By William Coffman, Opinions & Editorials Editor 

Xavier announced Tuesday night that New Mexico’s Richard Pitino, son of St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, will be the next head coach of the Xavier men’s basketball team after former head coach Sean Miller left to coach at the University of Texas at Austin.

Miller’s departure shocked fans, with the announcement coming a few days after the Musketeers beat the Longhorns in the NCAA First Four Round in Dayton. Speculation about Miller leaving for Texas had emerged after the Musketeers’ victory, with reports indicating University of Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte preferred Miller for the head coaching job, over Rodney Terry, who the university fired Sunday amid the Miller reports.

With this departure, Miller ends his second stint with Xavier. From 2001 to 2004, Miller was an assistant coach for the program before succeeding Thad Matta as head coach. Miller would hold that role, helping lead Xavier to four NCAA tournaments, a Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight until leaving for the University of Arizona in 2009.

Miller’s second stint with the team followed a controversial end to his time at Arizona. The university fired Miller in 2021 following an FBI investigation into NCAA Division 1 basketball corruption. Miller’s assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was arrested for bribery, and Miller himself was given a Level 1 violation by the NCAA.

The scandal was fresh in the minds of Xavier fans Sunday as it was Xavier that offered Miller a second chance after his time at Arizona when many other programs refused to give him that chance. Further frustration stemmed from the fact that Miller was photographed high-fiving Texas guard Tre Johnson while coaching against him during the First Four game.  

Miller’s return to Xavier did assist in revitalizing the program, leading the team to the Sweet Sixteen his first year back after a four-year absence from the tournament under head coach Travis Steele. This year, the team had rebounded from last year’s losing record — the first losing record since 1996.

With strong play this season from a roster he had a big hand in building, the fan base had high hopes for Miller and the team going forward. Ryan Conwell, an integral member of this year’s team now has an uncertain future with the program, with both potentially taking their talents elsewhere or following Miller to Austin. Dailyn Swain entered the transfer portal Monday along with fellow Musketeers Cam Fletcher, Trey Green and John Hugley.

The announcement that Miller was leaving came right as the NCAA transfer portal opened, a very bad time for a program to be without a coach. The sense of urgency to fill the vacancy was reflected in Xavier Vice President for Institutional Strategy and Director of Athletics Greg Christopher’s email regarding the departure. 

“The search for our next head coach has already begun, and we are moving quickly to find the right leader for our program,” Christopher said in his press release.

 The departure of Miller also raises questions about the futures of Nyk Lewis and Jayden Forysthe, Xavier’s two four-star recruits who were set to join the program in the fall.

How the program will navigate another season with a largely new roster will wait to be seen, but keeping Conwell and the two commits must be seen as essential to whoever takes over the reins. Early reports indicated Xavier was looking at hiring former Xavier head coach and player Chris Mack, who brought a lot of success to the Musketeers, helping lead them to four Sweet Sixteens and one Elite Eight from 2009-2018. Luke Murray, son of actor Bill Murray and former Xavier assistant coach, has spent the last few years under Dan Hurley at the University of Connecticut and was also named as a potential replacement. Ultimately, it was Pitino who was given the nod, beginning a new era for Xavier men’s basketball.