Todres | Miller must get used to the pressure

When Glen Miller arrived in West Philadelphia three years ago to be introduced as the next coach of Penn, he was greeted with something he had not come to expect in his prior 15 years as an NCAA coach: a legitimate press conference.

Roughly eight reporters from The Daily Pennsylvanian and many more members of the local media huddled around him to get a close look at Fran Dunphy's replacement.

After the reporters finally switched off their tape recorders and shuffled out of the Palestra, Penn's Director of Athletic Communications, Mike Mahoney, turned to Miller and warned him to get used to all of the attention. In the world of Penn Athletics, men's basketball is king.

But on that day, Miller viewed all of this interest in his appointment as a welcomed relief.

"I'm not even sure The Brown Daily Herald knew we existed," he said jokingly to Mahoney.

Exactly three years and one day after Miller first tied on the red and blue-striped tie, he found himself facing another intense question and answer session. But this time, the media wasn't even invited. Yet being forced to face angry fans wasn't the relief Miller had in mind at his introductory press conference.

Imagine a town hall meeting about the state of affairs on the basketball teams at Brown, or even Connecticut College, where Miller began his head coaching career. Those schools could count the number of their basketball supporters on one hand.

But this is Penn, where the basketball program is rich in tradition and does not get taken lightly. And to long-time Penn supporters, the only thing more frustrating than losing is feeling alienated by the program.

Contrary to what some might think, Miller cares deeply about fans' perceptions of him and the basketball program. He reads the media coverage, the blogs, the message boards and the comments. He hears the jeers and taunts at the Palestra and is affected by them.

It might not be a coincidence that Penn's road record this season was much better than its record at home.

The reality is that when Miller first accepted the Penn job, he thought he had signed up to coach basketball and recruit. To this point, he has had trouble embracing that his responsibilities entail much more than coaching basketball.

He has always been a basketball coach, but he has never needed to be a politician. At the Palestra, however, an actual governor observes some of his games first-hand. This level of outside interest in the basketball program has caught Miller off guard time and time again likely because he never had any experience dealing with it before coming to Penn.

By all accounts, Sunday's town hall meeting did not contain much substance, but it was a step in the right direction. That's because it forced Miller and Penn fans to interact in a constructive fashion - not in an emotionally charged setting in the heat of the moment, as is the case at games.

In the future, however, these interactions cannot be forced and must occur frequently. That is, if he wants to remain at Penn for the long haul.

There are plenty of terrific basketball coaches who never quite figure out how to handle all of the external pressures and responsibilities of coaching at a popular program. On a larger scale, Billy Gillispie could not survive at Kentucky for this very reason.

Penn might not be Kentucky, but the Palestra is and always has been the grand stage for Ivy League basketball.

Based on my personal dealings with Miller, I believe that he might be one of the most misunderstood figures at Penn. But that is his problem to correct. The town hall meeting is only the beginning.

Miller still appreciates the opportunity to steward a basketball program that people actually care about. But if he does not want to take the time to reach out to the community on a constant, voluntary basis, then - win or lose - Penn is simply not the right fit for him.

Andrew Todres is a senior political science and history double major from New York. His e-mail address is todres@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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