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Pete ThamelESPN
Rhode Island has reached a deal to hire former Indiana coach Archie Miller to be the school’s next men’s basketball coach, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Miller’s arrival at Rhode Island marks a return to the Atlantic 10, a league where he had significant success as the coach at Dayton for six seasons from 2011 to 2017. Miller led Dayton to four consecutive NCAA tournaments, an Elite Eight and two regular-season championships.
Hiring Miller is a significant statement for Rhode Island at a time when in-state schools Providence (first-ever Big East title) and Bryant (first Division I NCAA tournament) are experiencing unprecedented success.
Miller, 43, last coached at Indiana, where he was fired last year after four seasons. Indiana did not make the NCAA tournament in any of those four years, although it was projected to reach the tournament before it was canceled in 2020.
Overall, Miller went 129-63 at Dayton and 67-58 at Indiana. He built a reputation as a strong bench coach and evaluator who struggled to build a roster that could compete in the upper echelon of the Big Ten.
At Rhode Island, Miller will replace David Cox, who was fired last week after back-to-back losing seasons. Cox ended his four-year tenure there at 64-55.