CINCINNATI – Gracie Vieira was in kindergarten when Sean Miller led Xavier University men’s basketball team to the Elite Eight in 2008.
Now a freshman at Xavier, Vieira said she’s thrilled Miller returned to the school to once again serve as the head coach of the Musketeers.
What You Need To Know
- Xavier University hired Sean Miller as its new basketball coach
- Most XU fans feel a sense of excitement from bringing back Miller, who coached the team from 2004 to 2009
- A Xavier University professor took issue with the hiring process, which took only about a week
- Miller faces a possible NCAA suspension for rules violations, but fans seem to want to give him a second chance
Miller spent eight seasons with the Musketeers, including three as an assistant (2001-2004) before taking over as head coach from 2004 to 2009. In his five seasons as coach, Miller guided Xavier to a 120–47 record while leading the program to four NCAA Tournament appearances.
“That eight-year period was some of the happiest moments that (my family) has had. And it wasn’t all because of what happened on the court,” Miller said after being hired. “It was just being part of a community like Cincinnati, being part of a university community like Xavier.”
Miller was on campus Friday for a public introduction at Xavier’s Cintas Center.
“I’m excited,” Vieira said. “I really look forward to us being back as one of the top teams in college basketball.”
Vieira came to Cincinnati from Rochester, Ny. She’s not a huge basketball fan but attends all the XU home games. She chose Xavier for the “total package” — the academics, the quality of student life, and things of that nature. But basketball played a role, “at least a little bit.”
“I tried not to let it affect my decision too much, but yeah, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect my decision at least a little bit,” she said. “It’s Division I (basketball). Why wouldn’t you want to come and watch a D-1 basketball team play? It creates an environment here (on game day) that most colleges don’t have.”
Students had fun at games this season, especially during the early portion of the schedule, but things became a challenge later in the year. The team lost eight of its last 10 games, including a loss to Butler in the Big East Tournament, which kept them out of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season under former head coach Travis Steele.
Before Steele took over in 2018, Xavier had reached the NCAA tournament in 16 of the previous 18 seasons.
The school parted ways with Steele on Wednesday, March 16.
The Musketeers play St. Bonaventure in the NIT semifinals Tuesday, March 29 in Madison Square Garden. Jonas Hayes, one of Steele’s assistants, is leading the program during this postseason run.
“Hopefully next season will turn out better than this last one because it wasn’t good,” Vieira said.
Ryan Utendorf, another Xavier freshman, plays in the school’s pep band. The band sits near the student section, “The Xtreme Fans,” during basketball games.
The Northwest Ohio native fell in love with the pregame pageantry associated with game days, especially those connected to the Crosstown Shootout, the school’s annual rivalry game with the University of Cincinnati. But the energy “tapered off” as the team hit its late-season slump.
“Being in the band and sitting with the students, you could feel some excitement and energy die off,” Utendorf said. He noted some students developed “animosity” toward Steele and the team by the end of the regular season.
“I think Coach Miller will bring a nice new era for the basketball program,” he said. “We’re gonna get a fresh start next season with some fresh faces. I think it will be good for the program.”
Xavier wasted little time landing Miller. The school announced his hiring on Saturday, March 19, just three days after news about the decision to separate from Steele.
The quick timeline is a problem for Dr. Thomas Knestrict, an associate professor in Xavier’s School of Education.
“If our university is really committed to diversifying the workforce and diversifying our campus, it seems to me they might have put forth a little effort to find a coach who was Brown skinned as opposed to Sean, who we know,” said Knestrict, who has taught at Xavier for 20 years.
Knestrict, who is white, knows he’s “in the minority” with his opinion. He has nothing against Miller as a coach—in fact, he’s a major Xavier basketball fan and a longtime season-ticket holder. But he didn’t like the hiring process Xavier chose.
“He’s clearly an excellent coach, but it’s disingenuous of the university to say we’re going to diversify our workforce and then go for the quick fix with Sean Miller,” he said.
“The most visible job on Xavier’s campus is the men’s head basketball coach, and we very quickly went after another white man,” he added. “That’s my only complaint.”
Miller originally left Xavier in 2009 to become the head coach at the University of Arizona. He guided the Wildcats to seven NCAA tournaments and three Elite Eight appearances in 12 seasons. But fired him last April amid a lingering NCAA investigation into the program.
Miller could face punishments from the NCAA, including a possible suspension, stemming from a coach-control Level I violation from his time at Arizona, according to CBS Sports. That’s connected to an infraction tied to former assistant Book Richardson, who pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud charges related to a 2017 FBI investigation into alleged corruption in college basketball.
Xavier officials said Friday they talked to representatives from the University of Arizona, the NCAA and others, including some of Miller’s former players at Xavier, before moving forward with the hire.
Dr. Colleen Hanycz, Xavier’s president, said Friday that she felt “absolutely confident” in accepting Vice President and Director of Athletics Greg Christopher’s recommendation to bring back Miller as coach.
Christopher described Miller as an “elite college basketball coach” and a “proven winner” who understands the expectations, traditions and values of Xavier and the school’s athletic conference, the Big East.
Viera didn’t know the exact ins and outs of the allegations. She’s willing to give Miller and the university the benefit of the doubt, though.
“I don’t know the reason he left Xavier the first time and I’m not sure what happened in Arizona,” she said. “I am going to trust the school’s judgment. There’s a reason they’re bringing him back.”
A season-ticket holder, Kristy Beagle didn’t have “Sean Miller returning to Xavier on her 2022 bingo card.” But she’s not surprised by the hire. Xavier has built a legacy, Beagle said, and she’s happy to see the school hire someone from “inside the program.”
“I want nothing but success for Xavier. This brings new life to the program and it gives Coach Miller a second chance. What he does with it remains to be seen,” added Beagle, a 2006 graduate of XU.
The combination of the team’s success in the NIT and the hiring of Miller has brought new “excitement” to the team, she said. She hopes that energy will carry the team into next season.
“It’s nice to see,” Beagle said. “Maybe you can go home again. I’d like to think so.”