| Title: | Head Coach |
Wes Miller enters his first full season as the UNCG men’s basketball coach after spending most of last season as the interim head coach. He was named the Spartans’ ninth head coach at a press conference March 6, 2012 and agreed to a five-year contract.
Miller took over the reins of the program Dec. 13, 2011 with the Spartans sitting at 2-8 and led them through one of the biggest turnarounds in program history. Miller guided the Spartans to an 11-11 record the rest of the season to finish with a 13-19 overall record, including a 10-8 mark in SoCon play.
The Spartans lost their first six games under Miller to fall to 2-14 on the season but the program made an 180-degree turnaround posting an 11-5 record down the stretch. UNCG posted a seven-game winning streak during league play, which included several dramatic victories. The Spartans carried that momentum into the conference tournament where they advanced to the SoCon semifinals for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
Miller, who also spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant coach at UNCG, is no stranger to the state of North Carolina. He played three seasons at the University of North Carolina and spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Elon and High Point. Miller also ran his own basketball camps in Charlotte and Greensboro for two summers.
In three seasons as a player at North Carolina under head coach and mentor Roy Williams, Miller helped the Tar Heels to the national championship in 2005, two Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championships and one ACC Tournament title. He was team captain as a senior in 2006-07, leading UNC to 31 wins and the NCAA Elite 8 as well as the ACC regular-season and tournament titles, and a final No. 3 national ranking.
As a junior, Miller shot 44.1 percent from the 3-point line,
which was seventh-best in a single season in the UNC record book.
His 64 treys that season ranked eighth in the ACC. He earned the
team’s Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player
awards that season, as well.
A fan favorite at UNC, Miller authored a book entitled The Road to
Blue Heaven, which was published as a diary of his experiences as a
North Carolina basketball player. In addition to his success on the
floor, Miller excelled off the court, earning ACC Academic Honor
Roll recognition and the UNC Athletic Director’s Scholar
Athlete-Award. He earned his degree in political science from North
Carolina in 2007.
Upon his graduation from North Carolina, Miller played one season
of professional basketball for the London Capitals of the British
Basketball League, where he averaged 19.6 points per game to rank
eighth in the league.
Miller was a prep standout at the New Hampton School in New
Hampshire. He earned a scholarship to James Madison University,
where he played one season before transferring to North Carolina to
become a walk-on for Roy Williams’ squad.
Miller married the former Ashley Love in August 2011.