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‘He’s our guy.’ Sean Miller era began with Xavier basketball 20 years ago today

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‘He’s our guy.’ Sean Miller era began with Xavier basketball 20 years ago today

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Twenty years ago today, on July 8, 2004, Xavier named Sean Miller as its next head basketball coach to replace Thad Matta, who left the Musketeers for Ohio State. Miller would lead the Muskies for five seasons before heading to Arizona. He returned in 2022.

Looking back two decades, Dawn Rogers still remembers the enormous test she faced early in her tenure as Xavier’s athletic director.

Rogers, now the Deputy Director of Athletics/Internal Affairs at SMU, was named Xavier’s AD on May 21, 2004. At the time, Xavier men’s basketball was at its highest point as a program coming off its first-ever Elite Eight appearance.

That all changed on July 6, 2004, when Xavier head coach Thad Matta told Rogers he would visit Ohio State University to interview for its vacant head coaching position.

“We had a really long conversation that day about what it would look like at Ohio State. It was so late in the season and most of the positions had opened and closed.” Rogers said. “I remember thinking about how quickly this was happening in my very young time as an athletic director surrounded by tremendous resources and people at Xavier.”

Matta was on the search committee that picked Rogers to replace Mike Bobinski as AD. It was initially top priority to keep him happy with the Musketeers, now replacing him took center stage.

‘There was just this great comfort in Sean.’

The next day was a whirlwind that began at 4:30 a.m., when Matta left his Loveland home for Lunken Airport and a short flight to Columbus. Media followed the Chrysler Pacifica that was driving Matta and then-OSU Athletic Director Andy Geiger to Schottenstein Center, then to Ohio State President Karen A. Holbrook’s home.

Matta was offered the job at 2 p.m. and accepted the gig four hours later. At Xavier, Rogers was approached by Justin Doellman and Brian Thornton. They didn’t make demands as to who the next coach would be, but merely offered insight on associate head coach Sean Miller.

“I loved how they framed it,” Rogers said. “Oftentimes, the team is emotional and there’s a person they want you to consider or don’t want you to consider. They were respectful and talked about how much they liked coach Miller. They just wanted to let me know if that was the way Xavier went, they would be really comfortable with it.

“As sad as we were to see Thad leave and excited for the opportunity for him, there was just this great comfort in Sean (Miller) and what his leadership looked like.”

‘I was so impressed.’

Miller had a polished resume after serving as an assistant coach for five programs over the previous 12 seasons. As Xavier’s associate head coach, he was Matta’s right-hand man and was applauded by players for the in-depth scouting reports that helped lead the Muskies to three straight NCAA Tournament berths.

“When coach Miller does the scouting, he knows to a tee how everyone plays,” player Will Caudle said.

Miller’s preparation was tested on the court several times. It would also come to light in a spur-of-the-moment conversation about becoming the Musketeers’ next head coach.

“It was really spontaneous. It’s not like I told him that morning, ‘let’s get together and talk about the head coaching position.’ You could tell the time and thought he put into what a program would look like if he was leading it,” Rogers said of the off-campus conversation that lasted a few hours. “I was so impressed that within an hour or two of notice, we sat down, and I loved his vision and his thoughts on what it would look like with him as the head coach.”

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‘He’s our guy’: Xavier’s coaching search lasted just 15 hours

At 10:30 p.m. on July 7, Matta met with Xavier players at Cintas Center to tell them in person he was headed to the Buckeyes.

Other schools had talked to Miller before, and the Xavier brass felt fortunate each year that he was returning to the Musketeers. One of the biggest decisions for Rogers when the mayhem began was if Xavier would target a former head coach or an associate head coach.

“We had the best associated head coach,” Rogers said.

Rogers would frequently pick Miller’s brain about in-game strategy or how the team would handle a situation, but never about how he’d run a program. After a few hours, she had learned his vision and would later tell reporters she was “too excited to sleep.”

“I remember coming home and talking to a couple people after that. I said, ‘he’s our guy,’ ” Rogers said.

Xavier had opened a new arena and had two coaches − Matta and Skip Prosser − leave in a four-year window. There was pressure to get the next hire right.

“Knowing how important it was to everyone surrounding our program, there was just this great sense of not only is he ready, but he’s gonna do a fantastic job,” Rogers said.

Xavier’s coaching search, which ultimately lasted 15 hours, culminated with a press conference at 2:30 p.m. the next day to name Miller as its head coach.

“This is where I want to be,” Miller said at his introductory presser. “I want to embrace Cincinnati and our community and our fans. I want to continue the tradition.”

Over seven seasons, Miller helped continue the tradition with four NCAA Tournament berths in five seasons before leaving for Arizona. When he returned in 2022, he promised the “best version” of himself and helped restore the tradition with an immediate Sweet 16 appearance. He enters the 2024-25 season third all-time in Xavier wins (163) and NCAA Tournament berths (five).

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