Sean Luzader spent most of Thursday thinking about his former boss, Bob Miller, and the dozens of stories and life lessons he learned from the man whose name adorns the court on which his boys basketball team plays.
Luzader, who is entering his 10th season as coach at Thomas Worthington and was an assistant in the program for 13 years before that, didn’t settle on one anecdote about Miller, but this was the first that came to mind after his mentor died earlier in the day at age 82.
“He was so particular, with kids’ footwork, with everything, (and) if they made one mistake, he didn’t let anything slide,” Luzader said. “I asked him when I was a young coach, ‘Why do you worry about every little thing?’ And he said ‘the minute you start to let mistakes go by is the minute you get fired. If you get in the habit of letting little things go, you won’t have a job very long.’
“But still, he taught me more about what to be as a human being than he ever did about being a coach.”
Miller, who won 573 games in a 41-year career at Groveport and Thomas Worthington, passed away Thursday morning. Luzader said he had been in an assisted living facility in Worthington for about two years, and in hospice since around Christmas.
“We joked that he was hard-headed, ornery and stubborn and that’s how he went,” Luzader said. “He was just a true fighter. He could overcome whatever obstacles. He had that toughness about him.”
Miller, who began his coaching career at Groveport in 1965 and spent time with the baseball, basketball, football and golf programs, went 150-54 with five league championships in 10 seasons with the Cruisers (1973-83), including a district runner-up finish in 1979, before enjoying his greatest successes at Thomas.
Miller was 423-269 with the Cardinals, winning seven league titles with three district championships (1982, 1996 and 2001) and five district runner-up finishes.
He was named district Coach of the Year four times, league Coach of the Year 11 times and state Coach of the Year for the 2002-03 season. Inducted into the OCC Hall of Fame in 2013, Miller retired in April 2014.
“What a life well-lived with all of those accomplishments,” longtime Lancaster coach Jack Greathouse said. ”He checked a lot of boxes. He could coach anything. He was an excellent teacher, he was great to work with and he had a real sense of humor. You have to have that.”
Miller also coached area players on several overseas trips to countries such as Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
“He was a tactician and loved the game,” said Pete Liptrap, who coached at Pickerington and Pickerington North for 30 years (1983-2013). “Anybody who coached for that length of time has to love the grind and the whole package that comes with being a head basketball coach. I had great, great respect for him. You knew he’d always put a great product on the floor. …
“He has to be recognized as one of the top coaches in the area in the last 30 or 40 years, no question about it.”
Scott Dorne served as Thomas’ athletic director until 2017. His first year there coincided with Miller’s final season.
“It was a great opportunity to work with coach Miller, to see the impact of his leadership and mentorship within the program and within the school,” said Dorne. “The program is a basketball family model program, and it began with Bob.”
That was in evidence, Luzader said, with the responses of former coaches, colleagues and players to the news.
“It was amazing how many people (wrote back), instead of just thanking me for letting them know, with long responses,” Luzader said. “He affected 40 years’ worth of lives.”
@dp_dispatch