Bear Down Wildcats

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/sean-mille ... 43119.html

"Heeke reverted to empty clichés on the timing and reasoning for the firing because there are no good reasons without shedding light on the backroom fighting over Miller’s future. So he tap-danced, cliché spat and underwhelmed in a situation where there was little chance to overwhelm. Arizona has a heavy-handed president, Robert Robbins, and lightweight athletic director who are only bonded by how much their peers are snickering at them."

Damn. It was telling to see the ASU fans laughing about it instead of going "oh crap, Arizona is going to get a great coach". I remember hoping UCLA would keep Lavin forever. But our rivals all seem delighted with this move.

BBQ wildcat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:37 am https://www.yahoo.com/sports/sean-mille ... 43119.html

"Heeke reverted to empty clichés on the timing and reasoning for the firing because there are no good reasons without shedding light on the backroom fighting over Miller’s future. So he tap-danced, cliché spat and underwhelmed in a situation where there was little chance to overwhelm. Arizona has a heavy-handed president, Robert Robbins, and lightweight athletic director who are only bonded by how much their peers are snickering at them."

Has anyone heard what the big boosters are saying?

azpatnca wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:42 am Damn. It was telling to see the ASU fans laughing about it instead of going "oh crap, Arizona is going to get a great coach". I remember hoping UCLA would keep Lavin forever. But our rivals all seem delighted with this move.

BBQ wildcat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:37 am https://www.yahoo.com/sports/sean-mille ... 43119.html

"Heeke reverted to empty clichés on the timing and reasoning for the firing because there are no good reasons without shedding light on the backroom fighting over Miller’s future. So he tap-danced, cliché spat and underwhelmed in a situation where there was little chance to overwhelm. Arizona has a heavy-handed president, Robert Robbins, and lightweight athletic director who are only bonded by how much their peers are snickering at them."

ASU fans shouldn’t be laughing at anything. They have a terrible program, a substandard roster for next year, and a coach that is a punchline. AZ is still a marquee program. Let’s put it this way, in five years time, Arizona will still be the national brand in this state.

midnightx wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:50 am

azpatnca wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:42 am Damn. It was telling to see the ASU fans laughing about it instead of going "oh crap, Arizona is going to get a great coach". I remember hoping UCLA would keep Lavin forever. But our rivals all seem delighted with this move.

BBQ wildcat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:37 am https://www.yahoo.com/sports/sean-mille ... 43119.html

"Heeke reverted to empty clichés on the timing and reasoning for the firing because there are no good reasons without shedding light on the backroom fighting over Miller’s future. So he tap-danced, cliché spat and underwhelmed in a situation where there was little chance to overwhelm. Arizona has a heavy-handed president, Robert Robbins, and lightweight athletic director who are only bonded by how much their peers are snickering at them."

ASU fans shouldn’t be laughing at anything. They have a terrible program, a substandard roster for next year, and a coach that is a punchline. AZ is still a marquee program. Let’s put it this way, in five years time, Arizona will still be the national brand in this conference.

Fixed it for you.

Found this:
"After conferring with Dave Heeke since the season's end, it has become clear that our men's basketball program - and our University - needs to write a new chapter in our history, and that begins with a change of leadership,'' So it is based on this that I resign as president of the University of Arizona Robert C. Robbins said in a statement. I confess I have overstepped my bounds in terms of dealing with our athletic department and Dave Heeke is really a substandard AD that I personally picked so I could essentially run the department. I will leave as your president but I promise to leave the notebook of plays I have designed for both football and basketball. You can thank me later.

So the human side of this with respect to a coaching change. Whoever the coach might be will want to bring in this own team. That is perfectly normal. That also means that Jack Murphy and the Jet are probably gone as well as the disruption to their family. Jack I'm sure is getting some compensation for being interim HC. I think changes like this can be live altering and I hope the administration is helping in that regard. I don't want to see two former players/coaches be tossed aside without some type of acknowledgement of their contributions/service. The other members of the staff from coach Rounds to the rest of the staff my sincere gratitude for your contribution and my best wishes for your future.

Has Sean made any kind of statement yet?

I would think JET and Jack are two guys Tommy Lloyd would be wise to do his best to keep on staff in some capacity even if he has some other plans for bench coaches. Honestly not sure how many of "his guys" he would even have since he has worked in the same role for 20 years and the guys there are doubtful to move with him. JET has shown he is more than willing to put in the work on the recruiting trail and on the bench, something I never felt was the case for Damon or Miles when they were here.

gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:44 am I would think JET and Jack are two guys Tommy Lloyd would be wise to do his best to keep on staff in some capacity even if he has some other plans for bench coaches. Honestly not sure how many of "his guys" he would even have since he has worked in the same role for 20 years and the guys there are doubtful to move with him. JET has shown he is more than willing to put in the work on the recruiting trail and on the bench, something I never felt was the case for Damon or Miles when they were here.

I think whoever it is will have already reached out to those they trust and it is only natural for them to surround themselves with those folks. If it is Lloyd I agree he will not raid the staff, nor could he of the Zags. But I certainly see him reaching out to mentors and ex-players to fill out his staff.

Lloyd and Murph are friends apparently.

Alieberman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:34 am Has Sean made any kind of statement yet?

Don’t think so but I would love to hear from him. At the very least I’d love him to know how much of the fan base was behind him and how unhappy this decision made people.

Who knows what Terry’s value is as a coach, but if Tommy does get the gig, there may be some rationale behind keeping a highly decorated former Arizona star/alum as part of the staff.

midnightx wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 1:37 pm Who knows what Terry’s value is as a coach, but if Tommy does get the gig, there may be some rationale behind keeping a highly decorated former Arizona star/alum as part of the staff.

JeT was given credit by Miller for the improvement in the guard play for the Cats, esp Akinjo. He made them go into a much more up-tempo offense which seems to fit with Lloyd's offense.

I would think Lloyd would want to continue the bridge Miller built with former players. He did that incredibly well.

Lloyd will have to bridge 2 sets into his own now.

gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:44 am I would think JET and Jack are two guys Tommy Lloyd would be wise to do his best to keep on staff in some capacity even if he has some other plans for bench coaches. Honestly not sure how many of "his guys" he would even have since he has worked in the same role for 20 years and the guys there are doubtful to move with him. JET has shown he is more than willing to put in the work on the recruiting trail and on the bench, something I never felt was the case for Damon or Miles when they were here.

Stoudamire has a reputation of actually doing the work -- going to gyms to evaluate the talent that the ratings' gurus don't evaluate. That's precisely why Damon got the job at Pacific: he's a grinder and willing to do the work.

The only thing I remember from Miles' time on the Arizona staff was that he didn't take it all that serious and was enjoying the fruits of the position but not doing the grunt work. I remember reading that he acknowledged that and eventually changed his work ethic and habits and that's why he's on the staff with the Lakers. It's not charity in the NBA.

If it's Lloyd, it makes a ton of sense to keep Terry on staff: he's got NBA clout, knows the game and can relate to players. He's been there, done that. And he's ARIZONA through and through. Murphy may be a harder sell.

Didn’t Miles have to work with KO? I wouldn’t hold him to anything in those times.

Olsondogg wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:02 pm Didn’t Miles have to work with KO? I wouldn’t hold him to anything in those times.

KO wouldn't even let Josh or Miles speak during the timeouts in the huddle. It was all KO -- all ego.

Super classy good bye letter, I wish Sean nothing but the best. I had a lot of disagreements with his style of play, but there is no denying he was a winner and the handling of his dismissal was unfitting of a great University parting with one of the winningest coaches in the history of the Pac 12.

CSM. Always classy. As for me, not so classy, because I say fuck those fuckers, Heeke and Robbins. And I wish failure for anyone those two hire.

BBQ wildcat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:43 pm CSM. Always classy. As for me, not so classy, because I say fuck those fuckers, Heeke and Robbins. And I wish failure for anyone those two hire.

So you would rather see AZ basketball become irrelevant, than once again become a power? Heeke and Robbins are jackasses, but I would prefer to see AZ back on top that it entirely implode just so they have egg on their face.

That’s gotta be the classiest goodbye letter I’ve ever seen. I hope nothing but great success for him wherever he goes.

I would love to see the new coach lose every game if it would get Heeke and Robbins out one day sooner. Get a REAL prez and AD in and rebuild from there. If the new coach is successful, it will just feed Robbins' already oversized ego that much more. To the point where he could force out other coaches to get "his" favorite in.

Super classy letter. That was hard to read cause we all know how badly he was treated at the end by Robbins and Co.

Oh man. Hard not to get sad. Miller is a great guy who made some mistakes, but his love of Arizona hoops runs deep. He will be missed.

Seriously that hurt to read.

If only he’d fired Book way back when.....

Anyone who says he wasn’t a good coach and a class act can go fuck themselves.

Olsondogg wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:32 pm Anyone who says he wasn’t a good coach and a class act can go fuck themselves.

AMEN!!!!

Olsondogg wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:32 pm Anyone who says he wasn’t a good coach and a class act can go fuck themselves.

Couldn't have said it better than myself. Good dude. Good coach. Players love him. Boosters love him. Couldn't get much more perfect for that

I have no idea how to embed a tweet, even after reading about it. Help?

Anyway, I have always liked Ryan Hansen. Also a guy with a lot of class.

https://twitter.com/uaryno/status/1380279729794605056

ekat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:46 pm I have no idea how to embed a tweet, even after reading about it. Help?

Anyway, I have always liked Ryan Hansen. Also a guy with a lot of class.

https://twitter.com/uaryno/status/1380279729794605056

Click on the 3 dots, embed tweet, copy and paste the link here, go the advanced editor, highlight the link then click on the tweet button.

I will always be a huge Sean Miller fan. Good luck Coach. You deserved so much better.

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:48 pm

Click on the 3 dots, embed tweet, copy and paste the link here, go the advanced editor, highlight the link then click on the tweet button.

[/quote]

Thank you!

Classy AF. I would like to nominate Sean Miller to be our next coach. Tell the search committee I recommend him.

F ing onions in the room. All our best coach

I see the Miller cultists are still reluctant to admit his firing was appropriate and long overdue. My only issue is with the timing. It sets the next HC up for failure making a good hire virtually impossible. Young coaches don't want a career killing job like Arizona would essentially be. Too much uncertainty for any coach not knowing how many years the program could be on probation. I think we will get a two year postseason ban so the reluctance to come to Arizona will be the general viewpoint of most decent coaches. Bottom line: at best the program will be rebuilt in 5-7 years and a lot has to go right to even get to that point. For those of you hoping the current roster will stay together, it won't. There's a long, painful road ahead and we can thank Sean Miller for putting us in that position. Just having a winning record will be the new benchmark of over-achievement. Embrace the suck.

Please do not feed the trolls.

Time to really talk about banning folks that are obviously here to cause disruption and add nothing of value. Chicat your thoughts?

TheCat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:01 pm Time to really talk about banning folks that are obviously here to cause disruption and add nothing of value. Chicat your thoughts?

Does Chief's account Tatanka count? Cuz if so yes please

Typical Miller. Always classy. Always took the high road.

But the thing I always will appreciate is how he embraced the legacy of UofA basketball and especially Lute. It was never about him, it was always something bigger to help continue and grow. And he said Arizona basketball fans were the best in the country and he has seen it all. I always felt like he was talking directly to me.

Thank you Coach Miller for all you have accomplished and tried to accomplish. I appreciate your hard work and passion for the game, your players and Arizona basketball. I will root for you wherever you go. People make mistakes. That’s why we are human. But we can’t deny you did your best to keep the Proud Tradition alive.

Adios Amigo.

Merkin wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:35 pm

I felt like crying while reading this.

Thanks for everything, Sean.

That damn goodbye message needs to be printed and hung in McKale.

They are probably removing any trace of Sean from McKale as we speak.

TheCat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:20 pm They are probably removing any trace of Sean from McKale as we speak.

Lol yeah

What I thank Miller for is his teams are responsible for a lot of my memories from my 20s. From all the Vegas tourneys I attended, to the road trips to Texas Tech, Ucla, USC, tourney in Anaheim, a couple of trips to Assu. Was a season ticket holder for a couple of seasons, then gave them up for single tickets. The Florida and UW white out games are most memorable. I moved to California a month before 30 (2 years ago) and felt a bit disconnected since then. But I met him at his talk show once the year I moved and he was very thankful and gracious for us coming out. I really hope for the best for him and his family.

Sean Miller exuded Paasion and Commitment everytime I saw him courtside, Loved every minute of it!!
Thanks Coach!!! Will be following and pulling for you!!
Cheers!!!

TheCat wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:20 pm They are probably removing any trace of Sean from McKale as we speak.

I got my COVID vaccine at the UofA drive-through yesterday. You're just a few feet away from McKale, and I couldn't help but sadly sigh as I looked at the building as I waited for the line to move. I know the outside won't change, but it felt like I was looking at the McKale I remembered for the last time.

“In fact, I told a booster between seasons that one of Sean’s issues was he didn’t embrace any – not even one – of the local media members. One who would have supported him in tough times. It would have benefitted him but he’s not that guy. He’s not warm and fuzzy so it’s understandable.

Instead, he was close to a known national college basketball guy who benefitted from all the UA news. That guy had all the news first.

Damned were the locals. What did it matter, right?”

http://allsportstucson.com/2021/04/07/t ... Mm1-9VG-ok

Interesting read. Obviously it’s easy to take your shot when the guy is gone

Is Rivera referring to Goodman?

I think so. I was a bit shocked Rivera was so butt hurt about the local press (his) relationship with Miller. I know he was close to Lute but why can’t these guys just do their jobs and not be vindictive when it’s not how they like it