Miller, Ralph H.
Basketball
b. March 9, 1919, Chanute, KS
d. May 15, 2001
Nicknamed "Cappy" in high school because he captained the basketball for three years. Miller was also a football and track star. He went to the University of Kansas, starring as a football quarterback and as a forward on the basketball team, which he captain in his senior year, 1941/42.
After three years in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Miller coached East High School in Wichita, KS, for three years, winning 63 games and losing 17. His 1951 squad won the state championship. Miller then began his 38-year college coaching career at Wichita State University.
Miller brought with him the concept of the full-court zone press, later adapted by John Wooden at UCLA to help establish a dynasty. With the press creating turnovers all over the floor, his teams were taught to attack with a passing fast break. If they were unable to break, they generally went to a slow, ball-control offense.
After thirteen seasons at Wichita State, Miller went to Iowa and 1965 and then to Oregon State in 1971. He was noted for getting fine performances out of teams that weren't always long on talent. He had 33 winning seasons, went to the National Invitation Tournament five times and to the NCAA tournament nine times.
Miller was named consensus coach of the year in 1982 and the Associated Press coach of the year in 1983. He's one of a handful of coaches to have been named coach of the year twice in three different conferences: In the Missouri Valley Conference in 1954 and 1964, in the Big Ten in 1968 and 1970, and in the Pacific Ten in 1975 and 1981.
His teams won 657 games, seventh on the all-time list, and lost 382.