Shoot, this player can coach the heck out of basketball
Matt Miller is the first to admit he's not the greatest athlete.
It may have seemed so when he was an All-Area point guard at Waubonsie Valley, or as an all-conference pick at Bellarmine University in Louisville. The Aurora native's last action came in December, the 5-foot-9 point guard for the national team of Rwanda, where he's a naturalized citizen.
Still, Miller knows his limitations. At 27 he knows - yikes - he's lost a step.
"But the thing that's happening now," he said, "is I can play."
He sure can shoot.
Last December Miller was the top 3-point shooter at the FIBA Africa Club Championships, sinking 23 of 51 from the arc. While his shooting's improved markedly, he's been a creator wherever he's been - Waubonsie Valley, at Southern Illinois University under Bruce Weber, professionally in England, now in Rwanda.
His former Waubonsie Valley coach, Dave Saurbaugh, said Miller knows "the intricacies" of the game, and now Miller is letting the cat out of the bag.
When not winning MVP or shooting awards, Miller is a coach and instructor. In July he'll offer his "Be a Pro" skills camps at the Eola Community Center, 555 S. Eola Road, Aurora.
"Because of the position I play and actually because I wasn't tall and overly athletic I really had to have an unbelievable understanding of basketball," said Miller, a clinician since Saurbaugh put him to work at a kids camp while in high school.
"I had to know where the ball was supposed to be, the right time, the right place," Miller said. "The way I compensated for not being 6-5 is I had to move the ball well. I had to understand it to a 'T' because it's the only thing that's kept me alive in basketball."
Miller knows the minutiae of mechanics and drills needed to hone them, and the big picture of tempo and the pick-and-roll.
"I've been able to break down the game of basketball, and that's what's enabled me to be able to teach it," he said.
Miller has "worked out" the likes of NBA superstar Dwyane Wade at The ATTACK Center in Chicago but said word has gotten out around Aurora, Naperville and Bolingbrook of his sessions with youth players and the AAU T-Wolves.
Waubonsie Valley's girls team, which went 26-3 last season and advanced to the sectional finals, has several players training with Martin.
"He's basically shown me how to dribble, how to take people off the dribble to open myself up or open everybody up more, to get more shots off," said Keiera Ray, All-Area last season as a sophomore. She trains with Miller three times weekly.
"He's a tough coach," she said. "I would say he only wants perfection, he takes nothing less. He knows your potential after working with you once or twice, and he's going to keep pushing you so you can get better."
There's tough, and there's Saurbaugh tough. Now Kim Connell's varsity assistant with the girls, Saurbaugh was an exacting - and highly successful - defensive and fundamentals-based coach whose mentors included Bobby Knight. In fact, Saurbaugh said his only A+ grade at Indiana University came in Knight's Theory of Basketball class.
Saurbaugh cited Miller's patience in working with children.
"He's really a technician at it, and he gives kids a different perspective - as someone who's had to work at it to get it done... . It's not just God's gifts all the time," Saurbaugh said.
Serving as Miller's coaches at the "Be a Pro" camps are Neuqua Valley stars of past and present - Bobby Catchings and Rahjan Muhammad - plus his former SIU teammate, honorable-mention All-America guard Darren Brooks, and former Manchester Magic teammate Andy Thomson.
Miller is presenting separate guard and shooting camps for boys in grades 6-12 July 5-8, and for girls July 12-15.
"It's a skill camp, so it's not a camp for getting recruited, it's not a camp where you play five-on-five," he said. "It's a camp where I know players can benefit, from high school all the way down. Because if it's a kid who's learning it, I'm teaching it."
For details, investigate Miller's website, m14hoops.com.
Lauren's runIt's already been more than four years since 2000 Willowbrook graduate Lauren Kiefer was found murdered on Christmas Day, 2006. Together with friends, Lauren's mother, Janice, chose to turn this tragedy into a positive. Through the Lauren Kiefer Memorial Foundation they've raised and distributed funds to nine charities as well as local families in need - and kept the memory fresh of the forever 24-year-old beauty.Janice Kiefer, administrative assistant for Willowbrook's athletic department, reminds us one beneficent arm of the foundation awards $5,000 scholarships to a pair of deserving Willowbrook seniors. That will happen May 26 at Willowbrook's athletic banquet at the Doubletree Guest Suites and Conference Center in Downers Grove.Janice also said 639 pints of Lauren's Lager sold on April 29 at the annual tapping reception at supportive purveyor Rock Bottom Restaurant Brewery in Lombard. Through May 27, the Lombard store will donate 25 cents to the Lauren Kiefer Memorial Foundation from each Lauren's Lager sold.The big ticket is the fourth annual Remembering Lauren 5K Family Run/Walk. It'll be held rain or shine on Saturday, June 26, at Willowbrook High School. Volunteer opportunities await. For details and registration visit rememberlaur.com.Calling all TigersThe second annual Wheaton Warrenville South alumni baseball game is scheduled for Saturday, June 19. The game, at WW South, will start around 1:30 p.m. with batting practice beforehand. It's also open to former Wheaton Central ballplayers, long in the tooth as they may be. Everyone can grill out and ice their shoulders afterward at the ballpark.Last year's high jinks included a runner being thrown out at first base after singling to center, a triple play, and former University of Cincinnati player Jack Nelson's four batting practice home runs. The roster was 22 deep.For details, e-mail Tigers baseball coach Tim Brylka (Class of '97), at TBRYLKa@cusd200.org.>