Ryan Miller Named Auburn Associate Head Basketball Coach
By: Josh Rultenberg
Updated: September 18, 2012
From Auburn Media Relations:
AUBURN - Former Missouri assistant, Ryan Miller, has been named Auburn Associate Head Basketball Coach, head coach Tony Barbee announced Tuesday.
Miller, who spent two months at Missouri, coached the previous five years from 2007-12 as an assistant coach at New Mexico under head coach Steve Alford. He was a part of the most successful five-year period in New Mexico basketball history, helping the Lobos to a 126-46 record, five consecutive postseason appearances and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.
New Mexico won two regular season Mountain West Conference Championships and one MWC Tournament Championship during his coaching stint.
"I'm excited about Ryan joining our staff," said Barbee. "He is a close friend who I have known for quite a while now. He is going to add a lot to the program in all areas from recruiting to coaching to relationships with players."
Miller is considered one of the top recruiters in the country where he has contacts throughout the United States as well as foreign countries including Australia, where he also played competitively.
He was a basketball operations assistant at Memphis under head coach John Calipari from 2004-06 when Barbee was also an assistant coach on the staff. During Miller's three years at Memphis, the Tigers went 78-28 and made three postseason tournament appearances, including two NCAA Tournament berths.
"I'm excited to be here No. 1," said Miller. "I'm excited to be reunited with Coach Barbee from our Memphis days. I've been good friends with Coach for a while now. I've been following his career at UTEP and watched him rebuild that program into a power. I've watched from afar as he has started to rebuild the Auburn basketball program, and I am just excited to be a part of it. I'm excited to be a part of the culture of Auburn Athletics and what it stands for."
Miller spent one year as an assistant coach at Pepperdine before joining the New Mexico staff prior to the 2007-08 season.
A native of Mitchell, S.D., Miller attended Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., where he was a two-time Northern Sun All-Conference and All-Academic selection. He finished his career eighth on Northern State's all-time scoring list after leading his teams to four straight conference championships and the 1998 regional title. He was named a Div. II All-American and an All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Academic selection as a senior in 1997-98.
In the 1998 North Central Region Championship, Miller scored 45 points, making nine 3-pointers, leading Northern State to an 88-82 victory over South Dakota State to advance to their first Elite 8 in Louisville, Ky.
Miller was drafted into the CBA in 1999 and played professionally for the Fargo-Moorhead Beez of International Basketball Association that season.
Miller earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Northern State in 2000. He attended Mitchell (S.D.) Senior High where he was a two-time all-state selection, leading Mitchell to the 1994 state championship. His brother, Mike, is a 12-year NBA veteran who won the 2012 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat.
