Miller, Wes 1983- (Warren Weston Miller)

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Miller, Wes 1983- (Warren Weston Miller)

PERSONAL:

Born January 28, 1983, in Charlotte, NC; son of Ken Miller and Susan Cameron. Education: University of North Carolina, received degree, 2007.

CAREER:

London Capitals basketball team, London, England, guard, 2007-08; Elon University, Elon, NC, assistant basketball coach, 2008—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player award, University of North Carolina Tar Heels, 2006; ACC Academic Honor Roll citation; Scholar-Athlete Award, UNC Athletic Director's Office.

WRITINGS:

(With Adam Lucas) The Road to Blue Heaven: An Insider's Diary of North Carolina's 2007 Basketball Season, Pegasus Books (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Basketball coach and former guard Wes Miller is the author of The Road to Blue Heaven: An Insider's Diary of North Carolina's 2007 Basketball Season, his journal of his senior year with the University of North Carolina's basketball squad. "Wes Miller didn't follow the usual route to becoming a Tar Heel," wrote Nicki Jhabvala on Sports Illustrated Online. "As a transfer from James Madison University, the shooting guard chose to follow his dream of landing a spot on North Carolina's roster. And not just to wear the Carolina blue jersey, mind you." "With The Road to Blue Heaven," Jhabvala continued, "Miller opens the diary of his senior season in Chapel Hill to the public, telling of his journey from transfer to starter, walk-on to scholarship player, and Carolina admirer to disciple." His "reverence for the program, his respect for legendary coach Roy Williams, and his affection for his teammates are evident" in The Road to Blue Heaven, declared Wes Lukowsky, reviewing the volume for Booklist.

Miller's journey to become a member of the UNC Tar Heels began when he was growing up in the town of Charlotte. The Tar Heels, according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor, are one of Atlantic Coast Conference's premier teams, and under head coach Roy Williams, had the capacity to become one of the sport's great dynasties. At five feet, eleven inches, Miller was not an immediately visible candidate for a career in basketball. However, he was driven and worked hard to establish himself. After he became a member of the starting squad in January of 2005, as a contributor to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels Athletic Web site pointed out, he "played in twenty-four games for the NCAA champions, including three games in the NCAA Tournament (Oakland, Iowa State and the Final Four against Michigan State)." During his junior year, he received the school's prestigious 2005-06 defensive player of the year award, and he became team captain in his senior year. "The perfect team player, Miller willingly accepted a lesser role during his senior year as more talent arrived," wrote the Kirkus Reviews contributor, "focusing instead on setting an example for his younger teammates." "During his time with the Tar Heels," a writer for the Elon Phoenix Web site stated, "he contributed significantly to two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championships, one ACC tournament crown and the 2005 NCAA title." After graduating from UNC, Miller moved on to play for the London Capitalsin England for a season, then returned in 2008 to North Carolina to join the staff of Elon University as an assistant coach.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 2007, Wes Lukowsky, review of The Road to Blue Heaven: An Insider's Diary of North Carolina's 2007 Basketball Season, p. 13.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2007, review of The Road to Blue Heaven.