Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament tips off this week in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with an interview of Charleston/Monmouth basketball parents Jack & Kathleen Miller.
Kathleen: you played soccer at Monmouth, so how good a player were you back in the day, and how has the sport changed from then to now? I was a tough player but the girls now have more skill. We were ranked as high as 17th in the nation due to our toughness. The game has changed 100% and is not as physical now.
Jack: you were a D-1 women’s basketball coach at Monmouth/Seton Hall/Rider, so how much of an impact did you have on your sons’ basketball skills? I remember coaching them starting when they were in 1st grade. I coached them as much as I could but at some point you have to let others take over. 1 of the women’s basketball players I recruited to Monmouth was Christie Pearce, but she later decided to focus on soccer (where she won 3 Olympic gold medals and 2 World Cups)!
Your older son Jack plays was a walk-on/scout team member as a freshman at Charleston: how excited were you when he had made the roster last season/got a full scholarship this season? I cannot even put it into words. We were so happy for him because he works so hard…and now has fewer student loans! It just does not happen that often and took us totally by surprise: we were so thankful to the coaching staff and it was a dream come true for him.
Your younger son Corey is a freshman at Monmouth: how big a deal was it when he made the 1st basket of his career last month vs. North Carolina A&T? We were screaming! It was cool because he works hard too..and does not have a bad-looking shot!
Kathleen: wou are a school principal and have spent your professional life working in education, so what have you taught your boys about balancing their work on the court with their work in the classroom? You have to work hard at both because ast some point basketball will come to an end. Fortunately, we never had to worry about them because they have such a huge work ethic and are still making dean’s/presidents’s lists. We balanced it all while they were growing up so we do not have to get on them now: sports kept them in check and taught them a schedule from the get-go.
What is the best part of being a “basketball parent”, and what is the not-so-best part (if any)? The best part is just seeeing them so happy and loving what they are doing…although Sunday might not be the best part! We have memories of watching them play basketball from middle school up to now and doing something they are passionate about, and now my husband can just enjoy it without having to worry about coaching them.
Each of your kids’ teams played 31 regular-season games this year: how many were you able to make it to in person? We went to 3 games for Jack and were able to make it to most of Corey’s home games. We have to thank ESPN+/FloSports because we have just as much fun watching the games at home: I think that we saw every single game either at home or in person.
You are in a unique situation as a parent as both of your sons will be playing in the CAA tourney: are you planning to spend all week just watching every single 1 of your kids’ games? Oh yeah: we even got a hotel directly in between their team hotels! We will be here until the end: we were here last year and it was an unbelievable exprience.
Your sons faced each other in January when the Cougars had an 11-PT win over the Hawks: was that a dream come true for you, and what on earth will you do when they face each other again in DC on Sunday?! I think that it was a dream come true: we could never have planned for it so it was unbelievable to watch. Our social meda was blowing up and both coaches were really getting into it by getting them into the game at the end and telling them to go after each other. You do not see it everyday and we were lucky to have that situation take place in front of 10,000 fans.
Any predictions for the son vs. son game? I just want them to have fun. Either way we win…and either way we lose, so may the best team win. Coach Kelsey has won the CAA for 2 years in a row but Coach Rice has also kept his guys in the mix this year.