John Calipari: Archie Miller will do ‘great job’ at Indiana

Kentucky coach on IU: ‘That’s not an easy job’
Dayton coach Archie Miller, left, huddles with his players late in the second half during a game against George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Dayton coach Archie Miller, left, huddles with his players late in the second half during a game against George Washington on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at UD Arena. David Jablonski/Staff

Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari goes way back with the family of Archie Miller. He’s from the same area of western Pennsylvania as the Millers and wrote the foreword for a book written about Archie’s dad John last year.

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Calipari raved about Archie Miller in Indianapolis earlier this month when Kentucky and the Dayton Flyers both played in the NCAA tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. On Saturday, after the Indiana Hoosiers hired Miller, Calipari praised the decision as he spoke a press conference a day before playing North Carolina in the Elite Eight.

“If I were hiring a coach, I would hire Archie,” said Calipari in Memphis, Tenn. “I say that because, one, we all grew up with his father. His father coached all of us. All of us that came through there. And he’s a basketball coach. That’s what he does. He’s a basketball guy. Not afraid. He’s got a fight in him, and he’s got a will, and the kids love playing for him.

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"I think he'll do a great job there. I mean, it's not an easy job. None of these jobs are easy, but that's not an easy job, either, and you have to walk in there wanting that challenge, kind of like wanting Kentucky. If you don't want this — all that goes along with it — don't come here, and it's the same with Indiana. You've got to want that, and he did, obviously, or he wouldn't have taken that job."

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