Arizona coach Sean Miller jokes sweaty shirt ‘has worked out well for me’

It would be fair to say the night of March 18 did not go particularly well for Sean Miller.

The Arizona basketball coach could only do so much as his team struggled against a more experienced Wichita State team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, ultimately losing 65-55.

It was the earliest tournament exit in Miller’s career, and the defeat left the Wildcats and Miller searching for answers.

Miller, also, was searching for a new shirt.

While his team’s defeat was the most important thing to transpire that night, the coach’s shirt — which became drenched in sweat early on — was easily the most talked about.

It was not a great look for the coach, who almost instantly became the butt of some jokes and a popular meme.

Wednesday afternoon, for the first time since that night, Miller addressed the issue.

“I have great regrets — I always tell my kids, don’t embarrass yourself, your family, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the University of Arizona,” he said. “I probably got all of them by sweating.

“It seemed like something happened to me, like I was sick or I was a raving lunatic on the sideline and I sweated at a level that’s never been seen before. But the truth betold is I tried a new shirt that was positioned to me as being more breathable, and they were right, which means less material.”

Miller said he did not wear any kind of undershirt, which is standard practice for him and has never led to an issue before, at least to the level of that night.

“But it was really unbeknownst to me how I looked; I just thought I was going through a normal game. Obviously, after the game I figured it out quite a bit.”

There was really no way Miller could avoid it, and now, a few weeks later, he’s at least been able to not only find humor in it all, but some benefits, too.

“But I will tell you, I have received boxes — yesterday I received a box from Tommy John, from the CEO — I have received probably five different types of shirts,” he said, smiling. “I mean, this has worked out well for me. The embarrassment of it has been offset by the product endorsement that I’m capable (of).

“And I really believe this, that whatever shirt I decide to put on a year from now, I am in the market for some major league endorsement opportunities.”

All jokes aside, Miller made sure to clarify that he did not sweat anymore than night than usual, saying his mistake was not trying out the shirt beforehand and not wearing an undershirt.

“No question I had a bad night — coupled with the fact that we lost,” he said. “If anything, I think more people talked about me and less about our team, and that may be a good thing as well.”

Follow @theAdamGreen