Butler hires Brandon Miller as assistant coach
From Butler Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. — Former player and coach Brandon Miller is returning to Butler. Miller has been named assistant men’s basketball coach for the Bulldogs, filling the spot that opened when Associate Head Coach Matthew Graves left to become head coach at South Alabama.
Miller, whose resume includes stops at Illinois, Ohio State and Xavier, will be reunited with Butler head coach Brad Stevens for the third time. He was a top player on Butler’s teams, 2000-03, when Stevens was serving first as Coordinator of Basketball Operations (2000-01) and later as an assistant coach (2001-03) with the Bulldogs. Miller then served as an assistant coach for one season (2007-08) under Stevens.
We are very excited to welcome Brandon Miller back to Butler, said Stevens. He’s not only one of our all-time great student-athletes, but also a very accomplished and talented coach.
During his one season as an assistant coach at Butler, Miller helped the Bulldogs to a 30-4 record, Horizon League regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Butler was ranked in the Top 25 for 20 weeks, reaching as high as No. 8.
First and foremost, my family is really excited, and I’m extremely excited to be back, said Miller. To be part of the Butler program is an honor, and I’m looking forward to getting started.
Miller is re-joining the Bulldogs’ after spending last season on the staff of head coach John Groce at Illinois, serving as special assistant to the head coach. The Bulldogs faced Miller and the Illini in the championship game of the Maui Invitational.
Prior to his stint at Illinois, Miller spent six seasons on the staff of head coach Thad Matta at Ohio State, serving three years as an assistant coach, two seasons as director of basketball operations and one year as video coordinator. During his tenure at Ohio State, the Buckeyes won four Big Ten titles, made three Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the 2007 NCAA championship game. He began his career as a video intern on Matta’s staff at Xavier in 2004.
A native of New Castle, Miller was a top performer on Butler teams that compiled a three-year 77- 20 record, three conference championships and three trips to postseason tournament play. He was the leading scorer on Butler’s 2002-03 squad, helping the Bulldogs to a 27-6 record, a league championship and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.
He finished his career ranked among Butler’s all-time leaders in points (1,121), three-point field goals (189) and assists (305). He earned All-Horizon League, Horizon League All-Defensive and Academic All-League recognition, and he was named Butler’s Co-Most Valuable Player in 2003. As a senior, Miller was chosen as Butler’s Co-Most Outstanding Male Athlete, and he received the Horizon League’s Cecil M. Coleman Medal of Honor, the league’s highest individual award. He also was named recipient of the 2003 Chip Hilton Award, presented annually to a NCAA Division I senior who demonstrates outstanding leadership, character, integrity, sportsmanship and talent. In 2006, he was named to the 15-player Butler Team of the Sesquicentennial.
Miller earned a bachelor’s degree from Butler in 2003. He and his wife, Holly, have two sons, Mason and Michael.
