We have a proof of life.
Former Indiana head coach Archie Miller made what are believed to be his first public comments since he was fired by Indiana on March 15.
The former IU head coach joined Jeff Goodman and Robbie Hummel on the Goodman and Hummel podcast, part of the Field of 68 Media Network.
Miller spoke extensively about the outlook for Indiana for this upcoming 2021-22 season. Here is a quick transcript of some of Miller’s comments related to Indiana. You can listen to the full podcast by clicking the link above or watch the video below.
ON INDIANA’S ROSTER ADDITIONS GENERALLY
“I would say when it comes to Indiana, Trayce (Jackson-Davis) is Trayce,” Miller said. “You’re going to get great production from him.
“It’s going to come down to their additions that they’ve added in the offseason, and to me, no one did a better job in the offseason of being able to put important pieces in place to make their team better than Indiana. Their staff did a great job of being able to identify ‘we’ve got to get a couple things done here to help the cause, because we do have good players, we have some guys in here that are Big Ten players.’ You’ve got production from Race Thompson and Rob Phinisee. You have a four-man (2020) freshman class that all played as freshman and are a year older and I know they’ll be better just because it’s an easier transition in year two.”
ON XAVIER JOHNSON, PARKER STEWART AND MILLER KOPP
“But that being said, Xavier Johnson and Parker Stewart, and I’d add Miller Kopp in there a little bit, did anybody in America add that type of productivity to their team from college players that have done it? I’m not sure anybody added two pieces that have the minutes or the production,” Miller continued. “Both guys play a pivotal role to me in taking the pressure off of Trayce where you know what he has an off night or it’s not his best game, but he doesn’t have to get 26 and 12, he had 14 but you know what they have the backcourt get 25 between them. That’s the difference this year in Indiana being really, really good, and right there on the border would be the production from the backcourt, and I think shooting is going to be a big deal, to me Parker Stewart can really shoot.
“I think Miller Kopp coming across the street does well. It will be interesting to see what is role is. I thought Northwestern played in a system and style that was pretty good for him, we’ll see how he’s used.”
ON ADDING MICHAEL DURR
“Indiana’s got some depth, and last year, not having Joey Brunk really, really took a toll on the inside game defensively for Race Thompson and Trayce,” Miller said. “You’ve gotta have that third guy in conference play in the Big Ten that can handle the amount of size that’s coming at you on a nightly basis, and them being able to add Durr now they’ve got three guys on a nightly basis that can play that spot. To me that’s a big addition.”
ON THE RETURN OF FANS AND THE OUTLOOK FOR THE 2021-22 SEASON
“I like what they did. To me they’re going to have a great season,” Miller said. “To me if you look at the Duke’s, if you look at the Kentucky’s, you look at the Michigan State’s, and I’d add Indiana in there, adding the fans back to Assembly Hall changes the name of the game for their team. I don’t know what it would have been like to go to Cameron Indoor and play with nobody in there. I mean if you got a chance to play at Cameron with nobody in there, what a difference that would make. And it’s the same thing with Indiana. Coach Woodson is going to come in, there’s going to be a lot of energy, and those fans when they get back in there, that’s going to be a hard place to go into this year.”
Miller picked Indiana to finish in fifth place in the Big Ten, one of the more optimistic predictions we have seen to this point. He spoke extensively about every team in the Big Ten.
At the end of the podcast Goodman indicated that Miller will be a recurring guest.
You can watch the full episode below.
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