After Ja Morant put Murray State on the map with his electrifying play, the program had every reason to feel optimistic about its future. As long as they remained in the Ohio Valley Conference, that dream seemed within reach. But since moving to the Missouri Valley Conference, reality has been much harsher—they haven’t made a single NCAA Tournament appearance.

Even bringing back Steve Prohm, one of their most successful past coaches, didn’t change their fortunes. After posting two straight losing seasons in his second stint, Prohm stepped down, forcing the school to begin its search for a new leader.

Murray State’s Athletic Director, Nico Yantko, made it clear what they were looking for:

“A coach who can evaluate and develop talent, is a proven winner, is a relentless recruiter, and can build positive relationships.” And as soon as the search began, Ja Morant had a name in mind.

He supported James Kane, a former assistant coach for the Racers. Several of the fans backed him due to his prior history and eye to catch talent. However, that didn’t materialize. Instead, after just two days, the Racers decided on Crieghton’s assistant coach Ryan Miller, brother to former NBA star Mike Miller.

As far as experience is concerned, Miller has been around the basketball circuit. He’s had coaching stops at Memphis, Pepperdine and New Mexico. In each of his four years as an assistant to Greg McDermott, the Big East team has made the NCAA tournament posting a stunning 94-44 record.

So, as a candidate, he is great. But Morant and fans can’t understand one thing. How could they pass on Kane?

Ja Morant and fans are gutted

Upon hearing the news, Ja Morant was among the first to react. He stuck with the man he endorsed by sending a heart to coach James Kane. And others soon joined in. And the consensus was consistent. As one fan commented, “I won’t pretend to know what went down in the hiring process – but James Kane absolutely deserved this opportunity”. 

After all, Kane has the Murray State pedigree. He spent six years from 2011 to 17 as an assistant coach for the Racers. Ryan Miller too is an amazing candidate. The Racers fans are thrilled to have him on board too. But their hearts would have loved to have the Kane return to the Valley, this time at the helm.

“I don’t hate the hire. But man, really felt like it was going to be James Kane,” a fan resonated. And then there was a degree of shock. Ja Morant, the most prominent star to come out of Murray State gave his confidence to Kane. Having known his abilities, the Grizzlies talisman came from a place of knowledge.

Yet, they went in another direction. A fan couldn’t believe it as they wrote “James Kane got the Ja Morant Co-Sign and didn’t get the job,”. Ultimately, the college made the decision for Miller, who they feel is best suited for the job. His works across multiple colleges give him the credibility for a rebuilding project as is Murray State.

That’s one of the reasons the Racers fanbase isn’t upset with how the institution reacted. But it has only been two days since Prohm resigned. So some felt they could have invested more time to make the best decision. As a fan wrote, “Absurdly quick. But if we couldn’t get James Kane, Miller was clearly the guy in the crosshairs even before Prohm was gone,”.

It’s still unclear whether Kane was even made an offer. Remember, this is the coach that took a glimpse of Ja Morant and knew he would be “special”. Those thoughts were backed by results. Hence, one fan suggested Kane should feel disrespected by their decision. “If I’m James Kane, I’m never stepping foot in Murray again” they wrote.

At the same time, it’s tough to suspect what truly went down. Could James Kane have said no? All the possibilities are still open. It’s just hard to digest him rejecting the offer considering it would not only be an upgrade, but a chance to do something spectacular at a place that gave Kane great reverence.