Chris Mack will be Xavier's Next Coach

The recent loss of Sean Miller takes a huge hit on Xavier men's basketball, but can you blame him fore leaving? Arizona is a good opportunity and overall I don't think he left for the money, he left so he could better himself and coach a prestigious program that has been to 25 consecutive NCAA tournaments. I wish Coach Miller all the best and won't sulk over his loss like many fans will. He put up a 120-47 record while at Xavier over a 5-year span. He's the only coach in Xavier history that can say he took the team to one elite eight and one sweet sixteen.

Chris Mack in my opinion will be Xavier's next head coach and I said that before Miller even left. Xavier likes to hire from within and Mack has assisted Miller for his entire tenure as head coach at Xavier. Is this a good move.... I think so because Mack helped recruit the players on Xavier's current roster, a team that has been projected by many to be a possible preseason top-10 team next year. If Mack is named the head coach I believe the players on the current roster and coming in will stay and won't think twice about transferring. People need to remember Miller was an assistant as well under Thad Matta, like Mack was under Miller. Before assisting Miller, Mack was an assistant for three seasons under Skip Prosser. Click Here to learn more about Chris Mack, including his honors and history during his playing days at Xavier.

As fellow nkysportsworld blogger Adam mentioned in a previous post Xavier isn't considered to be a highly sought after coaching position but is a way for coaches to build their resumes and work their way up the coaching ranks in college basketball. Think of the coaches before Miller (Matta, Prosser, Gillen, etc.) all left for bigger programs and more money. One thing is to blame for this.... playing in what is considered to be a weak conference. If Xavier was in the Big 12, Big East, Big 10, etc. would Miller have left, no way. You can have the best facility in the world, the best fans, best administration and that all doesn't matter if you don't play in a big conference. Look how much trouble Memphis had trying to find a replacement for Calipari. They know they're a big name in college basketball but they were seeking top coaches from top conferences. They ended up going with one of their own Josh Pastner, just like Xavier will go from within with Mack.

Sean Miller to talk with Arizona Athletic Director

Recent Rumor: Xavier coach Sean Miller is expected to meet Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sunday to discuss the Wildcats' opening, according to a source. The source said Miller was scheduled to board a private plane Sunday morning en route to Albuquerque, where he was expected to meet with Livengood about the Wildcats' opening.

Miller is currently earning in the neighborhood of $800,000 per season. Arizona, according to sources, has a multi-year deal worth more than $2 million per season on the table.

However, Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday that the Musketeers were prepared to make a counteroffer -- if necessary.

Kentucky coach John Calipari, a good friend of Miller's, said the coach is wrestling with the same things Calipari was in deciding whether to leave Memphis for the Bluegrass state.
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Being a Xavier fan, I would have to be naive to think that Miller wouldn't leave the Muskies and the A-10 for Arizona and the PAC-10. I would like Miller to stay obviously as I think he's one of the best young coaches in the game today but I think he may leave for Arizona.... and would definitely leave if the Connecticut job opened up. Mike Bobinski better start looking for a replacement soon, I know that he's high on assistant Chris Mack but I still don't know if he's a long-term answer.

I know Miller will make the right decision but there's so many things you have to contemplate when deciding to switch schools. He's never really recruited out west and Arizona really doesn't have any big names set for the 2009 or 2010 class yet, plus they will probably lose several players from this years team to the draft.

If Miller leaves at least he will leave with the current team in a good situation, depending on whether his incoming class stays put if the move occurs. So many programs fall apart after coaching changes and have to start from scratch and although they'll run into some trouble I don't think it will have the same affect on them as other schools such as UK and UC have had after coaching changes.