I went to KenPom to put Miller's accomplishments in context with the rest of the Southern Conference. The list shows the top 6 teams in the Southern Conference unless UNCG didn't finish top 6. In that case, I included every team above them.
Southern Conference KenPom ratings 2011-12 to 2018-19
2019 - Wofford (28), Furman (58), ETSU (70), UNCG (82), Samford (139), Mercer (171)
2018 - UNCG (82), ETSU (93), Furman (95), Mercer (154), Wofford (163), Samford (298)
2017 - ETSU (67), Furman (106), UT-Chat (114), UNCG (121), Wofford (142), Mercer (145)
2016 - UT-Chat (109), ETSU (153), Furman (175), Mercer (182), Wofford (187), WCU (194), UNCG (220)
2015 - Wofford (92), UT-Chat (166), Mercer (185), ETSU (218), WCU (234), UNCG (285)
2014 - Davidson (123), Wofford (192), Elon (202), WCU (237), UT-Chat (279), Ga Southern (291), UNCG (315)
2013 - Davidson (66), CofC (153), Elon (206), WCU (245), Wofford (246), App St (264), Ga Southern (282), UNCG (286)
2012 - Davidson (71), CofC (160), Wofford (197), WCU (241), Ga Southern (246), Furman (247), Elon (255), App St (258), UT-Chat (264), UNCG (280)
A few weeks ago, Les published a piece interviewing someone from the Tulsa 247 site. I came to the realization that we really overrate coaches who win low major conferences. Winning one or two year doesn’t mean much because somebody has to win those conferences. Miller only has one conference championship in 8 years as a coach in a bad conference.
I don’t have a Kenpom subscription so I went year to year and went down the list and did a search for “SC.” Perhaps the most damning thing to the Southern Conference is that most years, “USC” and “San Franscisco” and sometimes “Lipscomb” came up before the first or second Southern Conference team.
I just don’t see the argument for Miller here. If he finishes Top 100, it would only be his second Top 100 KenPom in 8 seasons. And even then, he’s currently #4 in his conference. The conference is nothing special. This will probably be the first season in awhile with more than two Top 100 KenPom teams.
UNCG is improving. Sure. But I don’t see what distinguishes him from any other low major coach who has a few good seasons with a good player. None of the programs truly stand out. I would hope we can find a coach who has either had a consistent track record of success over 5-10 years or has done much more in a shorter amount of time.