Arizona basketball’s Sean Miller is in the Coach of the Year conversation

Arizona coach Sean Miller’s candidacy for the NCAA Coach of the Year award isn’t exactly debatable. He’s most certainly in the conversation, but it’s how his unique situation is perceived that will buoy a case for him being atop the shortlist of candidates or just in the mix.

Miller has led the No. 14 Wildcats to a 16-2 record with losses to only Gonzaga (the AP Poll’s and KenPom’s No. 4 team) and Butler (13th in AP and 16th in KenPom).

He’s done so having lost incoming freshman Terrance Ferguson, who opted to play pro ball in Australia, Ray Smith, who retired due to injury, and Allonzo Trier, who has been suspended for unspecified reasons.

Those three were arguably the top NBA prospects expected to play for Arizona in 2016-17. To make matters worse, starting point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright missed six game and since returning has struggled to play at his best since suffering an ankle injury more than a month ago.

As for Miller’s ability to keep his Wildcats humming, FanRag Sports’ Jon Rothstein thinks the situation makes him the frontrunner for Coach of the Year.

This writer isn’t diminishing the accolades of the other top coaches in the sport, but it’s hard to believe that many would do as good of a job as Miller has without his top player (Trier), potential sixth man (Smith), and starting point guard (Jackson-Cartwright) for six games.

Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis (sort of) and Chris Johnson both chose Miller as their midseason Coach of the Year over Baylor’s Scott Drew and Virginia’s Tony Bennett. Johnson summed it up well.

Miller has a lot of talent to work with, including a projected lottery pick in freshman seven-footer Lauri Markkanen, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t done a really good job with this team.

CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish might have the least favorable opinion of Miller’s coaching job that we’ve seen, and that still places the UA head coach at No. 10 in his list of Coach of the Year candidates.

My top 10 would be fairly similar to Gary's with one exception: Sean Miller would be much higher. https://t.co/0vRGz2s1Se

— Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) January 18, 2017

Simon on ESPN set:"Sean Miller is definitely a candidate for national coach of the year." Cites UA winning w/out Smith/Trier & PJC out month

— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) January 13, 2017

After skimming through the experts’ picks, the point here is that despite the losses of expected production, the Wildcats still have a bit of talent.

Senior guard Kadeem Allen is suddenly popping up on NBA Draft scouting videos, freshmen Rawle Alkins and Kobi Simmons have contributed perhaps more than expected despite their high-profile rankings coming out of high school, and center Dusan Ristic has been potent low-post scorer.

And then there’s forward Lauri Markkanen, who has pushed himself into the top-10 of mock drafts as he’s played efficient basketball.

It all comes down to whether Miller recruiting and accounting for unexpected losses has anything to do with his coaching. Whether included into the equation or not, Miller is still getting quite a bit out of a roster that, at least, is shorthanded more than it expected.

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