If thereβs one sport that Sean Miller likes to talk about other than basketball, itβs probably football. The UA coach will sometimes make football analogies, and has been known to referenceΒ his hometown Steelers.
And on Monday, not surprisingly, the first thing Miller was asked regarded his thoughts on new UA football coach Kevin Sumlin.
βIβm probably like everybody: Excited to welcome him and his family to Tucson,β Miller said. βCertainly heβs an excellent football coach. I know he has an exciting style and Iβm excited for our football players. Itβs something Iβm sure theyβre really excited about when you consider the success that heβs had as a coach coming from the SEC and some of the players heβs coached as well.β
Arizona had only 13 points from its bench in its wins over Oregon State and Oregon last weekend, but Miller said he wasnβt concerned about its production now.
βWe believe in every one of them,β Miller said. βTheyβre young. Theyβre very young basketball players. Deandreβs (Ayton) young but heβs in a different category. We have a lot of very talented young players that as they continue to grow, develop, get more experience, theyβre gonna develop into some excellent basketball players.
"Where theyβre at in their career right now in the role on this yearβs team β itβs about improving as the year goes on and contributing. You donβt have to score points off the bench to contribute. You can make meaningful plays, hustle plays.
"Keanu Pinder is a great example. A couple of his defensive plays in that game ignited our offense and in some ways changed the game in our favor but it wasnβt about him scoring a bunch of points, and the more we have that mentality we can get a spark from them in a lot of different ways and not just scoring.β
After being picked to finish fifth in the Pac-12 β and going just 6-7 in nonconference play -- Stanford is tied with the Wildcats for first place at 4-1 after the first three weeks.
Miller did not appear surprised.
βThey have a lot of experience, maybe the most returning experience in our conference and they also battled through a lot of injuries in the preseason,β Miller said. βWhen you have your most experienced starters not there (itβs difficult) and they played a tough schedule as well. You can be on a losing streak and maybe not be as good as you can be. Theyβre 4-1 and had a big lead against Cal and Cal made a great comeback in the second half to beat them. Stanfordβs a good team and it seems like theyβre playing their best. Theyβre confident.β
But before Arizona faces Stanford on Saturday at Maples, the Wildcats will face Cal on Wednesday and then have a two-day break.
The Bears, under new coach Wyking Jones, also went 6-7 but have lost four straight since beating Stanford on Dec. 30.
βTheyβre very young and that doesnβt always work to their advantage and theyβre not deep and that doesnβt always work to their advantage,β Miller said. βBut the players who play, play very hard, as evidenced by the comeback at Stanford. They won on the road at San Diego State and have been in a lot of tough games.
"Going back to the Maui Invitational, they had Wichita State down almost the entire game and then at the very end Wichita State ended up pulling it out (92-82).
βTheyβre playing at home. Thereβs a big difference between playing on the road and at home for an inexperienced team. Theyβre playing us and I think theyβre gonna be energized. We have to treat them with the respect they deserve. β¦ Colorado out-energized us, they played with a lot more spirit. We have to be able to match their energy.β
