Archie Miller Speaks: 'Great Feeling to See the Players Again'
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller has been quiet the past few months, but he broke his silence on Monday afternoon when he did a 37-minute Instagram Live chat with Talia Goodman, the daughter of national college basketball writer Jeff Goodman.
The pair covered all sorts of topics, from the current situation with college sports, Miller's return to the practice court this week with his Indiana players, his own playing career and what he expects from the Hoosiers this season.
He even said he thought it might be best if basketball season didn't start until this extended break from campus for the student body, which will be off-campus from Thanksgiving to early February. He thinks being able to quarantine his team easier would be a good thing.
Here's a quick snapshot on what he said
— On changes to the fall sports schedules
"Everything is a moving part, so to speak. Everyone is trying to figure out the safest ways to do what everyone wants to do. The conference-only schedule allows the Big Ten to put everyone in the same ballpark as a far as protocols, testing and travel, and I think that's a good thing. We’re all hopeful. I think the Big Ten is really on it, and has been on it from the very beginning. It was probably the right decision and hopefully they'll be able to pull off their season.
— On chances of having a basketball season:
"I’m one of the few people that think we need to give it a little more time. Basketball is a winter sport but we go through two semesters. The NCAA Tournament isn’t until March, so I think, let’s give ourselves a chance, and get ourselves more information. We can learn more from the fall sports.
"I think playing a non-conference schedule is going to be difficult because of the amount of people you come into contact with. If we did start playing, I’d be in favor moving toward that post holiday break where you could pretty much keep your team quarantined on campus. We could maybe start conference play in December, and get a full month of Big Ten play in December. A lot goes into it, whether fans are there or not there. If we start after the (Thanksgiving) holiday, you have that bubble opportunity when no students are on campus, where we could get off to a great start.''
— On IU’s first practice today:
'I didn’t have my practice feet ready to go. Those long days on the court, your feet and your back starts to hurt after a while. It was a great feeling just to see the players again. We haven’t been on the floor since March. It’s refreshing to be around your players, to be on the court talking about basketball. It was a good day for us. It's trial and error right now, coaching with a mask on. I usually use a whistle, but I haven't learned how to use a whistle with a mask on.''
— On dealing with the pandemic:
"Indiana University has done a great job, and the medical personnel are on top of it. Our players arrived in two groups, one around June 13, 14th, and the other one on July 1. It gave our protocols and systems a chance to see how it’s going to work. Our guys did a great job of handling it. When the other guys got back, they could see guys wearing the masks in the workout and realize it’s OK to do it. The hard part is that we can only be around them for about two hours at a time, so we're harping on them to do the right things those other 17 or so hours.''
— On his playing career
"I loved North Carolina State, and that opened a lot of doors for me. You learn to love Tobacco Road, you really do. How you're treated, it's great. Raleigh, North Carolina is a great place to live. My experiences have always been made by the people around me. It's a great college setting.
"I would probably say I'm on the short side of 5-10. But when you're coaching, it doesn't matter how big you are.''
— on his brother, Arizona coach Sean Miller
"My brother's the best at being a brother. I have a brother that looks out for you, and that's one of the positives that really doesn't get talked about a lot. Coaching with my brother at Arizona, I really learned a lot. We started off at ground zero, and it was just like a whirlwind for all that we accomplished in a short amount of time. It was hard work, but it was great for total development as a coach. It's hard to experience anything as a family when something isn't going well, but we all try to stick together. ''
— On his time coaching at Dayton
"It was an old-school feel. You knew when you recruited guys, they'd be around. We had a group that we grew, and they went from babies to the winningest class of all time when we were there. It was built to win because of the people. We had some amazing teams and some great players, and I look back on my time there very fondly.''
— On coaching at Indiana
Your jaw is always kind of dropped down all the time. It never ceases to amaze me, the power of the fans and the things you learn on a daily basis about former players and former teams, and what they did. It’s just an incredible basketball school, from the traditions, to the campus vibe, to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Everywhere you're at, it always feels like basketball season.
"Here it's a challenge because the Big Ten is so good, so many programs that are obviously at a really, really high clip. It’s a great experience to a part of something so big, something that's bigger than you and you can have an impact on it. It’s a place that can be special, and that’s why I'm here.''
— On crazy things the fans at Indiana ask him to do
"Between signing pregnant ladies' bellies or wearing candy-striped gas mask during the coronavirus, they'll ask you just about anything. You'll be out in July in a parking lot in Las Vegas, and you'll see five or six people waiting at your car, and they can scare the hell out of you. But they'll have pictures and markers and want autographs. Hoosier fans are everywhere and that's the beauty of the program.''
— on recruiting the state of Indiana
"Indiana is such a great high school grassroots basketball area. If you get the guys closest to your campus to stay, you can have success. Romeo Langford was in our first class, and that got us the opportunity to get Trayce Jackson-Davis and his class, and then the next one now with Khristian Lander, whom might be the No. 1 point guard in the country. It's great to have guys stay home.
— On watching recruits online
It’s really challenging. I was thinking about it the other day that this is the first summer, I’ve never been on the road You're missing a lot of high-quality game. We’ve tried to use the streaming to get an eval. You can continue to talk to that kid after the tournament is over, you can talk to a kid about a great weekend, a great Sunday, and have some really good conversations about the games they played in. It gives you something.
— On being at home so much more
"Never have I ever spent this much time at home with my wife and daughter. We've had a lot of fun together. Just having dinner together, that's unique. Usually in July, I might only see them four, five times in a month. The pandemic gives you a little perspective on your family and two, you don't have to be this crazy flying all over the place. At some point you could do just as much at home or on the computer talking to kids.''
— On how Indiana makes the NCAA Tournament this year.
"I guess having that hunger to get started. Teams that are doing a good job of staying together, having tough conversations about the civil unrest that is going on in our country, being more of a family, they're the ones that will succeed. When you’re not able to be around each other, those teams that stay together are the ones that I think are going to get off to a good start. When you do get back, you have to have that hunger and purpose. This team, bringing back as much as we are and adding a really unique group of freshmen that are familiar with each other, we have added chemistry.
"Trayce Jackson-Davis has to be an All-American for us. He has to be one of the premier players in the country for us. We have to get some really, really good guard play from guys like Rob Phinisee and Al Durham. I look at Armaan Franklin and Jerome Hunter as two guys who have to grow up and break out. Our young guys are talented, and how they find their way is going to be interesting.
"I know Khristian Lander is very, very talented at the point guard spot. He gives us an added dimension. Leadership, togetherness and familiarity with what we want to do this year are keys for us to contend for the Big Ten. ''
— On Khristian Lander and high expectations:
"Khristian is an extremely talented guy. I watched him for the first time when he was 15 years old at an AAU tournament in California. Quickly, I fell in love with his game as a young guy. I knew he had a chance to be really talented. We offered him right away, hung in there and recruited him really hard. He's got a great family.
"No. 1, he’s very competitive. He doesn’t back down, regardless of his age. I found that out last July at USA Basketball. There’s 80-some guys there and he stood out as one of the best guys there, because of how he approached it and used his time. I knew he liked to compete.
"He’s extremely quick, has great length, can score at all three levels, can defend and rebound, and he will be a big guard when it’s all said and done. He's got great dimensions for a point guard. I really like how he passes. He can make some reads you have to teach some guys for a long time how to make.
"As far as expectations, it's hard. You ask a 17-year-old to move in in July, graduate early from high school, there’s a pandemic happening, you can’t get on the floor with him as much as you’d like. I told him, just be yourself. Be comfortable. The basketball will take care of itself. We’ll let it play out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a big impact on our team and on college basketball this season.''
