Rich Miller already feeling at home with Conrad Weiser basketball

Rich Miller grew up in a basketball family and coached in a small town with a rich sense of community.

He believes he has found that again at Conrad Weiser, where he is expected to be approved as boys basketball coach by the school board later this month.

“Coaching in Mansfield, you are part of the community,” said the 46-year-old Miller, who coached men’s basketball at Mansfield University for 16 seasons, 10 as head coach. “You get to know people in town. That was a fun time. I was wishing I could get back to that.”

Miller and his family have lived in Wernersville for only a few years but already it’s feeling like home.

As Scouts head coach he’ll be able to coach his sons, Joshua, a sophomore, and Evan, a freshman; daughter Ellie, a senior, will be practicing on the same floor with the Scouts’ girls team.

Miller’s father, Rich Sr., coached Mansfield to a PIAA championship in 1969; that team was led by one of the greatest players in Pennsylvania history, Tom McMillen. Rich Sr. later coached at Lower Dauphin, where Miller was an all-conference pick in basketball, baseball and football; he graduated in 1993 as the second-leading scorer in Falcons basketball history. (His dad stopped coaching basketball before Miller got to high school.)

Miller relocated his family to the area in 2017 to be closer to family and for a new work opportunity, and also coached men’s basketball the past three seasons at Penn State-Berks.

He has never coached at the high school level but already feels close to the program and its returning players.

“I’m fortunate with the group we have returning to have Logan Klitsch and Aanjay Feliciano and Charlie Dobb on the team as seniors,” Miller said. “Those guys are great leaders. If you’re going to inherit a team, to inherit one with those type of kids, you can’t ask for anything better.”

Miller replaces Billy Harrison, who coached the Scouts for five seasons, taking them to the Berks Conference playoffs four times and the District 3 playoffs twice. Harrison remains athletic director at Weiser.

The Scouts went 13-7 last season, finishing second in Division II of the Berks Conference. They must replace their two top scorers, All-Berks guard Evan Smith and center Jake Plummer.

Miller’s teams have been known for playing at a fast pace and shooting a lot of 3-pointers. That’s not a style the Scouts are familiar with.

“I like to shoot a ton of 3’s, try to push the tempo and play hard on defense,” Miller said. “The group that we have, the younger guys, that fits them fairly well, (but) it’s something we’re gonna have to improve upon.”

Miller saw enough Berks basketball last season to know he’s in for a challenge. The Scouts play in Division II of the Berks Conference, which means competing with Muhlenberg in the division and crossover game against Reading High, Wilson and the other Berks I teams.

“I will say this about Berks County basketball: It’s really good,” Miller said. “You don’t have a better area in all the state, other than Philadelphia, where you have so many very, very talented players.”
In 10 season as head coach at Mansfield Miller’s teams went 130-139, with five PSAC playoff appearances.

He was Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Coach of the Year in 2009-2010, when Mansfield won its first division title in 13 years.

He was also an assistant coach in the program for six seasons.

At Penn State-Berks, Miller’s team went 5-44 over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Last season was canceled due to COVID-19. His 2020 team set a program record for 3-pointers, with 247.

Miller played one season of basketball at Mansfield, as a grad student in 1997-98, and averaged 6.8 points.

Miller graduated from Bucknell in 1996, where he was a four-year starter on the football team as kicker and punter, earning all-Patriot League honors. He also played two seasons on the JV basketball team at Bucknell.

Miller loves the situation at Weiser. He praised Harrison, girls basketball coach Mark Owens and football coach Alan Moyer (his sons also play football) for the way they run their programs.

“This is a better fit for what I enjoy,” he said of coaching at Weiser, “having a chance to work with some younger kids. In Division III (at the college level), you don’t have the individual workouts with the kids; the connections aren’t as strong. At the high school level I’ll be able to teach more basketball, spend more time with them in summer leagues.”