This book has some interesting stories which included how John Miller went from a child with polio and a slight chance of walking again to a growing boy that got plenty of parental care and running again
The Foreword of the book is written by John Calipari which is cool in its own right except it loses its luster when you realize he is related to the Miller family. John describes how he was an athlete and never thought about anything else. He went through high school as an undersized adolescent that excelled in all sports to a college where he could start and was the star of the program. So much so that he was invited to become an assistant coach at his alma mater.
All he ever wanted was to become a high school head basketball coach and one day he made the decision to apply for one. However, the Athletic Director was determined to hire someone that was not a yes man. In the interview, the AD said some outlandish things to see if he could get a rise out of John. He did. John Miller told him he was looking for a coaching job that was his and not one that he had to take orders on how to run a program from someone else. He went home believing he blew the interview only to get a call that night offering him the job. That is where it started.
John was tough on his players by expecting practice and more practice. He believed things needed to be done until they were correct. This also was how he raised his kids. Two of his sons, Archie and Sean, each learned lessons that are passed on to their players at Division 1 schools. These are lessons from his dad.
The other kids pipe into the book and explain how their dad didn’t make them go into sports. They were led to believe that you do as you feel called but you do it with conviction.
This is a good book but has a few too many stories that show a tough, gruff, don’t tell me how to do anything in it. Grab the book and put it on your bookshelf if you are a basketball fan.
I would like to thank Sports Publishing (a registered trademark of Shyhorse Publishing) for the book in exchange for a fair and honest book review.
About the Author
David A. Burhenn was born and raised in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Fascinated with the overwhelming success of the Miller family in basketball and other pursuits, and especially after witnessing the positive effect that Coach John Miller had on his son and others, he decided to try to uncover the secret to the coach’s success. Thus, his writing career began. Burhenn lives with his family in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
