Arizona Basketball: What can Sean Miller learn from Steve Kerr

Former Arizona Wildcat and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is headed to another NBA Finals. Sean Miller looks to duplicate his success in Tucson.

Stop me if you have heard this before, Steve Kerr and the Warriors are headed to another NBA Finals? What might be the deepest team of all time also might be one of the greatest NBA teams to ever take center stage in the NBA. There is no doubt that Arizona Basketball head coach Sean Miller has watched Kerr accomplish so much over the past few years. What can Miller learn from Kerr and put it to use at Arizona? Here is a list of things that I think could make a world of a difference:

Guard oriented offense. Kerr is stacked with some of the greatest guards to have played basketball in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The Wildcats will have a more guard oriented line up in 2019 with Brandon Williams, Nico Mannion and Josh Green, who can play the one and two position. Coach Miller will need to continue to recruit and utilize guards who are versatile and have good court awareness.

Having big men is important, but during crucial moments of the game it’s important to have guards who can knock down the shot.  Looking at the last several NCAA Championship teams, they had guards that could be counted on to knock down a two or three.

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Open style offense. Having a style of offense that is more open allows players to be more creative. This does require trust between the coach and player, but’s it been working for Kerr. Yes, he does have some of the best shooters in the game today, but Miller can implement this same style with the talent that is incoming and returning next season.

Wildcat basketball has been know within recent years to run a fast break type of offense. When they have been forced to run a half-court system, the Wildcats have struggled many times last season. Time for a change!

More shooters on the floor. Kerr’s book of success these last five years has been to have a team that is full of shooters that can knock down the open and sometimes contested shot. As the style of basketball continues to evolve and becomes more of a outside shooting dominate sport it is essential to cater to that. Coach Miller should put an emphasis in recruiting on recruits who have can shoot and put as many shooters out on the floor at once. Have to score baskets to win, right?!

Play more a deeper rotation. Steve Kerr has had to utilize his bench more now that Kevin Durant has been out, forcing him to use his whole bench. As seen in the latest series with between the Warriors and Blazers injuries took a toll on Steve Kerr’s team. Bench players stepped up when needed! That’s the benefit of using a deeper rotation, not having to count on just one or two players to contribute.

Coach Miller needs to have this mindset, especially with the amount of talent he will have next season. When the starting lineup isn’t performing, players get injured or they need to stay fresh, are reasons why Miller needs to use his bench! The Wildcats will have one of the deepest benches next season in the country, they need to be used!

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1130656726649253890

All Wildcat fans would love to see Sean Miller bring the same type of success to Tucson that Steve Kerr has brought to the bay area. If he is able to implement these changes there is no ceiling for the type of success moving forward for this Arizona Basketball program. As always fans, Bear Down and Go Cats!