TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — UArizona has let go of basketball Coach Sean Miller, who led the Wildcats for the last 12 seasons.
So now it’s officially the end of the Miller era and Wildcat fans have a lot to say.
“I personally didn’t see it coming,” said David Lazarus, a UArizona basketball fan.
Lazarus says he has mixed emotions about Miller being fired, after the coach guided the Wildcats to seven NCAA tournaments, including three Elite Eight appearances.
“I thought that he still had plenty of time left. I think we could have given us another five, six, seven, ten years,” Lazarus told KGUN9.
Though Miller’s time was cut short. The head coach had one year left on his contract entering the 2021–22 season.
“He’s a great leader and I think he’s built a great team and I think we could have went pretty far in the tournament next year,” added Lazarus.
UArizona student Kyle Dong says he was also shocked to hear Miller was fired, after leading the Wildcats to five regular season conference championships and three PAC-12 tournament titles.
“I have mixed emotions about it because, well one he's done such amazing things for this program. Yes the scandals were very iffy. I can understand that, you know it looks bad on UofA but at the same time the basketball program is like one of the biggest thing...biggest things for UofA going from Lute Olsen to Coach Sean Miller,” Dong said.
Miller's future with Arizona came into question in the wake of the federal probe of corruption in college basketball in 2017. He signed a contract extension with the Wildcats that year.
Now, while some fans might not like the recent decision, they trust the future is bright for Wildcat basketball.
“It’s big shoes to fill, but I think that we regardless have a really good program. Go Wildcats!” said Lazarus.
KGUN9 also spoke to UArizona fans who said firing the head coach was a good idea, but they did not want to go on camera.
