When NC State announced it would not retain the services of Mark Gottfried as head coach, many instantly thought of newly hired Indiana head coach Archie Miller as a perfect fit for the Wolf Pack job,
Miller had played for NC State from 1998-2002 before embarking on a coaching career, where he took Dayton to four straight NCAA tournaments from 2014-2017 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2014.
One of the top coaches outside of the Power 5 and Big East, there was an obvious connection between the two sides; NC State wanted a hotshot coach and Miller wanted a chance to coach in the Power 5, and at his alma mater to boot.
However, Miller was never seriously interested in the NC State job.
“Yeah, everyone thought NC State, but I knew that wasn’t gonna happen,” John Miller, Archie's father, said to Tom Archdeacon of myDayton Daily News. “He knows that place too well. You gotta have trust in the people above you that they’ll stand by you.”
This is not the first time someone has questioned the support of NC State's athletic officials, as former Maryland head coach Gary Williams told candidates to stay away when NC State hired Gottfried in 2011.
"I don't have a reputation across all men's basketball as being difficult to work with. I have a reputation of not getting along with Gary Williams, who tried to sabotage the search. Come on, we all know that," NC State athletic director Debbie Yow said during Gottfried's introductory press conference about her dealing with Williams when she was Maryland's athletic director. "It's Gary Williams doing his thing, so whatever."
For John Miller, he knew the day would come when Archie would leave Dayton, just like his other son, Sean, left Xavier for Arizona.
"When (Arizona) lost to Xavier, we got back to the hotel and I was sort of in shock," John said. "And all of a sudden Arch goes, 'Guess what, Dad? I got a shot here (at the Indiana job). Whaddya think?'
"I’ll tell you I was almost in tears, just like when my other guy left (Sean from Xavier to Arizona). Oh man I hated that. I loved Xavier. And now here it is eight years later and I’m in the same exact boat.
"I know in his heart Arch hates to get out of (Dayton), but that's how it was with Sean leavin' Xavier too. He turned Arizona down the first time, and I remember John Calipari calling him up and saying, 'Are you outta your mind? You gotta take that Arizona job!'"
Arizona was eliminated on March 23, with Archie being hired two days later. However, for much of those two days, the talk was of UCLA head coach and former Hoosiers All-American Steve Alford being the person who would get hired.
"I sorta had to laugh at the media yesterday on TV," John Miller said on Saturday. "It was Alford this and that. They had Steve Alford all plugged in to where he’s going next.
"Meanwhile, I was sittin' there smiling and thinking, 'Guess what fellas? You guys don't know what you're talking about,'" Miller said. "We know who that next guy is gonna be."
After UCLA was eliminated from the NCAA tournament by Kentucky, Alford came out saying he was 100 percent not taking the Indiana job. A day later, Archie Miller's hiring was announced by Indiana, while NC State announced it had hired former UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts on March 17.
