Today on the all-new College Basketball Edition of The IX Sports Podcast, co-hosts Melissa Triebwasser and Michael Waterloo bring you an interview with Arizona State’s head coach Molly Miller.
Miller, who joined the program last year, led the program to a 15-0 start and set a program record for most wins by a new head coach, finishing out the season with a 24-11 record.
“When we first got here, we only had three returning players, so we had about 13 visits in two and a half weeks. It was a whirlwind,” Miller told Triebwasser and Waterloo, explaining that she had a lot of roles to fill on the team. Going into her second season, she said, there’s more stability.
“And so now, year two, we return our core, which is really exciting also because, you see some of these mass exodus of teams in the portal, and that’s just not the case here,” she continued.
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Triebwasser and Waterloo continued the discussion by asking about Miller’s offensive scheme in Big 12 conference play.
“I’ve had to evolve my philosophy,” Miller said. “I couldn’t really get stuck in my ways when you go level to level. However, the there’s some things that remain the same. Like: we’re always going to be a high-pressure team.”
Miller said that she has had to find other ways to evolve her coaching style so that her instructions “click” with her players.
“Just changing terminology, to me, has been the biggest source of ‘aha’ moments with these kids,” Miller said. She explained how players are used to hearing “hands off” from the sideline. Instead, Miller says “Mickey” or Mickey Mouse.”
“That means I’m being a little handsy on defense. I just show my hands, kind of like Mickey Mouse ears here,” she explained.
The in-depth conversation also covers how Miller built a team culture, the importance of rivalries in college sports, and the stories she hopes her players tell when looking back on their time as part of the team.
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