Did Xavier coach Sean Miller play at Pitt?

Xavier head coach Sean Miller already has a storied college basketball coaching career, but did he spend his playing career with the Pittsburgh Panthers?

Though March Madness has often been unkind to Sean Miller throughout his coaching career, he’s a regular in the NCAA Tournament. Such is the case as he led the Xavier Musketeers to the No. 3 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament this year. And after a narrow victory over Kennesaw State in the First Round, the Musketeers now face the Pittsburgh Panthers in the Second Round.

If you’re thinking there’s a connection between Sean Miller and Pitt, you’d be right. He served as an assistant for the Panthers for one year in the mid-90s.

But is there more to it? Did Miller actually suit up for Pittsburgh as a player?

Did Xavier coach Sean Miller play at Pitt?

Miller indeed played for the Pittsburgh Panthers in his career as college basketball student athlete. He began with the Panthers and started for the Pitt basketball team as a freshman in the 1987-88 season and played until 1992 with the team after missing the 1989-90 season. He was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team as a freshman and was lauded as one of the better point guards in the history of the program after his tenure there.

Sean Miller stats at Pittsburgh

Given the respect that he earned from his peers in college basketball, it’s no surprise that he enjoyed a productive career. Sean Miller played 128 games for Pitt in his career, averaging only 10.0 points per game but dishing out 5.8 assists per contest along with 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. He also was a career 41.6% 3-point shooter for the Panthers and one of the program’s most efficient free-throw shooters ever at 88.5%.

Sean Miller coaching history

Sean Miller has a fascinating coaching history. He began his career as a graduate assistant for Wisconsin in the 1992-93 season. He then served as an assistant at Miami OH (1993-95), Pittsburgh (1995-96), NC State (1996-2001) and Xavier (2001-04).

He was then promoted to head coach of the Musketeers the next season and served in that role to great success during his time from 2004-09. That earned him the job as the Arizona Wildcats head coach, where he served from 2009-21 before his dismissal. He then retook his spot as Xavier head coach in the 2022-23 season.

For his career, he has won eight conference regular season championships (five in the Pac-10/12 and three in the A-10) and four conference tournament championships (three in the Pac-12, one in the A-10) as well as being named conference coach of the year on four separate occasions, most recently in 2017 with Arizona.

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