During a timeout in the second half of Arizona's 79-46 win over UTEP on Wednesday, a number of Sean Millerβs best players made video board appearances to wish him a happy birthday.
Then, while UTEP shot free throws, the UA student section shouted out its own happy birthday wish.
There were a couple of odd things about that. One is that the laser-focused Miller actually paid attention to it all: He says he actually heard the studentsβ chants during the free throws, and that he appreciated the messages.
The second was that Millerβs birthday isnβt until Saturday, though itβs a big one (50) and heβll be on Maui when that happens, so maybe it was time to acknowledge it.
So birthday wishes it was.
βI appreciate everybody wishing me happy birthday,β Miller said. βIt kind of caught me off-guard because, one, it isnβt my birthday, and two, it was kind of in the middle of the game so I wasnβt sure what to do, really. But I appreciate everybody acknowledging it. When you turn 50 I think that number means more than maybe the other 49.β
Millerβs other big number Wednesday was 250, the number of games heβs now won at Arizona over his nine-plus seasons against 74 losses.
He made less of a deal about that, except to praise others.
βIt doesnβt mean much at Arizona, you know what I mean?β Miller said. βWith coach (Lute) Olson, Iβve probably got, what, about 300 left to even come close to him? So the bar is pretty high there.β
Heβs correct there. Olson was 589-187 over his 24 seasons at Arizona.
But Miller went on, using the occasion to express thanks.
βIβve been very fortunate that Iβve had the opportunity to have two things, really three,β he said. βOne, in my time at Arizona weβve had unreal support for our basketball program, from the top down, fan support, administrationβ¦ our people they do what they need to help us win. The renovation in McKale is a great example of that.
βWe didnβt have to do that but because we did it, we keep moving forward. We have a really good staff right now and first and foremost is our players. Weβve had a great run of not only terrific players but great kids as well. You put all that together and thereβs a lot of coaches that can win with those things and hopefully we can continue.β
Though their efforts haven't come against great competition β Arizonaβs nonconference strength of schedule now rates No. 332 in Kenpom β the Wildcats have put up good defensive numbers so far.
Over three games, theyβve held opponents to 55.7 points, 34.5 percent shooting overall, 35.9 percent shooting from 2-point range and 31.7 percent 3-point shooting, while averaging three blocks and 7.3 steals per game. Opponents have averaged 17 turnovers against them.
Asked what he thinks of his defense after three games, Miller said it was βgrowing.β He transitioned into his concern about rebounding, too.
βWe have to be able to pressure the other team and be smart with our pressure,β Miller said. βWhen a shot goes up we canβt be dismantled on the defensive glass, we canβt let these teams get second shots and put fouls on our team because we canβt rebound. With our lack of size, we have to make up for it by having five guys determined and blocking out, and guys who donβt start coming in the game and really contributing in that area.
βFor the most part it usually starts with individual players. Dylan (Smith), Emmanuel Akot, Chase Jeter, those three three are really standing out in setting the tone that defense is important. Thereβs gonna be times when we have to win when the ball doesnβt go in and a lot of times thatβs the difference between a good and a not so good season.
βWeβre working really hard at it. Our team is a group of guys who believe they can do it. Weβll see. Even in Maui, itβs going to be tough to judge us.
βItβs like last year in the Bahamas. I know it didnβt work out for us but if we had played that same tournament in February it would have been different story. And we played without one of our best players, Rawle Alkins. There will be teams in this tournament that are missing players and maybe a team that doesnβt play well, but weβre gonna learn a lot and grow and hopefully we can leave with a couple of wins.β
The Wildcats have been aiming to shoot more 3-pointers this season, but Miller is more concerned about quality than volume at this point. UA has hit only 31.1 percent of its 3-pointers, ranking 222 nationally so far, according to Kenpom.
βWe have to take good 3s. Itβs not equal opportunity. That really hurt us last year in the Bahamas," Miller said. "We went down there, and there were a number of guys taking shots who didnβt understand the time, score, circumstance. We have to take a great 3-point shot and if they donβt present themselves then we canβt take them just to take them. Thatβs No. 1.
βAnd confidence, Dylan (Smith) is a guy that sometimes his confidence can waver. You saw Brandon Williams, he didnβt shoot the ball really well the first two games but tonight he did. Ryan Luther only took two shots. We canβt let that happen. We have to find him a way to get shots because heβs one of our best three point shooters. I think what you see there is a work in progress.β
Brandon Williams was 6 of 20 from the field over his first two games but was 6 for 12 on Wednesday, making 2 of 3 3-pointers he tried.
βIβm just taking shots I know Iβm capable of making,β Williams said. βIβm gonna take those and Iβm confident Iβm gonna hit them.β
Miller went back to Luther later in his postgame news conference. Luther had six rebounds and drew two fouls, but went only 1 for 2 from the field, both 3-point shots.
βWe have to run more things for Ryan Luther,β Miller said. βHeβs almost unselfish to a fault. Heβs a great teammate. And heβs a very good shooter. He can go inside as well but for him to go in and play 24 minutes and take two shots -- we have to do a better job as coaches to put him in a position to get more looks than that.β
Smith dipped back into his slump, missing all five shots he took (two from 3-point range) after hitting 4 of 8 against Cal Poly.
Miller indicated Smith rushed his shot too often.
βThe more time you have to shoot it, the higher chance it will have to go in,β Miller said. βHe forgot tonight -- a couple of times, he took challenged one and, letβs face it, the challenged 3-point shots are hard to make and a lot of times itβs fools gold, itβs setting you up in the future to go back to being a low percentage shooter.β
Smith wasnβt UA's only problem from 3. Arizona hit just 4 of 16 overall, with Akot and Justin Coleman also missing three 3s each.
βPart of it tonight is looking at the 16 3s: Were they all good? How many of them did we not need to take?" Miller said. "Thatβs something we have to teach our team.β
Asked about the video reviews heβs done with Akot and Smith, which Arizona has posted to its website and social media, Miller said it was easy to do because βthatβs really what we do every day.β
βYou guys may not see that but itβs really we do,β Miller said. βItβs really good for our players as well because you get a chance to know them. It accomplishes a lot of different things. Mostly Iβm trying to reward our fans, to allow them to really know the most they can about our team and what weβre doing, whether itβs good or bad in terms of coming off of a loss, but I think thatβs something that weβre gonna do all year.β
Our full game coverage is attached, along with PDFs of the box score, UA stats and the Maui Invitational bracket. UA opens with Iowa State on Monday at 7 p.m. MT, with Bill Walton doing the color for ESPNU.
