On March 8th, it was announced that ASU dismissed now former head coach Natasha Adair. After finishing 10-22 this season and 29-66 over the previous three, it was evident that the once-proud program, now in the midst of a few down years, needed a change.

Molly Miller, the now-former GCU head coach, would be the agent of change. On Wednesday, ASU president Michael Crow and Athletics Director Graham Rossini introduced Miller.

Crow, ASU president since 2002, is in the middle of some of the most athletic success he’s seen as president. While Rossini, in his first year as athletic director, saw ASU win four Big 12 titles across sports this past year.

The first to speak was Crow, who immediately conveyed his faith in Miller.

“I see coach Turner-Thorne here," Crow said. "My hope is that coach Miller can restore ASU women’s basketball to the highest level of competitiveness possible at a moment when women's basketball is taking off like a rocket… for me, I’m all in for coach Miller to be as successful as possible.”

Next followed Rossini, who voiced his enthusiasm for the future of not only ASU women's basketball but also the entire athletic department. In his admiration for the new hire, he called it a "momentous move for Arizona State University" and quickly referred to Miller as the "perfect leader."

Miller was finally given the floor, and as the attention was turned to the program's new head, her first words were, "No seriously, is it season yet?"

Miller's debut drew a crowd that included practically every head coach in the athletic department, which is not surprising given their degree of support for one another. One of them was ASU football head coach Kenny Dillingham, whom Miller used as an opportunity to express some of her team goals and how she aims to restore ASU basketball to its glory days, quoting Dillingham's remark, "A sailboat doesn't sail on yesterday's wind."

Using this to develop her own team motto.

“I was thinking like what would our theme or quote be for next year,” Miller said. “I started thinking about the sailboat theme, and I came up with when I'm trying to revive a program and generate excitement when there's no wind in your sail… row, and we're going to row. I'm going to get a staff here, and we're going to hit the ground running.”

Miller won 32 games with the Lopes last season and 117 in five seasons at Grand Canyon, giving her a total winning percentage of. .754. Last season's tournament appearance marked GCU's first in program history.

Her successes and track record speak for themselves. Miller's success made her a highly sought-after target, and Rossini quickly recognized that he needed to act quickly and make the correct moves to land his coach.

“Early in the process, we had gotten word that Molly's going to have a lot of opportunities, should she be pursuing a job elsewhere, and if she's on our list, we better start to move quickly,” Rossini said. “We had a chance to follow up the day after that and I think there was both a mutual spark and connection that hey we see the world similarly we understand that we're very capable here at ASU that this is a destination.”

Miller even mentioned that Rossini used a play right out of her playbook to recruit her, once telling him, "I don’t drink coffee; this stuff runs through my veins naturally. I drink chai tea, though."

Rossini brought precisely that to her first campus visit: a chai tea. Miller acknowledged the creative recruiting strategy, saying, "That’s a recruiting stunt I would have pulled!"

Miller's appointment as head coach of ASU women's basketball was just announced four days ago, but with the NCAA transfer portal opening on Monday, Miller has had little time to enjoy her new position.

When asked about the support of her other coaches at the press conference, Miller commended men's basketball coach Bobby Hurley, who she mentioned is already receiving players on official visits. Miller was thrilled to announce that she has already gotten to work and has four visits scheduled herself, resulting in a very quick turnaround.

“We're just burning the midnight oil,” Miller shared. “Because that's the day and age we live in with the portal like I said it opened yesterday and we're hitting the ground running and that's going to be a process for me.… I used to say you could sleep in April, but now with the environment, we're just going to sleep in August.”

She not only indicated her desire to go to the portal swiftly but also specified the type of recruits she was searching for. Reminding everyone that Arizona has potential that needs to stay in Arizona, she aims to " recruit in the backyard first."

Her head coaching experience did not begin at GCU; she spent an extra six years at Drury University, where she also played basketball in college. However, Miller claimed that the spot where she's grown the most as a coach wasn't one of those spots.

It was when she became a parent.

“I became such a better coach when I became a parent,” Miller said. “You kind of learn what tough love looks like, you want to have a standard and expectation and I think these kids, my biological kids and my basketball kids want to be held to a standard and loved along the way…I think just understanding that if you have those relationships, those kids will run through a wall for you, and I’d do the same for them.”

Miller, a mother of two, with her two children sat intently in the front row of the conference, supporting their mother. Cy, one of her children, was already taught the famous "forks up" hand signal, which he demonstrated during the press conference, to which Rossini replied, "That's good coaching right there."

The laughing, energy, and positivity brought a wonderful breath of fresh air to the program. There was a genuine sense of new beginnings that this program would be able to return to the tournament and thrive like it did in the early 2000s under Charli Turner Thorne.

When Miller took over as head coach of GCU women's basketball, the program changed completely. ASU women's basketball would desire nothing more than a complete 180, and Miller, Crow, Rossini, and the entire athletic department seem to feel she is quite capable of delivering it.

So, what message does Miller have for fans to buy into?

“Let's go!” Miller said excitedly. “You’re gonna be my people, I wanna rally and do a little huddle jump with you after games, I want to meet you before games, I want to invite you into practices… I want you to feel ownership, and I want you to be a part of this, so I can't wait to ingrain myself and the student body and have you all come see a fun brand of basketball but something you're going to be really, really proud of to represent Arizona State.”

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