Arizona coach Sean Miller sounded less like a coach who ended his season on a two-game losing skid, and more like a coach whose tenure in Tucson was nearing an end on Saturday when he bid adieu to fans in a postgame sendoff following the Wlidcats 72-64 loss to Arizona State.
"There's no place that is more magical than the McKale Center. There's no fans in the world that are more loyal," Miller said. "It has been an amazing honor to coach in the McKale Center the last 10 years. Thank you for everything."
Miller sidestepped questions about his emotional postgame moment in front of the fans in his news conference afterwards, electing not to comment. But he did nothing to dissuade the notion that he may have coached his last game at the McKale Center as Arizona's coach.
Miller has come under scrutiny by both the NCAA and the feds recently related to the college basketball corruption scandal, which could usher in his ouster. In February, it was reported he was expected to be subpoenaed -- and may testify -- in the upcoming trials related to the case. Earlier in February, Arizona reportedly came under the NCAA's crosshairs as a subject of scrutiny related to the federal scandal.
Arizona's athletic director has publicly supported Miller amidst heightened scrutiny, which has been ongoing for upwards of one year dating back to Deandre Ayton's freshman season. But with a microscope continuing to look into his program -- and with Miller himself offering no explanation on comments indicating he may be on the outs -- it's at least plausible to consider he just coached one of his last games as head coach of the Wildcats.