Molly Miller

You know, we talk about, we don't gloss over because it is really important that Jordan Ott is back for a second year.

But we had this conversation, even when we were talking to Molly Miller, we had her in the studio about being a first year head coach at a new place.

You are teaching your group new terminology, new schemes, new coverages, new ways that you approach the game.

Well, you got over 10 guys back that know that stuff.

So that excites me a little bit because those things may seem small, but that gets you going further and quicker on the idea of developing an identity and how you do things and the way you want to do things and ultimately who you want to be as a team.

Yes, and take that a step further from what you said.

Through the Molly Miller lens, You talk about being a first year coach and you're teaching players a new system, a new language, establishing your foundation.

you're also learning yourself as a, someone that's new to a space.

A few of the little things that I look at are size, speed, length even.

Can they keep up with the speed of the game on the offensive end, defensive end? How are they interacting with their teammates? How are they interacting if they're not in the game, if they're on the bench? Do they have a lot of Benergy? Got that from Molly Miller.

I love Molly Miller.

But do they have a lot of Benergy? Are they high-fiving people? Are they looking at the coach when the coach is talking to them? Are they, you know...

Are they involved in every way possible if they're not on the floor? Which I think, you know, that can go a long way when they get to the next level.

I was waiting for you to ask me this question, actually.

So the energy bus.

So first, I really love Molly Miller.

And Shane, before we get too deep into the weeds of the matchup itself, I mean, we've been posting it all over social media, but the Sun Devil fans, man, they have really shown up in great.

boatloads here to to support Arizona State we're at a pep rally obviously and I mean Molly Miller was there you had Willie Bloomquist there Graham Rossini was there and Arizona State fans were literally packed up and down Oxford Street crazy Chanting ASU.

It was kind of surreal, in all honesty.

We're in London, and I know they just opened up the London campus for the Sun Devils, but to see the fan turnout was crazy, especially compared to all the places we've been, and I know we've only been here a little bit, but I've seen way more Arizona State than I have Kansas

Again, Houston, a team that did not get a lot of wins, but they gave K-State a run for their money a couple times.

And then again, you got Molly Miller at Arizona State, absolute schedule merchant.

Then you have Cincinnati on the road, and then you get KU in Allen Fieldhouse on a Sunday, the 31st.

Then you're back home.

At Arizona, never a cake walk when you're going west.

At Arizona State, I expect them to be good under Molly Miller.

Oklahoma State, January 9th, the return of Audie Crooks will be in front of no students.

And then Kansas State, Iowa State's biggest rival on January 16th, also in front of no students.

Uh, the women's basketball team is also kind of one of ASU's long-standing traditions in terms of success.

Molly Miller just completed her first season as the women's basketball head coach.

When she was available at the time she was the hottest name on the market.

Graham Rasheed was able to keep her.

And so Kenny is someone who, you know, like I just said, like because, you know, not everybody loves that that aspect and that element of college athletics that there is this, you know, very pronounced financial component to it.

And so some people, I imagine, are uncomfortable talking about that.

But like that's where Kenny and Graham Rossini and Molly Miller, the women's head coach, Randy Bennett, they're like, no, like they understand that it's part of the climate of what they do.

And I think that's what makes them successful at is that they don't feel that awkwardness.

The job is getting them to know.

Molly Miller is the head basketball coach at Arizona State University.

I had a chance to talk to her about the power of asking questions.

And she does this in the highest pressure moment that her sport has.

And so, you know, that summer...

there no one was really there was a hiring freeze anybody who had a job they didn't know if they're gonna be a season or not and so um there wasn't a lot of schools that were gonna you know a lot of times they just were like we're gonna go with what we have this year if we even have a year and so it's not a great place to be if you don't have a job when you're trying to find a job in basketball so you know i was very fortunate that um My agent at the time, Jason Belzer, at the time he had represented Molly Miller, who was an up-and-coming head coach.

She had been the head coach at Division II Drury.

Her team actually was undefeated in the NCAA tournament when their season ended.

I had three kids.

And I thought, you know what? Why not give myself an opportunity to just kind of kind of see what it's like on the other side, but also like, it was just a, like a very practical sense too, just, uh, that I needed some basic things, you know, to support my family.

And so I took the job at Grand Canyon with Molly Miller and we, you know, we had a couple of, uh, Zooms, right.

But I never met her before.

We had some kind of pro wrestling style introductions.

And, of course, our guest list consisting of Landon Hairston, Molly Miller, and Graham Rossini.

Just a great day out there, a great way to get the season started.

It's kind of becoming an annual tradition.

I don't need to see him throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns.

It would be cool if he did.

But, you know, Mary Miller, Reed Harris, Raiden Vinesbright, Jalen Moss, Jaren Hamilton, the guys that we've been really talking about and who have put together good springs, good falls.

I want to see all of them just, you know, find that groove and look like a cohesive passing offense that has diversity.