SALT LAKE CITY – New Arizona athletics director Dave Heeke sat about 20 feet from Sean Miller in Thursday’s game vs. North Dakota. He watched and observed … and eventually enjoyed the win.
It’s good to be the new AD at an established program where wins come often.
New Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke meets John “Button” Salmon. (Photo courtesy of Rocky LaRose)
“I love how he coaches, love it,” Heeke said of his impressions of his new coach on the sidelines. “He’s very composed on the sideline and knows what he wants to accomplish. He gets his point across to his players in very direct ways. The program is in great hands. I’m very impressed with Sean. He’s a great coach.”
This is Heeke’s first trip with the Cats since being named to the position late last month. He officially begins his job April 1. He’ll be with Arizona at the next stop – San Jose, Calif., — if it happens to defeat St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
For now, Heeke is trying “to access” the landscape of his new job so he can “determine what the next path” is.
It’s a heck of a way to start: the NCAA tournament with a team that has a chance to win it all next month.
“It’s great to be along and great to be here in person,” he said. “It’s a chance to be around staff, the coaches and the Wildcat fans. I’m glad to be engulfed in it now; feels really good.”
He said he likes to be coming in at this time with spring sports kicking off and the winter sports closing out. It helps help him get ready for the full school year next year.
This is his first NCAA tournament as a team’s No. 1 AD. He was an assistant at Oregon when it reached the Elite Eight a few years ago.
“I’ve been a spectator and behind the scenes on this in the past,” he said in this being his first as the boss. “It felt great and it’s big time and this is where you want to be.
We want our programs to win conference championships and to compete for and win national championships.”
