TCU Basketball promotes Ryan Miller to Assistant Head Coach

In a move that makes a ton of sense for a myriad of reasons, TCU assistant basketball coach Ryan Miller was announced as Assistant Head Coach Friday. The move up the bench comes after former assistant David Patrick left the program earlier this year to take the head job at UC Riverside.

Miller joined the program upon the arrival of Jamie Dixon two seasons ago, leaving UNLV for the same job in Fort Worth. He has been instrumental in the Frogs’ success since joining the program, using his acumen as a recruiter and X and O knowledge to help take the Frogs from the dregs of the Power Five to a tournament team. Highly in demand annually, Miller had interest from several programs this off-season, but chose to stay with Dixon and the Horned Frogs, and the opportunity to take a bigger role may have played a part in that.

“Ryan has played a big part in our success over the past two seasons,” said Dixon. “He’s been a great representation of TCU and is ready to be a head coach. Ryan and his family love being at TCU and we are very fortunate to have them here.”

More on the move, courtesy of GoFrogs:

Miller has assisted Dixon on the sidelines and has been instrumental in the turnaround of the men’s basketball program. Widely recognized as one of the top recruiters in college basketball, Miller helped recruit Desmond Bane and Jaylen Fisher, the highest ranked player in school history, to TCU. With Miller on the bench, TCU recorded 24 wins during the 2016-17 season, the second-most in school history and an improvement of 12 wins over the previous year. The Frogs went on to win the NIT championship, its first title in TCU history. This past season, Miller helped the Frogs earn their first NCAA Tournament bid in 20 seasons.

Miller came to Fort Worth after two years as an assistant coach at UNLV and in 2015, was named the fourth-best recruiter outside the Power 5. He has also assisted at Auburn, New Mexico, Pepperdine and Memphis.

A native of Mitchell, S.D., Miller attended Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., where he was a two-time Northern Sun All-Conference selection. He finished his career eighth on Northern State’s all-time scoring list after leading his teams to four straight conference championships and the 1998 regional title. He was named a Division II All-American and an Academic All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference member as a senior in 1997-98. Miller earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Northern State in 2000.

Miller was drafted by the CBA in 1999 and played professionally for the Fargo-Moorhead Beez of the International Basketball Association. He also saw action for the Dakota Gold of the IBA where he served as player/assistant coach during the 2000-01 campaign.