Contrary to reports late Sunday night, Xavier coach Sean Miller has changed his mind and will accept the Arizona job.
“”He’s out. They just told me,”” Xavier’s B.J. Raymond told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “”They offered him twice as much per year. I’m sad to see him go.””
Miller addressed the Cincinnati media Monday at 1:30 MDT.
“”I would never leave Xavier unless it was a place where I really felt you could win a national championship,”” Miller said at the news conference. “”When I say that, it does not mean you can’t win one here.
“”(Arizona) is a place that has done it before, and has had a quarter of a century worth of excellence,”” Miller added. “”If you watch and look at Arizona, you see they have done some amazing things in 25 years under one coach.””
Miller “”asked for a chance to sleep on the decision,”” then informed Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski regarding his decision at noon ET, according to Yahoo! Sports.
It’s a seven-year, $18 million deal with a $1 million signing bonus, according to multiple reports.
Arizona media relations released this on Monday:
“”Arizona athletics director Jim Livengood (and potentially UA President Robert Shelton) will hold a news conference in the next several days to introduce the university’s new men’s basketball coach. That information will be forwarded as soon as a day and time are known.””
UA athletics director Jim Livengood and university president Robert Shelton met with Xavier head coach Sean Miller early Sunday in New Mexico to discuss an opening on the Wildcats’ men’s basketball squad, according to multiple reports.
Initial reports late Sunday night indicated that Miller had turned down Arizona’s offer.
Miller, 40, makes around $1 million at Xavier, where he is 120-47 in five years. He has taken the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament four straight times, including a Sweet 16 appearance this season and an Elite Eight berth last season.
USC coach Tim Floyd was flown into Tucson in Weitman’s jet last week to discus Arizona’s opening, but Floyd opted to continue coaching the Trojans.
Floyd and Miller are the only coaches who have been publicly disclosed as one of Arizona’s targets.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari, a friend who calls Miller his cousin, said Miller was experiencing the same things Calipari was when deciding whether to leave Memphis.
“”(Miller) has a potential Final Four team coming back next season, loves where he lives, has security and is paid well and has the best job in his league, yet has to decide whether or not this is the right job for him to explore,”” Calipari told ESPN.com.
Though Miller’s meeting with UA officials didn’t take place in Tucson on Sunday, the Xavier coach has some indirect ties to Arizona.
Miller was an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) and North Carolina State under current ASU coach Herb Sendek. Miller was with Sendek at Miami (Ohio) in 1995 when it beat Arizona by nine points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Miller also lost to the Wildcats by 20 in McKale Center when he played for the Pittsburg Panthers in 1992.
What’s more, Miller is a friend of Josh Pastner, a former UA assistant coach and player who just finished coaching a year under Calipari at Memphis. Though Pastner is preparing to coach at Kentucky with Calipari, there is speculation that Pastner would have come to Tucson if Miller accepted the job as the Wildcats’ head coach.
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