10/30/2017 basketball Edit

Book Excerpt - What Does Archie Miller Have To Do Differently?

Stu Jackson

TheHoosier.com Staff

The following is an excerpt from Following the General: Why Three Indiana Coaches Have Been Unable to Return Indiana Basketball To Greatness. Written and self-published Oct. 1 by Terry Hutchens, this was published with Hutchens' permission.

In his introductory press conference, (Archie) Miller spent a lot of time talking about what he needed to do with his current players. He was well aware of what had to be done in recruiting and making in-roads in the state with future classes but at the same time he felt like one of the most important things he needed to do was get his own players to the point where they were comfortable with him as their new coach, too.

"It's going to take time," Miller said in his introductory press conference. "There's only one of me right now, but as these guys know, I've already had a lot conversations on the way. We're going to start having a lot of conversations as we keep moving forward. I have to invest in their families. I have to invest in the important people in their lives, and like I told them, I didn't recruit you, but you're mine, so at that point, if you're mine, then I have to do everything in my power to make sure that you understand there's great belief and value in you here.

"There's a clean slate. it's going to take time. I think every coach goes through that when they show up at a place. It's an awkward moment not only for them but for me, as well, but I think we're off to a good start."

(IU Director of Athletics Fred) Glass said that Miller is also strong in many off the court areas, too.

"He's committed to academics, he's never had a compliance issue and he's all about playing by the rules," Glass said. "He's got all the baseline stuff. But I think he's got that something extra where he can connect with these kids in a way, maybe not unlike Knight, in that it makes them believe that he knows what he is doing and they feel even more comfortable when it comes to doing what he tells them to do."

Jake Query, the Indianapolis sports radio talk show host, said the key for Archie Miller to be successful at Indiana comes down to one word.

Unlike what a lot of people have said that word is not "recruit." Query's word is simply "win."

"Who's the most popular player that Indiana has had the last 10 years? Victor Oladipo? Where's he from?" Query said. "He's not from Indiana. Who hit the greatest, most celebrated shot that people act like it should be a state holiday and that was IU-Kentucky and Christian Watford. And where is he from? He's not from Indiana.

"What Archie Miller is going to have to do is this. He has to win and win deep. And by that I mean he has to go to a Final Four. And then recycle it again with another group of players to show that it was not a one recruiting class anomaly."

But again Query said it all comes down to winning.

"Mike Davis took his team to the national championship game and people were terrified that he was going to leave Indiana," Query said. "The same people five years later were willing to drive down with a Mayflower van to help him move out of town. But they were terrified in 2002 that he was going to leave town because he had won.

"And all people want at Indiana is to win. It's really that simple."

Gene Keady agreed that the bottom line was that if you were at Indiana or Purdue you simply had to win.

"And it's a tough job," Keady said. "It's 24/7 and you have to understand that when you take the job. Now that's the way I had always worked so it was pretty natural for me but you have to know what you're getting yourself into.

"And after everything else is all said and done, you have to find a way to win basketball games. If you can do that, everything else will take care of itself."

Ken Bikoff, the longtime Indiana writer from Inside Indiana magazine, said he thinks it's pretty simple what Archie Miller needs to do to be more successful than Mike Davis, Kelvin Sampson and Tom Crean in terms of a sustained level of success.

He said he thinks MIller needs to be able to learn the lessons of the past.

"He's coming over from Dayton and he knows how to build a program but now the key is to connect with the high school coaches, make sure you take advantage of the talent in the state of Indiana and never lose sight of bulding the roster and bringing in the kind of players that fit your culture," Bikoff said.

"That's the key to everything. And that's the ultimate key to sustainability. You need to bring in guys that fit what you're trying to do and fit your culture. And they're not going to do anything that will create problems."

Bikoff said there are plenty of programs around that fit the bill when it comes to creating a culture of success.

"It's just something that you have to do," Bikoff said. "When you look at Duke, they can pick up just about any player they want. You look at Kentucky and it's a different a different culture and they have more talent than they know what to do with. But even Kentucky has guys that have to be there to show people what the Kentucky Way is.

"It's the same at Louisville. It's the same at Duke. Indiana hasn't had that because of so much roster turnover over the years that if Archie Miller wants to be successful and have sustainable success he needs to have guys who are interested in the program and he has to recruit accordingly to have guys that are going to be around for a while."

Clark Kellogg, the national college basketball analyst for CBS, said in some ways Dayton and Indiana are two completely different animals. But in other ways, he was quick to point out, there are similarities, too, that Miller should be able to draw upon.

In its most basic form, however, the step up from Dayton to IU is significant.

"it's challenge because the dynamics are different," Kellogg said. "The stakes are a little higher. The resources are greater. The expectations are greater. The scrutiny is greater. Everything ramps up whatever number you want to put on it two or three times."

At the same time though Kellogg was quick to point out that while Dayton may not be a power five conference school it's still a program that wears big boy pants, too.

"Archie has had success at a basketball program," Kellogg said. "I know it's not the Big Ten or one of the power five conferences but Dayton, in terms of understanding, commitment to basketball, expectations for success and the academic mission, it's high up there when you look at college basketball programs.

"Again, I know it's not the Big Ten but there are elements from his experience there that are going to serve him well in terms of the rabid following and the passion for basketball."

Following the General is available now in Barnes and Noble stores throughout the state of Indiana and online at amazon.com. For more on the book, be sure to check out our podcast with Hutchens here.