Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller knows how the media works. He's calculated, and so it was surprising that just before midnight on Sunday, he went to Twitter and took exception to critical Arizona fans by telling them to root for Arizona State.
Miller first thanked die-hard Wildcats fans for their support during an Elite Eight run, but a second tweet riled up more than his own fan base:
Finally to the people that try to make us feel like our season was a failure. Go cheer for ASU! #BearDown
— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) March 30, 2015
"Finally to the people who try to make us feel like our season was a failure. Go cheer for ASU! #Beardown," he tweeted.
Wildcats fans mostly ate it up, while Sun Devil supporters didn't need to get all that clever in firing back. They'll be glad to root for the Sun Devils.
But it's curious why Miller would follow an Elite Eight loss to Wisconsin with what will be perceived as a back-handed shot at the Sun Devils -- even if they weren't his intended target. ASU recently parted ways with coach Herb Sendek, who Miller once coached with and who had a decent share of success against Arizona.
More likely, Miller is reacting to criticism he's hearing from a segment -- small but vocal -- of the Wildcats' fan base, whose idea of a successful program if Final Four or bust.
Whether or not that small segment of fans got Miller's message, we can't say, but we do know one thing: ASU fans surely read what he had to say, and they won't forget. No matter who ASU hires as its next head coach, there's already fuel for the fire when Arizona visits Wells Fargo Arena next season.
Follow Kevin Zimmerman on Twitter
