Archie Miller is getting back to basics at Indiana.
He wants the Hoosiers to be aggressive on offense, nasty on defense and, of course, win the in-state recruiting battles. He is all for playing Kentucky and maybe Arizona, too.
In his first public appearance as Indiana coach, Miller hit all the right notes for fans disillusioned with the program's direction.
"I don't think you come to Indiana if you don't want to live in the neighborhood," he said when asked of high expectations. "If you don't want to move into that neighborhood then you shouldn't be here."
After going 139-63 in six seasons at Dayton and leading the Flyers to four NCAA tournaments, Miller has a plan for Indiana, which gave him a seven-year deal worth roughly $3.5 million per year.
"We have to start inside this state of Indiana, we have to start moving outside very slowly," he said. "The inside-out approach means we have to dedicate ourselves to the high school coaches in this state, the high school talent in this state, the grass roots program in this state, and they must feel like they're being dominated by Indiana University."
Etc.
• UCLA's Lonzo Ball, Villanova's Josh Hart, Kansas' Frank Mason III, Purdue's Caleb Swanigan and Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss are the finalists for the Wooden Award as Player of the Year. The five have been invited to Los Angeles for the trophy presentation at the College Basketball Awards April 7.
• Akron coach Keith Dambrot left the school after a record-setting 27-9 season, a stunning departure after going 305-139 in 13 seasons with the Zips. Akron won at least 20 games in 12 consecutive seasons and earned three NCAA tournament bids under Dambrot, considered the best coach in the Mid-American Conference. He reportedly met in recent days with officials at Duquesne.
