GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Sean Miller is clearly fond of his alma mater.
Of course, the Xavier coach was a key fixture in the 1987-'88 Panthers' Big East championship season, in which he was named Big East Freshman of the Year. He is also most noted as the man which set up Jerome Lane for his famous "Send it in, Jerome!" dunk 35 years ago.
If he wants his No. 3-seeded Musketeers to continue into prominence in this NCAA Tournament, he will have to go through his alma mater Sunday at 12:10 p.m. inside Greensboro Coliseum. A spot in the Sweet 16 via the Midwest Region is on the line, with the winner opposing No. 10 Penn State or No. 2 Texas Thursday or Friday in Kansas City.
"I would say that you would pick any team in this round, and as much as I love Pittsburgh, and my wife and I both attended Pitt, have some of the people that I love the most in life live in that city, but tomorrow, you know, it's about winning the game and getting to the Sweet 16," Miller said during Saturday's press conference inside Greensboro Coliseum. "Although I have a soft spot for them, and I'm sure it's no different on their end, you know, when you get to this round, the prize is so significant for your team and your university that that's really my focus."
Miller knew how to perform on the big stage in his four seasons at Pitt, and he knows how to coach on the big stage as evidenced by his 18 seasons on the bench between Xavier and Arizona's programs.
He is fourth in Pitt history in assists in NCAA Tournament games with 36, and his 45 minutes played in Pitt's NCAA Tournament game against Vanderbilt on March 20, 1988, is a single-game program record.
"Some of the greatest years of my life, playing in the Big East Conference, you know, meeting people like Curtis Aiken, who does the radio for Pitt, who took me under their wing, treated me like I was a younger brother," Miller said. "And I really learned a lot on and off the court through my experience at Pitt. As much off the court as on the court. And it's a big reason why I wanted to go into coaching, to be around that. Those are some great times. Those are my memories, that and family and friends. I think it's simpler that way."
And, as mentioned, he assisted on what he considers one of the greatest plays to take place in college basketball history:
"You know, I make this statement once in a while, and I don't know if anybody pays attention, but I think that dunk, that play makes a strong case for the greatest dunk in college basketball history," Miller said. "It was on Big Monday, I believe, in front of the nation. I think the only negative about the play and to be associated with it for so long is sometimes I don't think that people really take into consideration the great player that Jerome Lane was. It almost is as if he made that one play, but he led the nation in rebounding, was an All-American, an NBA player. Just an incredible player too.
"He was inducted into Pitt's Hall of Fame this fall. I was really grateful that I could attend. Saw him and a lot of teammates. It was great to be there. Yeah, for sure. The one thing when you are a part of that play, no one can ever accuse you of not playing. Every February you remind them that you at least could dribble and pass."
As a coach, Miller guided Arizona to three Elite Eight appearances and two additional showings in the Sweet 16, all while turning in a 302-109 record in 12 seasons with the Wildcats. He took Xavier to four NCAA Tournaments in his five seasons in his first stint as the Musketeers' head coach from 2004-'09, and has the program back in contention in his first season back on the bench at the Cincinnati-based university.
"I remember Sean as player when he played at Pitt," Jeff Capel said. "I remember, if I'm not mistaken, and some of you from around Pittsburgh probably know this better than me, I think Sean was, like, on -- as a young kid, on high school dribbling and ball handling and things like that. Obviously, he comes from an outstanding basketball family with his father being a great coach in the Pittsburgh area."
Capel, of course, is referring to Miller's appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" as a 14-year old prodigy:
Capel continued to note Miller's significance in Pitt's history.
"It was a big deal when Sean went to Pitt," Capel said. "He was a four-year starter. Really, really good player. Got the assist on the most famous play ever at University of Pittsburgh and one of the greatest plays ever in college basketball history.
"He is a Pitt man. He has been an outstanding coach. I remember him as an assistant coach at NC State when I played for Herb Sendek. You knew then, just watching him on the sideline, watching the passion and the fiery demeanor that he had, you knew that he was destined to be a really good coach. And he has done that at every place that he has been. He has been an outstanding coach."
This is not the first time Miller is opposing his alma mater in the NCAA Tournament. It was Jamie Dixon's Panthers which bested Miller's Musketeers 60-55 in the Sweet 16 on March 26, 2009, which allowed the Panthers to advance into the Elite Eight.
"They were a 1-seed, and they had a chance to win the national championship," Miller recalled. "DeJuan Blair was on that team, Sam Young, Levance Fields, and Levance hit a big shot at the end. They beat us. So this is the second time, and I'm much older."
Miller is a Beaver County native and graduated from Blackhawk High School in 1987. His roots are undeniably in western Pennsylvania and have influenced those also from that side of the state.
Such is the case for Pitt guard Nelly Cummings, a fellow Beaver County native who attended basketball camps hosted by Miller's father, John Miller, when he was younger.
"I'm not really super aware of his career, but I obviously know that he threw to pass to Jerome Lane on that dunk," Cummings said in Saturday's open Pitt locker room. "I also know who he is. I'm from Beaver County as well and I used to train with his father back in the day. I have a connection with the Miller family, so I definitely know a lot about him ... They're a legendary family, for sure. They've got a lot of history. They've helped a lot of players become successful, and obviously they've got a really -- their family's really successful in basketball, so they've got a lot of championships at Blackhawk, as well, so they're a really good family."
Aidan Fisch, the other local product on the Pitt team -- of Murrysville, Pa. -- was introduced to Miller through just about the same means as this generation of Pitt fans gets to know players from that era.
"It's a little storybook, right?" Fisch said. "You've got a former Pitt player, a guy who's been very connected to the program in many different ways, and we're looking forward to the opportunity to just send them home and advance. ... My dad's told me more about him. Obviously there's not a ton on social media from that time, just because it's that time, but what comes to mind is obviously the drop-off to Jerome Lane. I've heard a lot -- the Miller family is pretty prominent around Pittsburgh basketball, so I've definitely heard about them since I've been growing up."
Xavier's players are now getting to know the significance of Miller's time at Pitt.
"I've seen a few pictures here and there," Jack Nunge said. "Coach kind of told us what Pitt means to him. He has a lot of friends there. Obviously, you know, it's his alma mater, so the university kind of means a great deal to him."
Added Colby Jones: "I knew he was a solid (point guard) at Pitt, but I know that one pass he had when the guy broke the backboard, I know that was pretty cool. So watching that video reminded me of him."
MORE FROM GREENSBORO
• In continuing the theme of western Pennsylvania basketball representation in Greensboro, Kentucky coach John Calipari is getting his No. 6-seeded team set for a showdown with No. 3 Kansas State for a spot in the Sweet 16 out of the East Region. Their game follows the Pitt-Xavier game Sunday at Greensboro Coliseum.
Calipari, a Moon Township, Pa., native and Clarion graduate, was an assistant at Pitt from 1985-'88 and helped recruit Miller to play at Pitt.
"Well, first of all, his dad was in my practice today," Calipari said Saturday. "Darelle Porter and Jason Matthews were in my hotel room today. That was the backcourt. Brian Shorter and Bobby Martin. Sean, when I went to -- I went to see him at Rochester High School, and his dad was really demanding. Great coach. Better coach than Sean, me, (Archie Miller), all of us, OK?
"His dad was watching. I was watching the game. Sean went 12 out of 13 from the floor. Rochester was in the Summer League. I went up to coach Miller and I said, 'Man.' He said, 'Can you believe he missed that? If he held his follow-through, he would have made that.' He was challenged his whole playing career. I want you to know now, he was Rookie of the Year, Freshman of the Year in the Big East back then. I know the Big East is good now, but back then it was crazy. Wasn't as many teams. I mean, it was nuts. He was Freshman of the Year. Just a competitor. Loved being around him. They're family. I mean, his grandmother raised my mother. I mean, I was in his grandmother's house more than I was in my own house."
• Calipari continued with a rave review of Capel and this season's run from Pitt:
"And then seeing Pitt doing what they're doing. I mean, how they've done. Jeff has done -- I mean, come on. These are all hard jobs, and when you struggle some and you got to bounce it and keep going, I always say that's when the real coaching happens. That's when you get knocked in the head, and everybody is on you, and it's -- how do you keep focused on your kids and getting your team better and just stay away from all the clutter and not let anybody steal your joy?
"He has done that at Pitt. They were leading the ACC for a while. I'm like, 'they're going to win the ACC.'"
• Greg Elliott told me he called Fairleigh Dickinson's upset over Purdue from Friday's NCAA Tournament first-round action. The second upset of a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in five years is arguably the largest the sport has seen, given FDU did not win its conference tournament and had to play in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday. FDU got into the field of 68 by virtue of the Northeast Conference's top two teams -- Merrimack and Stonehill College -- being ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to transition rules.
"I watched it. I called the upset, too," Elliott told me. "I ain't got no bracket, but just sitting around talking I just felt like -- I knew -- ask Nike (Sibande). Ask Nike. I promise you. I called it before the game. Ask Nike, when you get a chance, ask Nike, did Greg say FDU would beat Purdue. ... It was a big game. I just knew the two guards that they had, in March it comes down to guard play, and they had wto guards that were pretty dynamic, and I knew that was going to be a problem in the Tournament."
I rushed to the press conference auditorium and immediately followed with Sibande.
"Yeah, yeah, Greg actually did call that out," Sibande said. "He did. We both did. We thought -- we knew it was going to be a good game. We knew -- because we played Fairleigh Dickinson. We know they've got really good guards, and they make like a good five-out offense. We knew it was going to be an interesting game with Purdue's big men that they have. So, yeah, he did call it out, man. It's crazy that -- that was a huge upset, man. That was a crazy game."
Blake Hinson gave a chuckle while I was asking Sibande that question about Elliott's prediction.
He clarified: "I mean, to be totally honest with you, I remember playing them. I remember being challenged for sure. I wasn't there when he predicted this. I figured I would be around when that happened, so I guess I wasn't.
"But, no, I will end on this statement: If I was to see the video of the coach saying I want Purdue to see this, I didn't see that video before the game. If I was to see that, I probably would have predicted it too because that's a lot of confidence. You know, shout out to them. Both programs. That was a great game, and that was a great win."
