By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sean Miller is in a win-win situation on the postseason ride commonly referred to as the "coaching carousel."

The Xavier associate head coach soon could find himself as the head coach of a team. And he says he's ready for the challenge. But until then, he's happy to be in Cincinnati.

Miller, 34, recently discussed the Wright State opening with the school's athletic director, Mike Cusack, by telephone, but decided the job wasn't a good fit and did not interview for the position.

"I had heard a lot of good things about Sean," Cusack said, "but he called me and said he had such a good job at Xavier and he wanted to stay there."

The two final candidates for that job are two current assistants, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon and Ohio State's Paul Biancardi.

"I love being at Xavier," Miller said. "I have incredible relationships here. So if the opportunity to be a head coach presented itself, it would have to be an excellent opportunity."

There are likely to be other opportunities soon. Miller is ranked 38th on the list of top assistants compiled by Hoop Scoop editor Clark Francis.

Miller was a point guard at Pittsburgh from 1998-92, and started coaching at Wisconsin under Stu Jackson during the 1992-93 season.

He came to Xavier in 2001 after spending five seasons as an assistant under Herb Sendek at North Carolina State. He also worked on Sendek's staff at Miami University from 1993-95. Before joining Sendek at N.C. State, Miller was an assistant at Pittsburgh under Ralph Willard during the 1995-96 season.

"Right now, my No. 1 job is April recruiting," Miller said. "I've got to stay involved with Xavier."

Interest in the assistant is a boon for the Musketeer program, coach Thad Matta said.

"In all honesty, it's a good thing . It shows that the program is respected and that we are getting the job done at Xavier."