Arizona Wildcat basketball coach Sean Miller does not talk just to talk. He takes every meeting with the media to try to accomplish something. Monday’s press conference to announce a major donation for upgrades to the Jefferson Gym and McKale was a chance for the Wildcat basketball coach to make a number of points.

Of course the main reason for the press conference was to announce Cole and Jeannie Davis’ $2.6 donation, but it was also where Miller announced that he and his wife were donating $250,000 to the project. Miller was literally putting his money where his mouth is. He was telling the current players that they need to be as committed as he is, as well as telling recruits that he is not going anywhere.

It was also a chance to sell the project to the public. In these tough economic times, it can be a tough sell to spruce up a locker room and build a state of the art gym, when one already exists inside McKale.

Miller cited everything from safety, to academics, to recruiting, to reaching out to former players in his sales pitch. At the same time he was challenging his players in the classroom, inviting the former players home and telling recruits what was in store.

Of course, increased performance was the key to the weight room.

“I want us to be the biggest, strongest, best conditioned team,” Miller said.

The presser was a chance to tell his team that more hard work was needed and that they’d be given the tools to get better. He was telling recruits that better days were ahead and that the program was going to continue to evolve. He was telling the former players that they were wanted and that they should come back home. Most of all, he was telling the fans that the program was moving in the right, winning direction.

Miller could have thanked the Davises, made a brief statement and then moved on to other topics but he didn’t. He took the opportunity to do some PR, make some points and attempt to accomplish many things at once.

For a more detailed account of the press conference, as well as some other basketball team notes, see the accompanying story at WildcatSportsReport.com