As Aly Miller enters her second season as the head coach with the Naperville North girls basketball team, a new face joins the coaching staff. This addition to her coaching tree is no stranger as her dad Scott jumps in on the Husky bench this winter. This story is sponsored by Fair Oaks Ford and Fair Oaks Lincoln.
Scott Miller joins forces with daughter Aly
“We both collaborated on it, I had the opening and kind of talking with him about it, sharing the love with his kids a little bit. So I brought him over to our side,” said Naperville North girls basketball coach Aly Miller.
“For the last three years, I’ve helped my son, Zach at Downers South and feel like his program is on a great footing. We won 23 games last year, and they’re going to win over 20 again this year, so it just felt like this is an opportunity to help Aly out and be a part of her journey in the coaching world,” said Naperville North girls basketball assistant coach Scott Miller.
Bringing the winning tradition to a new team
Scott spent over twenty seasons as the boys varsity hoops coach at Glenbard East before stepping down following the 2020 season as the winningest coach in Rams history. He then transitioned to an assistant coaching role, spending one season with the Naperville North boys, followed by three seasons as an assistant coach with Downers Grove South where he coached alongside Aly’s brother Zach. Now he is lending his daughter a helping hand hoping to dish out that Miller family winning mentality to the Huskies.
“It allows me to think back to where I was. As a head coach, she’s well beyond where I was in my second year. So she’s got a great grasp of the offense and defense and relates well to the girls, a great role model, and has a strong work ethic, and is a strong woman and that’s what you want,” said Scott.
“His career has let the girls just naturally trust him because he’s been through the ups and the downs.” Said Aly.
Basketball in the Miller DNA
The Miller family has always been eat, sleep, and basketball, but this is only the second time Scott has coached girls after coaching Aly during her feeder days.
“They both bring a lot of good knowledge, especially Coach Miller’s dad. He’s been coaching basketball for forever now, and whenever we need him to drop a play or we need a new defense or offense, he always has good ideas, and they’re quick ideas,” said Naperville North girls basketball player Ava Podkasik.
This Naperville North program is only a few years removed from back-to-back regional championships and a sectional final appearance.
As the calendar flips to 2025 the Huskies are ready to take that extra step while both Miller’s hope to get the blue and orange back on the winning track.
“It’s a belief that you’re going to win, and you have to do things to lead up to that. It’s not always about wins and losses, it’s about the progress we make through the course of the season and I think they’re buying in and believing that,” said Scott.
“We both continue to be open-minded with each other. There’s a lot of discussion that happens outside of practice and games and when you’re a growing program and growing team and you want girls to be better and have to explore all options to make that happen,” said Aly.