depth, then x will be in great shape.

[xudash]

Ok, but…..

Steele sucked and Jonas Hayes was able to coach that team to an NIT championship.

That roster was pretty good. Boum made it very good. Sean had ALOT to work with.

So if you want to give him credit for what he did last year, then it’s only fair to give him credit for how this year has gone. This is his roster.

Who on that roster has not played one minute this year. I believe there are more than two answers to that question.

I understand where you're coming from. You want the best, you expect/demand the best, and excuses when things turn out below expectations aren't your top priority. I get it. Xavier playing at this level at the Cintas Center with this much investment in the sport is miles away from Schmidt Memorial and the MCC.

I'm personally giving a lot of credence to the idea that we would look very different had Free and Jerome been available this year, not to mention one or both of the 4-Star sharpshooters. I otherwise believe Sean will fix this - part of that is hoping that Xavier is all paid up in the unfortunate injury bank for a while.

To A Fan's point, it has all gotten much harder, and much more fluid. We all understand that the days of watching a 4-year high caliber player - especially at one place - are mostly over. BUT, it's gotten much harder for everyone.

I used to talk about the necessity of having all program elements in place. We were missing the final piece for the CONFERENCE AFFILIATION element until the Big East called us up. We have everything in place now, but with the reality of now having to navigate market values for individual players and the means to pay for new ones and retain the ones we want to keep. It's going to be the Wild Wild West for a while. We'll have to navigate it like everyone else. We'll lose some of those battles due to money, and we'll win some of those battles because of money and because of what Xavier has to offer on Victory Parkway.

I'm hopeful that Sean Miller is comfortable with that challenge, such that he sticks around a long time. If anyone knows how to weave a team together, it's Sean Miller. I understand he could leave us if the "right" job comes along, but I also understand that he is very loyal to Xavier. Thankfully, he's built differently that way.

Otherwise, more money is on the way in the form of a pumped up media agreement. And we all know more change is coming.

[Xavier]

So if you want to give him credit for what he did last year, then it’s only fair to give him credit for how this year has gone. This is his roster.

*minus the starting front court he expected back. I get that it’s an excuse, but I’d be curious to see how many teams would still look good if they lost arguably the top 2 players on the team when it was too late to really fill the spots through portal. The players he brought in with free/hunter still in the works have actually been good enough.

[MHettel]

*minus the starting front court he expected back. I get that it’s an excuse, but I’d be curious to see how many teams would still look good if they lost arguably the top 2 players on the team when it was too late to really fill the spots through portal. The players he brought in with free/hunter still in the works have actually been good enough.

Relying on free was a risk. He had foot injuries for parts of 2 seasons and them last year just a few days from being cleared to play he was suddenly out for the year and required another surgery. So the plan was that we would count on him for this year? And shockingly, it didn’t work out!

The hunter situation was tragic and you can’t forecast or predict a guy that is otherwise healthy to just miss the whole year.

However, I’ll go back to a year prior when Miller took over. We had dead weight in Miles, Edwards, Tandy and Ben Stanley. Only Stanley left, but eventually the other guys did too. Maybe some additional turnover was needed then. Imagine bringing in an Nzeh type last year and then maybe this year he would have been able to contribute.

That’s a miss in my book.

No we are 7-8 guys away. I see things in Claude, McKnight, swain and green that I like as individual players. I even like Abou if he can just be a defensive first guy. I’d give another year to Nzeh and Ciani as well. As individuals. But these guys together didn’t work.

I can’t see next year being competitive. We may have some NIL money to fish with, but let’s not forget that we may need to make competitive offers to our existing guys just to keep them.

[bleedXblue]

Relying on free was a risk. He had foot injuries for parts of 2 seasons and them last year just a few days from being cleared to play he was suddenly out for the year and required another surgery. So the plan was that we would count on him for this year? And shockingly, it didn’t work out!

The hunter situation was tragic and you can’t forecast or predict a guy that is otherwise healthy to just miss the whole year.

However, I’ll go back to a year prior when Miller took over. We had dead weight in Miles, Edwards, Tandy and Ben Stanley. Only Stanley left, but eventually the other guys did too. Maybe some additional turnover was needed then. Imagine bringing in an Nzeh type last year and then maybe this year he would have been able to contribute.

That’s a miss in my book.

No we are 7-8 guys away. I see things in Claude, McKnight, swain and green that I like as individual players. I even like Abou if he can just be a defensive first guy. I’d give another year to Nzeh and Ciani as well. As individuals. But these guys together didn’t work.

I can’t see next year being competitive. We may have some NIL money to fish with, but let’s not forget that we may need to make competitive offers to our existing guys just to keep them.

pretty spot on