North Carolina State University Athletics
Assistant Basketball Coach Sean Miller Will Stay with Pack
4/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 27, 2001
By Tony Haynes
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and the fact that Sean Miller will be a head coach one day. That one-day is approaching, but it won't be next year. Miller, an assistant men's basketball coach under Herb Sendek for the last five years, will return to the Wolfpack next season after removing his name from consideration for the head coaching position at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.
"I've decided to stay at NC State," Miller said. "After thinking about my situation here, the closeness that I have here with the staff and the players and also the excitement of the incoming freshman class, I think it's in my best interest to stay with the Wolfpack family."
Miller, who is generally considered to be one of the rising coaching stars in college basketball, was a standout point guard at the University of Pittsburgh from 1988-92. Along with being Pitt's career leader in assists (744) and free throw percentage (.885%), Miller is also ranked 10th on the schools all-time scoring list with 1,282 points. Before coming to NC State, he held down assistant coaching jobs at Pittsburgh (1995-96), Miami of Ohio (93-95) and Wisconsin (92-93).
"Right now I'm not itchy or anxious to become a head coach," Miller said. "It is a goal of mine like a lot of current assistant coaches, but right now I relish the job that I have. There isn't a day that doesn't go by that I don't appreciate being at NC State."
Miller's enthusiasm for NC State is fueled, in part, by an eagerness to coach a team next season that will likely be totally different than some of the other squads the Pack has put on the floor in recent years. While lacking in size and experience on the frontline, the 2001-2002 Wolfpack will likely be more skilled at every position. It will also be extremely deep with the addition of at least four highly touted recruits and 6-9 Raleigh native Michael Bell, who was redshirted because of knee problems last season.
"We've always had the philosophy that you have to be a good defensive team, but the reality is that in order to be the best defensive team you can be you also must be able to score," Miller said. "In basketball, those two parts are very interchangeable, one without the other is greatly effected. In the past, we've felt good about what we've done on the defensive end, however, the chemistry and components of our team made it that way. Next year's team will be very interchangeable with a lot of depth. I think we'll come up with an approach that allows our offense and defense to feed off each other."
Miller's younger brother, Archie, will be a senior on next season's team.
