By leading the Arizona Wildcats to a 22-5 record and a No. 9 national ranking after having to replace four starters from last season, Sean Miller has entered the national Coach of the Year discussion.
But another discussion has been circling around UA's seventh-year coach, about the weight he has noticeably lost from last season.
On Tuesday, the thinner Miller went on SportsCenter to discuss his Wildcats' six-game winning streak -- but before he was able to talk about his team, ESPN's Scott Van Pelt asked Miller about the inspiration behind the weight loss.
"Well, thank you for noticing," Miller said. "The one thing that I've learned is not a lot of people in this world tell you how bad you look. But everybody seems to notice when you've lost weight, and I have."
By all accounts, Miller cares so much about the UA basketball program that he doesn't take much time to care for himself. But he said he finally reached a breaking point last summer.
"I have a one-track mind a lot of times, and there are strengths with that and certainly weaknesses. I got on the wrong path, and this August I just finally said, 'That's it,'" he said.
"I traded in the Doritos for a treadmill and made better choices, and I'll tell you, I've never felt better. I like to think the balance is going to serve me well, and I'm happy that I did it."
Miller told Van Pelt he intends to keep the weight off, partially because he's already changed up his wardrobe and doesn't want to buy new clothes again, but mostly because he doesn't want to hear about it if he regresses.
"There's no turning back for me," he said. "I've gotten so much attention that I've done it that the next phase will be, 'Well, look how bad you look.' If nothing else, people like you are going to keep me locked in on how life should be."
