LOS ANGELES - Six years are a blink when old friends like Sean Miller and Chris Mack get back together. When the coaches met up Wednesday in a Staples Center hallway, they jumped right back into their old relationship roles.
Miller is still the serious leader shouldering the responsibility of a major program at Arizona, still wistful about his decision to leave Xavier in 2009.
Mack is still the grateful, upbeat friend who replaced him - and who just can't resist a good jab at his old boss before their schools face off for the first time tonight in the West Regional semifinal.
"I don't know if Sean has a funny side," Mack said with a laugh. "No, he does. I could share a few stories that may either get him embarrassed, maybe even arrested, but I won't do that. I'm kidding about the arrested part. He's got a dry sense of humor. He is a funny guy behind closed doors, but not very often. Not very often. He's ultra-serious. Too serious. He needs to loosen up."
The bonds between these coaching staffs still run wide and deep, but the friendship at their center will get a little spice when Mack's sixth-seeded Musketeers (23-13) attempt to pull off a major upset of the second-seeded Wildcats (33-3).
Miller spent five years in charge at Xavier, and Mack was on his staff the entire time as they took the Musketeers to new heights of prominence. After Miller made the agonizing decision to leave Cincinnati, he lobbied for his longtime lead assistant to replace him.
Despite some rough patches, Mack has maintained Xavier's consistent success with three Sweet 16 trips. Miller has led his West Coast powerhouse to a regional semifinal four times in five years.