Column: The future is bright with Miller at the helm

A coaching change can be detrimental for a sports program.

After an abysmal 6-24 record in the 2011-12 season under former IU women’s basketball Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack, a change had to be made.

Less than a month after the Hoosiers ended their season, Legette-Jack stepped down, and current IU Coach Curt Miller took over the program.

Miller’s coaching résumé lists his many successes in the Mid-American Conference during his 11 seasons at Bowling Green.

Nine of those 11 seasons had 20 or more wins, including five appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Miller won MAC Coach of the Year six times and boasted a 73.7 winning percentage while coaching the Falcons.

His successful leadership has positively impacted our current Hoosier team.

They have already won 10 of 15 games, and there are still more than 10 games left in the season.

With their newfound confidence, they’re ready to win games they might have lost a year ago.

The last time IU won 10 or more games was three seasons ago.

Last year, Legette-Jack and the Hoosiers won their first Big Ten game after losing the first 14 games.

In their second Big Ten game under Miller’s coaching, IU defeated Northwestern 68-64.

Senior forward Aulani Sinclair leads the Hoosiers with 19.9 points per game and 31 points against the Wildcats.

Other notable athletes include senior guard Jasmine McGhee, who is averaging almost 12 points per game, and junior forward Milika Taufa, who is grabbing 7.1 rebounds per game.

All of the players were recruited by Legette-Jack and are consistently playing well under Miller.

His or her ability to recruit is an important quality to find in a collegiate coach.

Miller’s five commitments for the class of 2013 ranked the Hoosiers 27th in the country by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report and the third-best Big Ten class by Blue Star
Basketball.

“This recruiting class represents the new era of IU women’s basketball and will be the backbone of our future,” Miller said after signing these five players.

Miller also received a commitment from highly touted point guard Tyra Buss, who is the No. 22 ranked point guard in the 2014 class.

Buss averages more than 30 points per game and is the fastest player in Illinois history to reach 2,000 points.

This commitment shows the Hoosiers are recruiting more competitively with other top schools around the country.

The women’s basketball team is in the right hands under Miller.

He is exhibiting his ability to win with the current team and recruit effectively, which shows that the future is bright.

This IU team is leaps and bounds from where it was a year ago.

Although the team is basically the same, the coaching change has made a large
difference.

Expect to see big things this year and in future years from this Hoosier team while under Coach Miller.

­— amsiegal@indiana.edu