Miller's status could be X factor

Xavier coach Sean Miller went into last night's NCAA East Regional semifinal as the hottest commodity in college basketball.

Pick an opening at a major school - right now Virginia, Georgia, and Alabama head the list, with possibilities in Arizona and Kentucky - and you will find the 40-year-old Miller's name linked in some fashion.

Xavier officials thought they had locked up Miller, who is finishing his fifth season with the Musketeers, with a deal through 2016 that pays him in excess of $1 million per year, not including incentives and bonuses.

Miller has tried to focus on the present, but it has been tough. Ignoring talk of going to Georgia or Alabama is not hard because it doesn't seem to be a good fit. Virginia is intriguing, but how much better is the Cavaliers job right now?

But what about Kentucky? The Internet chatter about the future of Wildcats coach Billy Gillispie is almost nonstop, now that the 'Cats' season is over following their NIT quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame Wednesday.

If Kentucky does make a move, it needs stability as well as ability. Miller, who played point guard for Pitt, provides all of that.

Six years ago, then-Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland came into first- and second-round NCAA games in Boston with his name linked to an opening at UCLA. Howland denied and denied and no-commented as much as he could - then he left for UCLA.

Miller is in a similar situation. He could easily stay at Xavier and be well compensated.

Or by the time the Final Four is finished and a champion is crowned in Detroit in slightly less than two weeks, he could be introduced as the new head coach at . . .

Stay tuned.

Boston University continues its search for a replacement for Dennis Wolff, with new names coming up each day. An Atlanta-based search firm is providing names to BU athletic director Mike Lynch, who presumably is making his list and checking it twice. The latest call was to Siena coach Fran McCaffery, who has become a hotter item following the Saints' first-round win over Ohio State and narrow loss to Louisville.

"They contacted me last week by e-mail," McCaffery said yesterday. "They wanted me to come to Boston and talk. I told them that [they] had to ask permission from my athletic director.

"They didn't seem willing to do that."

Going from Siena to BU is a lateral move at best and McCaffery is on a higher plateau and would seem a logical candidate for Virginia or Xavier, if Miller bolts.

One thing seems clear as BU goes about the interview process. One of the prerequisites for the job seems to be an ability to sell and market the program, with the goal being to put fans in the stands as much as win games.

With that in mind, it still seems likely that the hot assistant - ranging from Pittsburgh's Tom Herrion to UConn's Andre LaFleur to Louisville's Walter McCarty and Richard Pitino to Boston College's Pat Duquette - will emerge as a front-runner. Other possibilities could be Tennessee associate head coach Tony Jones and Texas A&M associate head coach Scott Spinelli, who played at BU for Mike Jarvis.

Stay tuned, Part 2.

Former Providence coach Tim Welsh was at the Garden last night as a member of the media/patron of the arts. Welsh says he enjoyed his television gig this season, but still is keeping a close eye on the coaching openings.

Another face in the crowd was Boston College football coach Frank Spaziani, who headed over after a spring football practice, although the lateness of the second game between Duke and Villanova tested Spaziani, who generally is in bed before 9 p.m. and up before dawn.

Boston College is serving as host and athletic director Gene DeFilippo said the Eagles would go after another NCAA East Regional. "We are going to bid again," said DeFilippo, who would be happy with either the first or second weekend.

"We like this setup with four [teams in the regional]," said DeFilippo, who noted he was told by Chamber of Commerce officials that the tournament would bring nearly $7 million.