Maurice Miller made Raleigh-Egypt relevant, looks to do the same at Arlington
Seventy-two hours haven’t passed since Maurice Miller was named the new boys’ varsity basketball coach at Arlington High School. Miller is still digesting the news, taking it all in as a new challenge awaits, and while he’s happy for the next…
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Continue ReadingSeventy-two hours haven’t passed since Maurice Miller was named the new boys’ varsity basketball coach at Arlington High School.
Miller is still digesting the news, taking it all in as a new challenge awaits, and while he’s happy for the next chapter of his coaching career, Miller is still emotional over the fact he’s leaving his alma mater, Raleigh-Egypt High School. In four short years, Miller made the Pharaohs relevant in Class AA basketball. Just this past season, Raleigh-Egypt went 25-7 and made it to the Class AA region quarterfinals, where it fell to Fayette Ware.
But Miller had to think about his wife and three kids, and his future as a head coach.
“It still hurts,” Miller said after a short pause. “It’s hard to even sleep at night, just knowing my connection with the boys, knowing where we come from, and just knowing where they’re at now, and knowing the position of them finally figuring it out, knowing what type of year I expect the guys to have next year.
“But at the same time, I have three kids. My daughter is getting older. I want to advance in life. Not saying I couldn’t do it at Raleigh-Egypt, but Arlington provides so much for academics. It was hard to turn down. After talking with my wife and a lot of close, influential people around me, and talking to my kids, it was just an opportunity of a lifetime that I couldn’t pass up.”
Miller is a player’s coach. The players at Raleigh-Egypt wanted to play for him. That’s why the Pharaohs were competitive each time they stepped onto the floor. During the 2018-19 season, Raleigh-Egypt had key wins over Forest Hill, Wooddale, Ensworth, Marion, and Mitchell. Miller’s success has resonated throughout the city of Memphis, which could make things interesting in his first year with the Tigers.
As of right now, guard Phil Dotson, who will be a sophomore next season, is a key piece Miller could use next season in the backcourt, and Dotson and some of the other players, who will look to play next season, have already reached out to their new coach.
“I’m still learning about the players. It just happened in the last 24 hours when they found out,” Miller said. “They have reached out to me, so within the next few days, we are going to get acclimated. I’m ecstatic to get over there and see the kids.”
Once news came out that Miller was heading to Arlington, the entire community and past graduates of the school have shown unconditional love, so it’s clear that the love and support are there. Hopefully, in year one, Miller’s team can show some promise of what’s to come. The Tigers finished 7-18 last season in a tough district that featured Bartlett, Cordova, and a young, gritty Bolton team.
Just like Miller was prepared to make the Pharaohs relevant, he’s prepared to do the same with Arlington.
“I’m so excited and thrilled and so ready to hit the ground running,” said Miller, who played at Georgia Tech from 2008-11, averaging 5.9 points and 3.0 assists. “I know we won six or seven games last year, so we got a lot of work to do, but that’s the beauty of it.”