UA’s Miller settling in

For a guy who hasn’t slept much in the past two weeks, Sean Miller seems to be in pretty good spirits.

Since becoming the new face of Arizona basketball on April 7, Miller has hit the ground running, quickly rebuilding the recruiting relationships that had deteriorated during the past two years.

That added stability has helped the Wildcats land coveted center Kyryl Natyazhko and athletic swingman Solomon Hill. Many Wildcat fans might remember Hill’s name — he initially committed to Arizona before the unrest in the coaching ranks forced him to re-open his recruitment. Miller’s presence brought Hill back into the fold.

During Thursday’s press conference at McKale Center, Miller elected not to comment on either Natyazhko or Hill, as Arizona is still heavily active in recruiting a full 2009 class. While the Wildcats have a number of available scholarships, Miller said he isn’t going to recruit players simply for the sake of increasing the roster size.

“We don’t look at this current class as if we’re ready to stop at what we have, but we need to make sure that we bring in prospects who will help us achieve our objectives,” Miller said. “We don’t want to try to make a splash for the wrong reasons.”

Miller hinted that he might look at bringing in one or two more players (possibly from overseas or the junior-college ranks), but that at this stage of the recruitment period, there aren’t that many athletes he considers “Arizona good.”

The NCAA passed new legislation that college coaches couldn’t attend AAU weekend events in April, which he said has put recruiting at a big disadvantage.

“If I were at Xavier, I’d feel the same way,” Miller said. “I don’t understand it, and neither do many of my colleagues.”

While it’s been no secret that Arizona’s recruiting has taken a hit in the last couple years, Miller said this week’s NBA playoffs has served as a commercial for the University of Arizona.

“Every time you turn on the television, you see guys like Mike Bibby, Andre Iguodala, Luke Walton and Jason Terry excelling in the playoffs,” Miller said.

Miller is fully aware that success is expected immediately, saying that “there is no time for tryouts here,” but acknowledged that it takes more than two weeks to put one’s stamp on a program.

His current focus remains on bringing in a few more pieces to the 2009-10 roster, but believes that the 2010 recruiting class will be his “moment of truth.”

With all this time on the road attempting to rebuild Arizona’s recruiting, Miller has been able to spend only six or seven days in Tucson attempting to get to know the current roster.

“That has been my biggest regret thus far,” Miller said. “I haven’t spent as much time as I would’ve liked with the current guys.”

He has held a couple of meetings with Nic Wise, who is currently testing the NBA draft process without an agent, leaving open the possibility to return for his senior season.

“If a player leaves, I want it to be because of all the positives,” Miller said. “I don’t want to see a guy leave for an uncertain future. I think Nic could be a premier player in the Pac-10 Conference as a senior.”

As Miller continues to settle in, he said he has been taken aback by the overwhelming passion that surrounds Arizona basketball.

“People outside of Tucson might not fully realize it,” Miller said. “You can’t do it justice until you’re here.”

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