Wes Miller appeared destined to land a bigger job in the world of college basketball, and on Wednesday it became reality.

After being mentioned as a candidate to replace the legendary Roy Williams at North Carolina, Miller, 38, was hired as the head coach at Cincinnati
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. His contract is for 6 years, the school announced.

He takes over for John Brannen, who was fired last week after he was placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation.

“I am incredibly excited to welcome Wes into the Bearcats family,” Cincinnati AD John Cunningham said. “He is an extremely dynamic coach and mentor who impressed me with his drive, focus and attention to detail. He’s a proven winner as a head coach and was able to rebuild a program and lead a remarkable turnaround at UNCG over the last decade. We cast a very wide net in this search and Wes emerged as the right coach to lead the Bearcats into the future.”

The former UNC-Greeensboro coach played on the Tar Heel team that won the 2005 NCAA title and was considered an option to replace Williams before Hubert Davis was elevated to the position.

Miller graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and after graduation he wrote a book titled The Road to Blue Heaven about his road to North Carolina and his years playing there. In 10 seasons at UNC-Greensboro, he went 185-134 (.580) with three NCAA Tournament appearances, including this year.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be the head coach at the University of Cincinnati,” Miller said. “I’m thankful for President Pinto and John Cunningham for bringing me into the Bearcats family.  I am honored to lead such a storied program and excited to get to work. I also can’t thank UNCG enough because I wouldn’t be here without my players and athletic director Kim Record. This last decade coaching the Spartans has been extremely rewarding.”

Williams, 70, had high praise for his former player.

“Wes Miller is one of the most outstanding young coaches in our game and what he did at UNC- Greensboro makes me believe he is THE most outstanding,” Williams said. “As a player at North Carolina he came closer to reaching his full potential than any player I’ve ever coached. His energy, his determination, his intelligence and his care for young people convinces me that he will continue at that level. I am so happy for him and the University of Cincinnati Basketball program and I look forward to being in the stands.”