In Defense of Arizona’s Sean Miller Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Why GoJoeBruin Is Wrong

Some people believe that UCLA’s Steve Alford should have won Pac-12 Coach of the Year over Arizona’s Sean Miller. Those people are wrong.

A couple of days ago, our sister UCLA FanSided site, Go Joe Bruin, wrote an article  in which they argued that Steve Alford deserved the Pac-12’s annual award for Coach of the Year more than Sean Miller, who actually won the award. Let’s take a look at GJB’s ‘evidence.’

"The Bruins hit a three-year low with a 15-17 record, a Pac-12 Tournament first round exit, three loses to USC and completely missed the NCAA Tournament (as well as the NIT). It was not good as fans were calling for his head. One year later, you can no longer hear anyone calling for his head because they have been drowned out with cheers. – GJB"

UCLA had a  terrible  2015-2016 season, and Alford’s job was definitely in question. Are you really implying, though, that Alford went from “should be fired” to “best coach in the conference” in one year because he became an all-around better coach? The influx of talented freshmen seemed to be the difference for the Bruins this year, not Alford. GJB goes on to say just that.

"This season has been completely different for Alford. It was a bit of a revolution if you will. With the addition of freshmen Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf mixed with a solid core of veterans, the Bruins were on a much different path than last season. – GJB"

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I am not here to argue about the value of Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf. They are both exceptional players. As GJB writes, though, it is this addition of freshmen that gave UCLA a boost, NOT Alford. An argument can be made for Alford’s recruiting, but it doesn’t even compare to Sean Miller’s recruiting skills. Lonzo Ball arguably fell into Alford’s hands at UCLA, with a father that apparently loves Los Angeles, and TJ Leaf was originally set to become a Wildcat until he de-committed.

Here’s the deal about COY awards: The narrative is most always “who did more with less.” Alford knew what he had going into the season and worked with that group for the entirety of the season. Sean Miller lost a five-star recruit to a third (yes,

Sean Miller lost a five-star recruit to a third (yes, third) torn ACL in Ray Smith  in an exhibition game against College Of Idaho, and his returning, experienced, talented wing in Allonzo Trier  for a 19-game suspension. Chance Comanche also did not play in that game. Then, in Arizona’s regular-season opener, Kadeem Allen sprained his left knee. Then, Parker Jackson-Cartwright suffered a high ankle sprain against Texas Southern on November 30.

Then, as PJC was starting to show signs of a full recovery (Jackson-Cartwright began playing earlier, but I think it takes 6-8 weeks to fully recover from a high ankle sprain), Kadeem Allen’s right pinky bone ripped through his skin, and Arizona trainers had to reset his joint. As Allen missed the next game at Washington State, Dusan Ristic sprained his left ankle. For a team that’s young like Arizona, to miss that continuity is huge. For Miller to navigate through those tough waters and win 27 games, might be even bigger.

"The turnaround that Alford has brought to Westwood is nothing short of a miracle and because of that, the Bruins could do some real damage in the Pac-12 and NCAA tourneys. – GJB"

Again, UCLA has had a great season, and it’s been an impressive turnaround, to say the least. A large part of that turnaround is Lonzo Ball. Ball’s passing ability and general basketball IQ are impressive, not to mention an ugly but effective three-point shot. NONE of those skills, however, are attributed to Steve Alford. Alford’s greatest move as a coach this year was probably not to coach. This season for UCLA, especially through the first half of conference play, felt very much like Alford’s main responsibilities were to roll the balls out every day, tell the team to “go play,” and take care of his media responsibilities.

To further support this, let’s look at part of another article written by Go Joe Bruin a day later.

"The Bruins occasionally were left without options when their offense was not clicking. Earlier in the season, that would have been bad as the Bruins did not have defense to back them up. Then Steve Alford, who should’ve won the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, made an effort to start playing defense and it has paid dividends for UCLA. – GJB"

GJB literally admits that Alford did not coach defense to start the season  IN THE SAME SENTENCE they claim, once again, that he should have won Pac-12 COY. The narrative that GJB is trying to push here is that UCLA started the season, sucked on defense, and then Alford realized that he needed to start doing something. Maybe instead of trying to invalidate Sean Miller’s terrific year at Arizona, GJB and the rest of the UCLA faithful should start lobbying Larry Scott and the Pac-12 to start presenting the “Steve Alford Pac-12 Coach Of The Last Two-Thirds Of The Year” award as well.

"It has been rough ride, but it has paid off for Alford and even though he was not recognized in award-form, it is apparent that he has done the work to get this team back to elite status. Go Bruins! – GJB"

Again, UCLA has had a terrific season. Duly noted. However, not much credit should be going Steve Alford’s way when all he had to do to be successful is get out of his own way and let Lonzo Ball do what Lonzo Ball does.

UCLA is clearly one of, if not the absolute, première college basketball program of all time. Do you realize, however, that this season is the first time that UCLA has been ranked in the top 15 of the AP Top 25 poll under Steve Alford? UCLA’s previous high-ranking in the Alford era was 18. Win 25+ games in six of the next seven seasons, win some championships (remember, Alford’s “miracle” Baby Bruins still finished third in the league), get some asses in the seats of Pauley Pavilion, and then let’s talk about being élite.

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For now, though, you’ve had a great season. Leave it at that. And  definitely, don’t say that Steve Alford is a better coach than Sean Miller. That’s just foolishness.