Wes Miller
American basketball player and coach
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Warren Weston Miller (born January 28, 1983) is an American basketball coach and former player. Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, he played at the collegiate level for James Madison University and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 2007. Professionally, Miller played for London Capital of the British Basketball League. He was previously head coach at the University of Cincinnati, UNC Greensboro, and served stints as an assistant coach at Elon University and High Point University.
Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Miller with UNC Greensboro in 2018 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 28, 1983 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2002–2003 | James Madison |
| 2004–2007 | North Carolina |
| 2007–2008 | London Capital |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2008–2009 | Elon (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | High Point (assistant) |
| 2010–2011 | UNC Greensboro (assistant) |
| 2011–2021 | UNC Greensboro |
| 2021–2026 | Cincinnati |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 285–209 (.577) |
| Tournaments | 0–2 (NCAA Division I) 5–4 (NIT) 1–1 (CBI) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| As player:
NCAA champion (2005) 3 SoCon regular season (2017, 2018, 2021) SoCon North Division (2012) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× SoCon Coach of the Year (2012, 2018) | |
Playing career
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Miller attended New Hampton Prep in New Hampton, New Hampshire.[1] Miller played one year at James Madison before transferring to North Carolina to play for Roy Williams, where he successfully walked on to the basketball team.[2] He was redshirted for the 2003–2004 season. Miller played on the Tar Heel team that won the 2005 National Championship. He 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 the University of North Carolina and his years playing there.[3] After graduation, Miller played one season for London Capital of the British Basketball League.[4]
Coaching career
Early career
After playing professionally in England for a year, Miller was hired as an assistant coach at Elon University to join the staff of head coach Ernie Nestor. Elon had a record of 12–19 in the 2008–2009 season and Nestor stepped down as head coach at the end of the year. Miller was hired at High Point University and joined the staff of their new head coach, Scott Cherry, the next season.[5]
UNC Greensboro
For the 2010–11 basketball season, Miller became an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under Mike Dement. That team finished the season 7–24, in fifth place in the Southern Conference.
The next year Dement retired mid-season and Miller became interim head coach. At the time, the Spartans had a record of 2–8 and were in the midst of an eleven-game losing streak. Under Miller, the team finished Southern Conference play with a 10–8 record, 13–19 overall, winning first place in the Southern Conference North Division. Miller was named the 2012 Southern Conference Coach of the Year and was hired officially as head coach.[6]
Miller spent the following ten seasons as the UNCG men's basketball coach.[7] During his tenure UNCG saw an unprecedented run of success, reaching 25 wins for three successive seasons between 2016 and 2019, winning three Southern Conference championships, reaching the NCAA tournament in 2018 and 2021, and recording the program's first postseason victory in 2019. Miller is the winningest coach in UNC Greensboro history, with 185 victories.[8]
Cincinnati
On April 14, 2021 Cincinnati hired Miller to become their next head coach, replacing John Brannen.[9] He finished his first season leading the Bearcats to a 18–15 record, while going 7–11 in conference play. They placed 8th in the American Athletic Conference.
On March 13, 2026, it was announced that he was fired by Cincinnati. Miller's Bearcats went 100-74 in his five seasons coaching the team, and zero appearances in the NCAA tournament.[10]
Personal
Miller's father, Kenneth D. Miller, is a prominent alumnus and trustee of Wake Forest University.[11] Wes's younger brother Walker Miller also played basketball for North Carolina before transferring to Monmouth for his final year of eligibility.[12] Wes married the former Ashley Love of Wilmington in 2011.[13]
College statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | James Madison | 30 | 0 | 17.2 | .350 | .320 | .600 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| 2003–04 | North Carolina |  Redshirt | ||||||||||
| 2004–05 | North Carolina | 24 | 0 | 3.8 | .300 | .313 | .692 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| 2005–06 | North Carolina | 31 | 16 | 22.9 | .438 | .441 | .720 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 7.2 |
| 2006–07 | North Carolina | 38 | 1 | 10.6 | .322 | .333 | .733 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Career | 123 | 17 | 14.0 | .377 | .373 | .698 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 3.8 | |
Source[14]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC Greensboro Spartans (Southern Conference) (2011–2021) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | UNC Greensboro | 11–11 | 10–5 | 1st (North) | |||||
| 2012–13 | UNC Greensboro | 9–22 | 6–12 | 6th (North) | |||||
| 2013–14 | UNC Greensboro | 14–18 | 7–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2014–15 | UNC Greensboro | 11–22 | 6–12 | T–7th | |||||
| 2015–16 | UNC Greensboro | 15–19 | 10–8 | T–5th | CBI Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2016–17 | UNC Greensboro | 25–10 | 14–4 | T–1st | NIT first round | ||||
| 2017–18 | UNC Greensboro | 27–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2018–19 | UNC Greensboro | 29–7 | 15–3 | 2nd | NIT second round | ||||
| 2019–20 | UNC Greensboro | 23–9 | 13–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 2020–21 | UNC Greensboro | 21–9 | 13–5 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| UNC Greensboro: | 185–135 (.578) | 109–66 (.623) | |||||||
| Cincinnati Bearcats (American Athletic Conference) (2021–2023) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Cincinnati | 18–15 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Cincinnati | 23–13 | 11–7 | 4th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| Cincinnati Bearcats (Big 12 Conference) (2023–present) | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | Cincinnati | 22–15 | 7–11 | T–11th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2024–25 | Cincinnati | 19–16 | 7–13 | T–12th | CBC Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2025–26 | Cincinnati | 18–15 | 9–9 | T–7th | |||||
| Cincinnati: | 100–74 (.575) | 41–51 (.446) | |||||||
| Total: | 285–209 (.577) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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