Miller’s ‘answers’ won’t squelch State speculation

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WRAL’s Ken Medlin summarized it perfectly…

Miller took the middle ground — he didn’t deny interest, and he didn’t make a play for the job.

In this article, the N&O’s Luke DeCock attempts to break down the different angles of the

But State fans looking for a glimmer of hope will see one there. And maybe there is one. It was an odd moment. If Miller wanted to send a message, that’s how he would have done it. Who knows?
Earlier, while discussing Arizona’s tradition, Miller referred to himself in a somewhat odd way, given the rumors swirling around.

“You look at the history and tradition of our program under coach (Lute) Olson, players, teams, we take a backseat to nobody,” Miller said. “I happen to be the coach right now, and we’ll see where we go. We’re proud of going 29-7 on the year.”

DeCock says that ‘State fans looking for a glimmer of hope will see one there’.

Actually, I don’t have to see a glimmer of hope there. I don’t have to read anything into Sean Miller’s comments as what Sean Miller does NOT said speaks volumes. It doesn’t require a translator to interpret silence.

Sean Miller has been phenomenally consistent since the day the NC State job officially opened — he has consistently NOT made a public statement disavowing interest in the NC State job. No matter how many ways you want to slice it and wish it away…he has been given multiple opportunities to lay the issue to rest and he has not once taken the opportunity to do so.

That hasn’t stopped everyone other than Sean Miller from chiming in for him. Last week, Miller’s Athletics Director, Greg Byrne, (who kinda comes across as a douche) tweeted that Sean would have no interest in the NC State job. TWEETED it, no less. Great job, Greg!!! That will put it to rest. Nothing like coming our strong in a forum where nobody can ask you a question and proclaiming that there would be no more talk about Sean leaving for other jobs! Way to put that behind you.

Elsewhere, brainiacs in the media have been quick to proclaim that Miller would not be interested in NC Sate. Moron fans who couldn’t tell you David Thompson from Fred Thompson can’t fathom the thought. Heck, The Sporting News‘ Mike DeCourcy even interviewed someone who may have once landed at the Phoenix airport (two hours away from Tucson) who has said that Sean Miller will not be interested.

Yet, SEAN MILLER HAS NOT SAID HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN THE HEAD COACHING JOB AT NC STATE.

Why do you think that is?

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92 Responses to Miller’s ‘answers’ won’t squelch State speculation

  1. PeeDub 03/24/2011 at 12:00 AM #

    Round 2 – DING!!

  2. wufpup76 03/24/2011 at 12:37 AM #

    As stated in the forums, I won’t believe anything or anyone until it comes straight from the horse’s mouth or there is a press conference.

    Until then, I think it is foolhardy to rule anything in or out of play definitively … We’ll just leave that to our good friend Decourcy who absolutely loves to hear himself talk and sound smart. Emphasis on ‘sound’.

    Speculators gonna speculate.

  3. tvopack 03/24/2011 at 2:07 AM #

    Comparing the trend of interest between Sean Miller and Rick Barnes:
    SM should know we’ll love him in Raleigh.
    http://www.google.com/trends?q=sean+miller,+rick+barnes&ctab=0&geo=us&geor=all&date=2011-3&sort=0

  4. Hamlet 03/24/2011 at 4:17 AM #

    I’d like nothing better than to have Sean Miller be the next men’s head basketball coach, but let’s not look too closely at his public denials or lack of interest.

    Even if Miller knows he is not coming back to Raleigh, has anyone ever thought that maybe he is simply showing respect for Debbie Yow and N.C. State by not publicly acknowledging that he has no interest or has been offered the job? Yow actually made mention of this in last week’s press conference. This is not going to be like the last search, when every coach in the country took their names out of consideration for the job. Things will be quiet from both ends…out of respect.

    Should a small glimmer of hope in Miller’s remarks exist? Perhaps. But it certainly doesn’t mean that he is hiding interest with his public sentiments.

  5. Cosmo96 03/24/2011 at 5:23 AM #

    You make a good point about how he didn’t flat-out deny interest and was non-committal about the whole thing, but frankly, I have to admit that my optimism is waning.

    In terms of professionalism and discretion, this coaching search is and will be a complete 180 from the last one. However, at the end of the day, you can’t force someone to say ‘yes’ to the job. In that way, I think this will resemble the last search. I’d love to be wrong, because Miller has been my personal top choice for a long time now, but the “home run” candidate list isn’t that long to begin with (and it’s debatable how realistic it is), and one of them has already confirmed he’s staying put. Now, it looks like Miller is getting hounded about it, which I’m afraid will cause his AD or someone to force his hand before we get a chance to really talk to him.

    I remember during the last search, after it had gone well past frustrating and into the realm of the absurd, SFN posted a column on the blog, the gist of which was “For crying out loud, end this circus and hire Derek Whittenburg already so we can all just be put out of our misery”. Maybe it’s just the NC State fan in me, or I’m just reverting back to my naturally pessimistic state, but I can’t help but think that, in a couple of weeks, we’ll see a post on the front page saying, “For crying out loud, end this circus and hire Greg Marshall already so we can all just be put out of our misery”.

    I’m just ready to find out either way, so, regardless…go Duke.

  6. Avid109 03/24/2011 at 5:48 AM #

    My gut feeling is that Miller is indeed interested. He seems to have enjoyed his time in Raleigh and may want to return. I’ve got a feeling he’ll have more time to think about the matter after tonight.

  7. jhmd2000 03/24/2011 at 6:00 AM #

    All I know for sure from this post (and it’s not your fault guys, this is just the ‘absence of affirmative news’ stuff) is that Arizona has a t.v. station with the call letters: K-O.L.D. That’s appropriate.

    Also, I think Miller to Raleigh will be tough. No way he can make it back to Hollywood to host the Jimmy Kimmel show every night.

  8. Wufpacker 03/24/2011 at 6:14 AM #

    When did Dr. Kelso (of Scrubs fame) land the U of A AD position? I must have missed that announcement.

  9. BJD95 03/24/2011 at 6:17 AM #

    Of all the “homerun” names, Miller has always made the most sense to me. Time will tell. I also can’t cheer against him tonight. Give K hell tonight Sean – hopefully the taste will leave you hungry for more!

  10. wxpack 03/24/2011 at 6:51 AM #

    What could Miller have said? His team is in the Sweet 16 with a game against Duke tonight. He gave the answer of someone who wants to stay focused on the immediate BUT left a crack open for the “after”.

    With Miller if they lose tonight or Saturday then we will know next week one way or another. So far the search is going well IMO. Really no leasks from Yow and no one knows for sure who is on her short list but I think we all assume Miller is one of those names.

  11. Wufpacker 03/24/2011 at 7:02 AM #

    He could have spoken in code and said, “I couldn’t give a s#!t about NC State right now”. I seem to remember a similar statement a few years back from someone who ended up at the school he couldn’t give a s#!t about very soon after the statement.

    Who was that again?

  12. Wufpacker 03/24/2011 at 7:08 AM #

    At the risk of joining BJD in the tin foil hat arena….

    Is it within the realm of possibility that DY has reached out to both Barnes and/or Miller, both said they were not interested, but DY asked them to be as non-committal as possible one way or another in the press so that it WOULD fuel certain rumors (aka smokescreen) and divert attention away from the actual search process and/or other candidates.

    Being a part of the NCSU family I could see Miller agreeing to this if asked respectfully. Possibly Barnes as well. Plus it gives them the possibility to leverage better deals for themselves and their assistants from their current employers.

    I know it’s out in left field, but is it possible?

  13. Lunatic Fringe 03/24/2011 at 7:09 AM #

    It should be noted that Swaim is 2 for 2 thus far in his predictions that he did earlier this week before any news came out on any of the jobs.

    TT – BG
    Ark – Anderson
    SM – ?

  14. Lunatic Fringe 03/24/2011 at 7:23 AM #

    Original Tweet from Swaim on Friday:

    Carousel: Sean Miller to NCState, Buzz Williams to OU, Billy Gillispie to Texas Tech, Mike Anderson to Arkansas, Pearl out at Tennessee…

    I guess that would make it 3 for 3, but Pearl out was kind of a gimme. 🙂

  15. motorhead 03/24/2011 at 7:28 AM #

    If this actually happens, which to me is doubtful, lets not be douchebags and flame the AZ boards. I appreciate the respectful conversation that AZGuy has had with this board and we should do likewise.

  16. Wufpacker 03/24/2011 at 7:28 AM #

    Not particularly familiar with Swaim, but as an NC State fan my pessimistic thoughts abound and I can’t help but to have it cloud my judgment. Specifically, since he is 3/3 so far, the law of averages says he likely won’t be right about SM to NC State.

  17. OldWuf 03/24/2011 at 7:50 AM #

    Saw SM’s brief comment on the news this morning. Could go either way. He may be considering State and just wants to focus on the monumental task in front of him. It would be detrimental to his guys if he said anything else. Or he may truly believe that AZ is where he wants to stay. I really am starting to believe that we are more seriously looking at the next tier(probably the true targets the whole time). I can believe RB is out, I think all the rest are still in the mix, even a slight chance at SM.

  18. pack44fan 03/24/2011 at 7:55 AM #

    What does the media expect the guy to say, whether he is interested or not? His team is 1 of 16 teams left playing for a national championship. Leave the guy alone and let him do his job and then we’ll revisit if and when the time is right.

  19. Howler 03/24/2011 at 8:00 AM #

    I just don’t want all the speculation and media pressure to force him to give a “no” if his team should end up headed to the final four. I wish all the pundits would just back off so that no one feels pressure to act or decide prematurely.

  20. foz 03/24/2011 at 8:10 AM #

    Byrne ended his interview with “And I’m not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe.”

  21. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 03/24/2011 at 8:11 AM #

    Miller would be stupid to say anything about NC State for many reason. The most important one is that he is up for a contract negotiation with Arizona at the end of the season. I’m sure Arizona’s AD statement is more based on the fact that he knows that he can match or beat anything NC State offers.

    This doesn’t mean Miller stays in AZ but the AD is basically saying NC State won’t be buying their coach away.

    If Miller comes, it will only be because Miller wants to come. His choice will have nothing to do about money but what he thinks is best for his family and career.

    Sounds like Archie may be up for a head job in the mid’s this year along with Richard Pitino. If State does go the mid-major route it would be interesting if Archie replaces the coach State takes. I would love to hear all the different conversations the search firms have. I’m sure it is fascinating and very interconnected with each other.

  22. ryebread 03/24/2011 at 8:13 AM #

    The media isn’t going to back off. That’s their job and they’re going to do it. Heck, they stuck the microphone in Roy’s face immediately after losing the national championship game and asked him a similar question. That was classless then, and I expect them to do similar things will Miller, Smart, Mooney and to a lesser extent Stephens related to open jobs — not just NC State’s.

    As for Swaim, I’m not all that impressed. I called BCG to TTech and Bruce Pearl out prior to he did and I don’t do this for a living and have zero insider information. I’m still a little surprised at Anderson to Arkansas given the Nolan Richardson fall out, but I’m sure I could have gotten a pulse on that with a few phone calls (particularly if I were in the business).

    I don’t think throwing out “SM to NC State” is really going out on a limb. A blind mind could see that we’d be interested in him and that he’s been here in the past so he might reciprocate. That’s why he’s really the best fit of the “A list” candidates.

    GSwaim gone from a nobody to a ton of hits. He’s achieved his purpose. He can easily say he hit 75%+ right at the end and that “there was definitely a lot of mutual interest but it just didn’t quite work out.”

    As for SM, he’s been my #1 target for quite some time due to the fit, performance, age, recruiting, etc.. I don’t think he’s coming though due to timing. I think we’re probably into the “B list” but I hope to be proven wrong.

  23. Wisc-Wolf 03/24/2011 at 8:14 AM #

    Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Miller initially turn down the Arizona job and then reconsidered.

  24. wolf_at_my_door 03/24/2011 at 8:17 AM #

    I hope we get Miller. If we don’t we will get a good coach. In Debbie Yow I trust.

    In some forums (not SFN forums) I am sensing panic and desperation. We still have a ways to go in the process.

  25. Howler 03/24/2011 at 8:20 AM #

    Like most decisions a married man has to make, it probably comes down to what his wife wants to do. I hope she’s not happy in AZ.

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