Photo by James D. DeCamp - Dispatch
Coach Bob Miller got the 500th victory of his career and the Cardinals got their 13th win of the season over Delaware Hayes last night 62-53. It was a great atmosphere as TWHS had about 30 - 40 rowdy students on hand to witness the event.
After the game, the students surrounded the bench chanting 'Bob, Bob, Bob!' and 'That's 500!'. Then after the handshake and hugs from his players, Bob put down the clipboard and headed into the students to celebrate. You think he's having any fun?
Congratulations Coach on a wonderful achievment!
Here are some articles on the milestone:
From This Week Worthington:
http://www.thisweeknews.com/?sec=home&story=sites/twn/content/pool/exclusives/2008/january/012208-WOR-Sports-Miller.html&tab=tab1
Cardinals' Miller earns 500th career coaching win
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008
By PATRICK DOLAN
ThisWeek Staff Writer
There will be a time for Thomas Worthington High School boys basketball coach Bob Miller to reflect on his career and all of his accomplishments and milestones, including his 500th win, which he reached Tuesday night with a 62-53 victory at Delaware.
Until then, however, his primary focus is his team and the remainder of this season, namely winning the OCC-Central Division championship and making a run in the Division I district tournament.
With the win over Delaware, the Cardinals improved to 13-3 overall and 6-1 in the OCC-Central and moved back into a first-place tie in the league with Westerville Central. The Warhawks had improved to 6-1 with a 52-38 win over Pickerington North last Saturday.
Next on the schedule for the Cardinals is a league game Friday at Pickerington North. The Panthers, who are tied for third in the league with Delaware at 3-4, defeated Thomas 61-60 in overtime on Dec. 14.
"I think at some point I will look back on (reaching 500 wins) and cherish it more than right now," Miller said. "We've got another big game Friday. ... Every game is so important because we're tied with Westerville Central. I've been trying to concentrate on that."
Immediately after the win over Delaware, Miller received hugs from his players while being serenaded by a group of Thomas students, many of whom were clad in red T-shirts that read "Millers Maniacs." The students chanted "That's 500" and "Bob, Bob, Bob" and after they gathered around him on the court, he jumped around with them.
"Yes, we have some crazy student fans," Miller said with a laugh.
Delaware athletics director Kevin Reed acknowledged Miller's milestone and presented him with the game ball. Miller then took the microphone and addressed the crowd with a brief speech, in which he thanked his family and all of current and former players and assistants.
"It's nice to kind of get it over with and move on," Miller said moments later after meeting with his team. "As long as I've coached, I've had a lot of really good teams, a lot of really good players. That's how you win games, win championships. And my assistant coaches through the years have done a lot of the work and have helped develop players as well."
According to the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association, 34 coaches had reached the 500-win milestone before this season. Ed Heintschel of Toledo St. John's joined that list earlier this season, and now Miller, who improved his record to 500-256.
In addition to Miller, the other active members of the 500-win club are Heintschel, Richard Kortokrax of Kalida, Joe Petrocelli of Kettering Alter, Gary Shaffer of Washington Court House, Mike Mueller of West Chester Lakota West, Larry Jordan of Chillicothe Southeastern, Norm Persin of Oak Hill, Tom Eibel of Wellington, Al Welch of Wayne Trace, Bob Pasci of Twinsburg and Jerry Doerger of Clermont Northeastern.
Kortokrax was the state's all-time leader in wins at the start of the season with 745. Petrocelli was second with 740.
According to the OHSBCA, Miller is the second boys coach in the area to reach 500 wins. The first was former Buckeye Valley coach Richard Meyer, who retired with a 506-229 record in 36 seasons. Tom Petty of Bloom-Carroll should be the next area coach to reach that milestone if he continues to coach. As of last Monday, Petty, who is in his 28th season with the Bulldogs, owned a 469-143 record.
The only other active coaches in the area with 300 or more victories were Kent Riggs of Canal Winchester (338-135), Pete Liptrap of Pickerington North (337-213), Ray Miller of West Jefferson (318-225), Mike Hoyng of Sparta Highland (307-197), Tony Bisutti of Dublin Scioto (303-169). Their records were current as of last Monday.
Miller, who compiled a 150-54 record in 10 seasons at Groveport and entered this season with a 337-199 record in 24 seasons at Thomas, said he was concerned that the countdown to his milestone would be a distraction to his players.
"Everyone kept talking about it," said Miller, who has guided his teams to 12 OCC championships and three district titles and has been selected OCC Coach of the Year 11 times, district Coach of the Year four times and state Coach of the Year in 2003. "I didn't want to put any more undue pressure on (the players), but I thought the kids played extremely well on the road (against Delaware)."
Senior guard Taylor Hobbs said the players have been looking forward to Miller's milestone victory for a while.
"We tried not to talk about it too much and get him too nervous about it," Hobbs said. "At the beginning of the season, just a few (players) were aware of (the milestone), but as we got closer everyone knew.
"It's huge for us. We were pumped for it. It gets us all excited and I'm sure he was pumped up and excited about it. ... He's just a great guy. He's just a great coach."
From The Columbus Dispatch:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/preps/stories/2008/01/23/bobmiller500.ART_ART_01-23-08_C1_O694S3T.html?sid=101
High school basketball: Worthington coach still all business after 500th win
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 3:20 AM
By Steve Blackledge
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
DELAWARE, Ohio -- If you believe Bob Miller, career victory No. 500 last night meant no more or no less than any other in his 34-year coaching career.
Straight-faced, he quickly strayed from the subject of the milestone and explained how a 62-53 win over Delaware was "much more important" to Thomas Worthington's chances of winning an Ohio Capital Conference Central Division championship. He then began talking about the Cardinals' next opponent.
Miller is all business most of the time, but make no mistake, he was close to tears when Thomas Worthington's student cheering section, affectionately called Miller's Maniacs, serenaded him at game's end. He was besieged with hugs from his players, assistant coaches and longtime supporters. Delaware athletic director Kevin Reed presented him the game ball.
"We've known about this since the start of the season and we've sort of counted it down to ourselves with each win," Cardinals senior guard Taylor Hobbs said. "He never said a word to us about it. That's just the way he is."
The record books of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association are not in sync, but one can safely say Miller is one of only three dozen coaches with 500 wins. Twelve are active.
Among Central District coaches, only Dick Meyer of Buckeye Valley (506-229) has more victories and Miller (500-256) could pass him by season's end.
Miller, who spent his first 10 seasons at Groveport and the past 24 at Thomas Worthington, said one of the high points of the evening was being greeted by Vance Mitchell, one of his former Groveport players from 1982.
"He wondered if I still remembered him and I said, 'Gosh, are you kidding,' and we rattled off every name from that team. Those are the kind of moments that make it special."
None of Miller's closest friends is surprised that he is still coaching. He also is in his 43rd year of teaching.
"I think Bob will stay around for several more years because basketball is what he loves," said Hamilton Township coach Dave Clinger, who assisted Miller twice spanning parts of three decades. "He doesn't play golf or have that many hobbies.
"Bob's longevity and success is due to the fact that he's never stopped learning. … To a lot of people, he probably comes off as conservative, but he's very receptive to change. When he first started coaching back in the 1970s, everybody was playing run-and-gun ball. He came up with defenses to beat teams with superior talent. Now, almost all the OCC teams have copied that style."
Retired Newark coach Gary Walters, who won more than 400 games, said Miller has simply outworked many of his peers.
"His intellect, passion for the game and meticulous preparation have certainly served him well," Miller said. "His scouting reports to this day are amazing to see. Usually, coaches write bullets on tendencies of opponents and their plays. Bob writes pages and pages of diagrams. I don't even know how he reads them."
Walters recalled a beach vacation that they and their wives once spent together.
"Bob and I must have spent close to an hour discussing how to defend a pick and roll, and Bob was drawing diagrams in the sand. Our wives weren't too happy about that."
Hobbs scored 15 points, Eric Easley 14 and Justin Hallowell 12 to pace Thomas Worthington. The Cardinals (13-4, 6-1) shot 54 percent from the field.
Calvin Edwards and Rob Matthews scored 12 each for Delaware (7-8, 3-4).
sblackledge@dispatch.com
And Finally, a blog Dispatch writer Steve Blackledge wrote last week leading up to the event (Thanks to Jim VanArsdall for the heads up on this).
http://blog.dispatch.com/boysbasketball/2008/01/miller_nears_major_milestone.shtml
Miller nears major milestone
Long-time Thomas Worthington coach Bob Miller -- one of the really good guys in the profession -- will shoot for career victory No. 500 on Tuesday at Delaware.
In this day and age when each high school sport is increasingly becoming a year-round job, a coach who stays around long enough to achieve 500 wins deserves a hearty round of applause. Many of us forget that coaching is merely a supplemental position to one's teaching career. The modest stipend never matches the extra hours these coaches put in for the love of the game and loyalty to their players, often at the expense of their own families.
This isn't merely a milestone rewarding Miller's longevity. Stop and think for a moment how difficult it is for one to achieve 500 wins. A coach of an average program would have to finish 10-10 for 50 consecutive years to amass this number.
The 500 club has only 30 members, eight of whom remain active. No coach in central Ohio has won this many games.
Miller went 150-54 as head coach at Groveport (a .735 winning percentage) from 1973-1983 before taking over at Worthington, where he is 349-202 (.633) since. He has won roughly two out of every three games during a 34-year span.
It's not entirely accurate to judge a coach based strictly on his won-loss record. Some outstanding coaches may never get the opportunity to coach talented players. Some ordinary coaches may have won state titles based on the players he inherited. Some may coach in tougher leagues than others.
Just for the sake of argument, let's see how Miller stacks up with some of the area's other veteran coaches in terms of career winning percentage, starting with 100 career victories:
1. Tom Petty (Bloom-Carroll) 470-142, .768
2. Joe Arndt (Tree of Life) 147-58, .754
3. Kevin Weakley (Worthington Christian) 140-46, .753
4. Brett Norris (Hilliard Darby) 216-85, .718
5. Kent Riggs (Canal Winchester) 337-135, .714
6. Jamey Collins (Dublin Coffman) 157-63, .714
7. Chris Rider (Reynoldsburg) 242-104, .699
8. Kent Burgert (Beechcroft) 154-72, .681
9. Brent Freshour (Pleasant) 213-105, .670
10. Bob Miller (Thomas Worthington) 499-256, .661
11. Doug Stiverson (Logan Elm) 125-69, .644
12. Tony Bisutti (Dublin Scioto) 302-169, .641
13. Pete Liptrap (Pickerington North) 337-212, .614
14. Mike Hoyng (Highland) 307-197, .609
15. Jeff Quackenbush (Newark) 118-76, .608
16. Kevin Logsdon (Hilliard Davidson) 210-139, .602
17. Sean Taylor (Eastmoor Academy) 100-67, .599
18. Larry Eberst (Delaware) 176-118, .599
19. Keith Barr (Fairfield Union) 175-122, .589
20. Ray Miller (West Jefferson) 318-224, .587
21. Steve DeDent (Jonathan Alder) 136-96, .586
22. Roger Jury (Marion Harding) 167-120, .582
23. Ed Calo (Westerville South) 263-191, .579
24. Ray Corbett (Grandview) 276-204, .575
25. Jim Morgan (Tree of Life) 157-117, .573
26. Satch Sullinger (Northland) 178-133, .572
27. Donovon Barrett (Buckeye Valley) 105-80, .568
28. Scott Jemson (Gahanna Christian) 200-153, .567
29. Dave Gustin (Bexley) 187-147, .560
30. Dave Clinger (Hamilton Township) 181-143, .559
31. Randy Kortokrax (Hartley) 107-86, .554
32. Jim Simpson (Centerburg) 260-218, .544
33. Tim Casey (Upper Arlington) 221-192, .535
34. Bob White (East) 266-236, .530
35. Jerry Groves (Pickerington Central) 107-98, .522
36. Sam Davis (New Albany) 215-198, .520
37. Vince Lombardo (Watterson) 264-259, .505
38. Don Worstell (Franklin Heights) 101-107, .486
39. Steve Comstock (Big Walnut) 244-270, .475
40. Kevin Thuman (Westerville North) 126-160, .440
41. Andy Clark (Ready) 106-143, .426
42. Van Gregg (Whitehall) 234-345, .404
-- By Steve Blackledge
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