UConn sports

Glen Miller has been a head coach for the last 17 years. He’d like to be a head coach again some day.

But the former UConn guard and assistant coach is now the Huskies’ director of basketball administration.

“I’m excited to get back to work, and on top of it get back to work at UConn,” Miller said by phone Friday.

The former boss at Connecticut College, Brown and Penn, Miller was fired from that last school early in the 2009-10 season. He had hoped to get another head coaching job right away, of course, but will now have to wait.

“It’s a difficult profession. There’s only so many opportunities out there,” Miller said.

At UConn Miller will have a myriad of responsibilities, but they won’t include coaching during the games or recruiting. That will be a big adjustment.

“It’ll be difficult but I have to engross myself in the areas I can work with,” Miller said. “And those areas will be important to the program.”

“I’m just anxious to get there and contribute in any way I can,” Miller continued. “I’ve always been an unselfish player, a team player.”

- Neill

UConn finally has its men. And, as expected, the new members of its men’s basketball coaching staff have plenty of ties to the program.

Former Husky players Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller are officially returning to Storrs.

Ollie was hired Friday as an assistant coach with the Huskies and Miller was tabbed as the program’s new director of basketball administration.

“I am thrilled to be able to welcome Kevin and Glen back to UConn,” UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said in a statement. “They both bring incredible experience to our staff and tremendous values that our players will benefit from. Kevin’s years in the NBA have clearly prepared him for this. He has been a coach on the floor and has served as a mentor to many, many young NBA players. Glen brings over 20 years of coaching expertise to the staff and with his 17 years as a head coach he brings familiarity with budgeting, compliance, student-athlete welfare and many other administrative areas that he will deal with on a day-to-day basis here for us.”

Ollie and Miller replace Pat Sellers and Beau Archibald, respectively. The latter duo resigned last month just as the school announced it had been accused of violating eight major NCAA rules.

Although Ollie, 37, has no coaching experience he brings a wealth of playing experience to the staff. He played for 12 teams (11 franchises, actually, considering the Seattle-Oklahoma City move) over 13 seasons in the NBA, and was considering one more year in the pros before opting to take a job at his alma mater.

Ollie has modest career averages of 3.8 ppg and 2.3 apg in his NBA career, though he is something of a model for hard work and tenacity for his dedication tho his craft.

A Dallas native who grew up in Los Angeles, Ollie was a member of one of the most heralded recruiting classes in UConn history along with the likes of Donyell Marshall and Donny Marshall.

Ollie also played for the Huskies during a period of great success, helping the Huskies to a 28-5 record in the 1994-95 season and nearly reach the Final Four. UConn lost to UCLA 102-96 in the West Regional final in Oakland, Calif., that season.

Ollie finished his career with 825 points and 619 assists, the latter of which still places him third in school history.

Miller, 48, is the former head coach at Brown and Penn. He was fired from the latter seven games into the 2009-10 season.

A native of Groton, Miller played for two seasons at UConn but later transferred to Northeastern and joined Jim Calhoun’s team in Boston. Miller was an assistant to Calhoun at UConn from 1986-93.

Ollie and his wife Stephanie have a son Jalen and a daughter Cheyenne.

Miller and his wife Yvonne have four children: Tony, Genelle, Jillian and Emma.

- Neill