Xavier hires Sean Miller as head basketball coach

First, the news:

Reports indicate that Miller’s contract is for six years. That’s obviously a big deal, as Miller is looking to rehabilitate not only a program but also his own reputation. Miller left Xavier for Arizona some 13 years ago. In his time at Arizona, he ran afoul of the authorities, ultimately prompting his release from that school. Now he’s back at the first big job he had with his sights set on proving that he’s capable of winning on the up-and-up.

Despite that, many Xavier fans saw Miller as the only hire that makes the program’s mutually agreeing to part ways with Travis Steele in the middle of the NIT make sense. Miller spent five seasons at X, during which he went 120-47 and made 4 consecutive NCAA tournaments, including runs to the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 in his final two seasons.

Miller steps into a program in flux with work to do immediately. He has to quickly evaluate the players that currently have eligibility remaining and decide who fits his plans and who is best served pursuing a basketball career elsewhere; he then has to convince the players involved of the same. Xavier has three excellent incoming recruits in the current class; he has to sell them on his vision of the program. He also has to build a staff on the fly, as - having been off for a year - he doesn’t have any assistants of his own to bring in.

He also has to reckon with whatever the NCAA is going to bring down on him for his role in the scandal that ended his tenure at Arizona.

All of that is tomorrow’s news. For today, Xavier has got their man. Sean Miller is coming home.