Tom Miller (born November 7, 1948)
Teams coached: Cornell Big Red, Colorado Buffaloes, Army Cadets
Cornell record: 71-85 (.455)
Colorado record: 35-79 (.307)
Army record: 13-61 (.176)
Overall record: 119-225 (.346)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1990-1993 | Army |
1986-1990 | Colorado |
1980-1986 | Cornell |
1975-1980 | Indiana (asst) |
Tom Miller Facts
- Thomas E. Miller
- Born November 7, 1948
- Hometown: Westchester, Illinois
- Alma Mater: United States Military Academy (BA, 1970)
- Graduated from St. Joseph HS (IL) then enrolled in the US Military Academy at West Point, NY
- Played basketball for Cadets under Hall of Fame head coach Bob Knight
- Got into coaching in 1975, joining Knight‘s staff at Indiana – he left Army in 1971 to take over the Hoosiers’ program
- Miller was part of three NCAA Tournaments in five seasons at IU, including the 1976 NCAA Championship team
- Helped recruit future HOF player Isiah Thomas to Bloomington; Thomas attended Miller’s alma mater St. Joseph HS
- Left in 1980 when he was hired to be the head coach at Cornell in the Ivy League
- Taking over a program that hadn’t finished over .500 in over a decade prior to his arrival, Miller turned the Big Red around
- Went 71-85 overall and finished his six-year tenure with three straight winning seasons
- Hired away from Cornell in 1986, taking over as the new head coach at Colorado
- Did not have much success with the Buffs, going just 35-79 in four seasons
- Nearly reached the NCAA Tournament in 1990, advancing to the Big Eight Tournament final as the 8-seed
- Similar to his mentor Knight, Miller got in hot water for reported physical abuse of players during practice
- The school threatened to fire him in 1988 if he did not change his tactics; Miller was fired in March 1990
- Miller and many of his former players were recognized in Boulder in Feb 2017, an event set-up by current coach Tad Boyle
- Did not have much success with the Buffs, going just 35-79 in four seasons
- Returned to West Point to coach the Cadets in 1990, his final collegiate head coaching role
- Fired before the end of the 1992-93 season with a 13-61 overall record at Army
- Again, outbursts and poor relationships with players were cited by the school in his dismissal
- Fired before the end of the 1992-93 season with a 13-61 overall record at Army
Tom Miller Coaching Tree
- Michael Connors (USciences, Army)
- Mike Dement (UNC Greensboro, SMU, Cornell)
- Jeff Jackson (Furman, New Hampshire)
- Randy Rahe (Weber State)