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5 questions with Xavier’s Sean Miller

Sean Miller is trying to bring Xavier back to the NCAA Tournament. After an injury plagued season a year ago ended in the Postseason NIT, Miller has recalibrated the Musketeers’ roster via the transfer portal. I caught up with Miller this week in Cincinnati to discuss last season’s struggles, Zach Freemantle’s return, Indiana State transfer Ryan Conwell, and much more.

Jon Rothstein: Where would you rank last season in terms of the most difficult ones that you’ve had as a head coach?

Sean Miller: Reflecting back on last year, we finished with more losses than we had wins. That’s not something that we’re proud of, but the way that it happened — losing both Jerome Hunter (achilles) and Zach Freemantle (foot) — not for a short period of time, but for the entire season; they never practiced one time. We lost both of them in the summer prior to last year. And having a very young team, playing the schedule that we played — there were some moments there where we really had life. It really wasn’t until mid-February that we acknowledged that we really don’t have enough to finish. And what I mean by that is competing for a top-five finish in the Big East or staying on the bubble. We eventually ran out of gas, but I think we learned a lot of lessons and I think for me too it’s what is it that I won’t repeat? What is it that I can control moving forward that maybe you overlooked a year earlier? For me, it’s that you can never have enough. Depth is paramount, especially in a league like the Big East. My hope is that we repaired some of that moving forward maybe because we went through what we went through last year. 

Rothstein: You referenced Zach Freemantle who two years ago was one of the best players in the Big East. For people who haven’t seen him play in a year and a half, what type of version can we expect during the upcoming year? 

Miller: To Zach’s credit, for somebody who’s missed so much time and I’m talking about two different surgeries on his foot, he was out. He was on crutches. He was immobile. He went through that post-surgery phase which is so difficult. He’s now in the best shape of his life. I don’t say that lightly. What he’s eaten, how he’s taken care of his body, and then once he got cleared, how much actual time he spent on getting ready for the season — I think it’s remarkable. He has the attention of all of his teammates. He has the attention and respect of our coaching staff. He’s put himself in position to have a great final year. Now he knows this and I know this — we just need some good luck. We need that so he can be healthy start to finish. If he’s healthy from start to finish and we have no reason to believe that he won’t be healthy from start to finish, in some ways he’s a throwback in that he can really score in and around the basket because of his size. He’s a great defensive rebounder and has just an incredible offensive touch. In today’s world, he can be a matchup problem for a lot of teams that play against us. I know that he’s looking forward to finishing strong. It’s exciting to have him back and it’s been a long time since he played. 

Rothstein: Over the last few years, Xavier has been a place where mid-major guards (Souley Boum, Quincy Olivari) have come and put up big numbers in the Big East. How is Ryan Conwell going to take the baton from those guys and keep things moving forward?

Miller: I have a ton of confidence in Ryan. His season at Indiana State a year ago really speaks for itself. The three-point shots that he made, the consistent scoring that he was able to produce, and the efficiency in which he played the game — shooting the percentages that he shot while taking the shots that he took. I give Indiana State’s staff a lot of credit for that. He played for an excellent coach in Josh Schertz who brought out the best in Ryan and we’re trying to do the same thing. We want to put him in a great position where he can be at his best. One part of his game that I think is underrated is that he’s also a playmaker. He’s got a good feel for passing and the game itself. He’s far from just a scorer or a shooter. I’ve been really impressed here as he’s learned a new system and new teammates how he plays the game. He lets things come to him and I think that’s going to be really beneficial for both our group and Ryan this year. 

Rothstein: How does this team compare to the one two years ago in 2023 that reached the Sweet 16? 

Miller: My hope is that there are some parallels. We’re older with experience. Two years ago when you look at the age and experience level of Adam Kunkel, Colby Jones, Jack Nunge, Souley Boum — that group of guys had played college basketball before. However, they had also played with each other in prior seasons. We don’t have that as much with our team this year, but we do have experience. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re deeper and my hope is that we can have great health to remain deeper. We’re a deeper version of that team and where we became great two years ago was just offensively we were an incredibly efficient unit. That remains to be seen whether or not this year’s team can be close to that. However, with our depth, I’m hoping that we can maybe be the best defensive team of the three teams that I’ve coached since I’ve returned to Xavier. 

Rothstein: The Big East has had the national champion — UConn — in dominant fashion over the past two years, but the league only got three teams in the NCAA Tournament last season. Why will the Big East be better from top to bottom during the 2024-25 season?

Miller: Our bottom is going to be better than it’s been in a long, long time. I think our coaches understand that. If you just look at DePaul, I think if you look at Chris Holtmann and you look at his overall experience, his Big East experience — having coached at Butler and some of the offseason moves he’s made just reloading his roster — I don’t think there are any games that are easy during this upcoming year. Sometimes that’s not appreciated. When you look at what makes a conference great — sometimes it’s just not the top or the middle — sometimes it’s who ends up finishing at the bottom. How much of a quality group are they? I think we have quality through all 11 teams now in the Big East. 

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