by Terrance Harris![]()
TUCSON, Ariz. - Even as his star player Derrick Williams, broken pinky and all, lay underneath a pile in celebration of a thrilling victory in front of him Saturday afternoon, University of Arizona coach Sean Miller was too preoccupied with his own emotions to deal with the dangers there.
Miller was still a bit out of sorts as he approached Washington coach Lorenzo Romar for the customary game-ending handshake following the Wildcats' 87-86 win at their McKale Center. Not at all meaning to be a jerk, Miller looked Romar in the eye and with a straight face said "Good win."
"I didn't mean to say that," Miller admitted later. "Really what I meant to say is what a game."
Let's chalk up the slip to Miller's coming down from an edge-of-your-seat-ending in which Williams needed to make three incredible defensive plays to secure the win for the Pac-10 leading and 12th-ranked Wildcats. Let's also chalk it up to the excitement Miller has to be feeling as the resurgence of the once-dominant Arizona program takes form in his second year on the job.
Miller came out here from Xavier for the challenge of returning the Wildcats to the prominence they enjoyed throughout most of the Lute Olson years. There is still plenty of work to be done to get Arizona back to the point where the program is in the national championship conversation each year, but Miller seems well on the way.
He has a stud of a player in Williams, who as a sophomore, may be the best player in the Pac-10 and he's definitely the most underrated star player out West. Williams is blessed with the God-given instincts of a special player, whose basketball savvy just seems off the charts as we saw him score 26 points, grab 13 rebounds and come up with two blocks on a night that clearly wasn't his best (6-of-13 shooting from the field and seven turnovers).
Filed under: Arizona, Washington, Pac-10
TUCSON, Ariz. - Even as his star player Derrick Williams, broken pinky and all, lay underneath a pile in celebration of a thrilling victory in front of him Saturday afternoon, University of Arizona coach Sean Miller was too preoccupied with his own emotions to deal with the dangers there.Miller was still a bit out of sorts as he approached Washington coach Lorenzo Romar for the customary game-ending handshake following the Wildcats' 87-86 win at their McKale Center. Not at all meaning to be a jerk, Miller looked Romar in the eye and with a straight face said "Good win."
"I didn't mean to say that," Miller admitted later. "Really what I meant to say is what a game."
Let's chalk up the slip to Miller's coming down from an edge-of-your-seat-ending in which Williams needed to make three incredible defensive plays to secure the win for the Pac-10 leading and 12th-ranked Wildcats. Let's also chalk it up to the excitement Miller has to be feeling as the resurgence of the once-dominant Arizona program takes form in his second year on the job.
Miller came out here from Xavier for the challenge of returning the Wildcats to the prominence they enjoyed throughout most of the Lute Olson years. There is still plenty of work to be done to get Arizona back to the point where the program is in the national championship conversation each year, but Miller seems well on the way.
He has a stud of a player in Williams, who as a sophomore, may be the best player in the Pac-10 and he's definitely the most underrated star player out West. Williams is blessed with the God-given instincts of a special player, whose basketball savvy just seems off the charts as we saw him score 26 points, grab 13 rebounds and come up with two blocks on a night that clearly wasn't his best (6-of-13 shooting from the field and seven turnovers).
