Valley of the Suns
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5 College coaching candidates for the Phoenix Suns

By Khaleel Abdullah

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates with his team after the 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates with his team after the 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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TEMPE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 31: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena on January 31, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils beat the Wildcats 95-88. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 31: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena on January 31, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils beat the Wildcats 95-88. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /

Honorable Mention – Sean Miller of Arizona

Not only is he an Arizona coach but he was Deandre Ayton‘s head coach during his one year of college ball. It would be a genuine feeling for someone with state ties to be reunited with the number one pick and build the state’s professional basketball team back from the ground.

He’s led his Arizona teams to an average of 26 wins per season and a .748 winning percentage with 7 NCAA tournament appearances as well as 3 Elite Eight appearances over the last 10 years.

Miller served as the head coach of the USA men’s Under-19 junior national team, who he led to a perfect 7-0 record and a gold medal at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He was named the co-national coach of the year by USA basketball.

He’s a three-time gold medalist as a member of USA Basketball, once as a player, once as an assistant coach, and once as head coach. And he’s also the winner of three Pac-12 Coach of the Year Awards.

Why would he come coach the Phoenix Suns? He won’t have to move very far as he stays in AZ. He’d be reunited with Ayton and he’d have Booker, the guard he never got in college as well as a lot of promising youth. He’s worked well with young players and has done a decent job in development.

According to Sporting News, scouts have talked about how his teams are well-organized and are particularly good and in sync at the defensive end. The Suns have a lot of potential on defense and he could bring that to fruition. He’s tough on his players but has good relationships with them. That’s the type of coach that this young team needs.

Anyone that didn’t like how calm Kokoskov was courtside would see a complete turnaround in Miller’s fiery courtside demeanor.

It wouldn’t hurt for the Suns to make a phone call and see if Sean would like to sit down for an interview. With the hole at power forward, maybe they could reunite him with another player as well by making a trade to bring in Lauri Markkanen or Aaron Gordon if he comes over.

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