Archie Miller (left) is leaving brother Sean to take over his own program.
Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE
Arizona Wildcats associate head coach Archie Miller is the new head coach at Dayton, hired after a follow-up interview in Cincinnati on Saturday night.
“We wanted to sit down one more time and make sure he felt good about the job and we did, too,” Dayton athletic director Tim Wabler told the Dayton Daily News. “And that took all of about five minutes. ….It was a no brainer. It was obvious — he was our guy.”
(More comments from Wabler on Miller at the link.)
Miller, 32, has been with his brother Sean at Arizona for the past two seasons. Archie was an assistant for Thad Matta at Ohio State before that, so he certainly knows the recruiting territory.
Tweeted Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com: “I said Sean Miller was the best hire of the offseason a couple years ago – and Archie Miller to Dayton could be the best this year.”
Archie takes over a program that has had four consecutive 20-win seasons, advancing to the postseason each time — three NITs and the 2009 NCAA Tournament, when the Flyers reached the second round.
Miller, who was an assistant coach to Herb Sendek at North Carolina State and Arizona State, becomes the ninth member of the Sendek coaching tree to become a head coach. That includes Sean Miller.
As for what Arizona does now, TucsonCitizen.com’s Javier Morales reports that Michael Peck, the head coach at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., is a viable candidate.
Archie Miller, then a point guard at North Carolina State, tries to drive on UConn's Taliek Brown during the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Photo by Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images