Miller builds program on, off court

The Molly Miller coaching debut for Grand Canyon women's basketball will not come until the fall but the Lopes' new head coach has no problem describing what fans will see on the court and the sideline.

Passion.

Miller's teams have played with frenetic energy to dominate in Division II and she exudes a similar intensity on the sideline. And if her word on the matter is not enough, how about the endorsement of the two-time national Division II Player of the Year?

"With Coach Miller, you have to be a good person on the court and off the court," said Hailey Diestelkamp, whose teams went 128-8 under Miller at Drury in Springfield, Missouri. "Compete to the best of your ability but have good grades, do community service, treat people right. You have to be willing to work. Nobody is going to slip through the cracks and ride out the waves. She wants people to reach their potential.

"Once I figured out Coach Miller wants to bring out the best in you, I realized she is an awesome person and I can't thank her enough for what's she has done for me. I wish her nothing but the best and I'm so, so happy for her."

Miller is in her first month at the helm of GCU after winning NCAA Division II Coach of the Year in each of the past two seasons, when her teams went 67-1 with the latter being ranked No. 1 in Division II when the national tournament was canceled last month.

She will translate what worked at Drury, where the Panthers led the nation in scoring margin for the past two years, to her new squad at GCU.

"We run a very fast-paced system, both offensively and defensively," Miller said. "It's going to be a very fun brand of basketball to watch. It's going to be exciting. You're going to see a lot of effort plays and hustle plays.

"I have a saying: 'Every 50-50 ball is 100% ours.' You're going to see kids have motors and get after it. Hustle matters. Your effort matters. It's going to be full-court pressure. Defense is something I've hung my hat on."

That defense-first slant creates high-scoring offense because increased opponent turnovers leads to transition offense and increased possessions. Last season's Drury team averaged 30.8 turnovers forced per game, leading to a 90.2 scoring average.

"We make a basket and don't even think about the basket," said Diestelkamp, who averaged 21.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. "We'd be already looking for who to guard. That's what Coach Miller preaches: defense wins ballgames. Offensive players have to flip their mentality. We pressed pretty much the whole ballgame."

Miller equates taking charges in women's basketball to slam dunks in men's basketball and a backcourt steal and layup to a pick-six in football. They charge the crowd and energize the bench so she promises a team that will take joy in those hustle moments, just as she did as a 5-6 point guard at Drury.

The tenacity, emotion and competitiveness that she showed as a player, when her teams went 112-18 at Drury from 2004 to 2008, is now on display on the practice court and the game sideline.

"I am a true believer in giving energy to get energy," Miller said. "I will give that energy to our kids on the floor. We're going to get excited. We're going to give high-fives. We're going to make plays and get touches, picking up our teammates. You're going to see that energetic coach. You're going to see a really bought-in persona from me on the sideline. I'm there in it with them.

"There are the highs and lows of the game. To experience that together as a team is something special."

Miller is not just a fiery coach. Diestelkamp described her as her second mother, willing to leave home and meet her in the locker room for heart-to-heart talks when she was going through difficult times.

She is the coach who wants to be part of the team's inside jokes, who dances in the locker room with her players after conference championships and creates a team bond that has players doing homework and Bible study together.

"Culture is everything," Miller said. "That probably has been the biggest key to my success in the past, over any Xs and Os or talent. It's the fact that we're banded together as a family. We treat our program as a family. We'll establish that great culture right away and then everything truly falls into place after you establish that within a program."

Miller has a new job, a new city and a new level of competition with her at GCU, but she will keep to the formula that made her the active national coaching leader in winning percentage (.914) among all men's and women's NCAA coaches.

"To say I'm excited is the understatement of the century," Miller said. "You get this vibe of excitement and enthusiasm with the newness of it but also the potential I envision for this team. That'll keep you up at a night in a good way."

There is that competitive fire. But Diestelkamp said her Lopes players will learn that it comes from a good place.

Miller loves to win games and trophies and loves to change players' games and lives.

"I always knew she had my back and wanted me to be the best I could be at the end of the day," said Diestelkamp, who is graduating in Psychology with a 3.4 GPA. "She's not going to be the coach who puts up with somebody who's not bought in with the rest of the group. If you're causing trouble or not working your hardest, she's going to pick that weed.

"She changed Drury for the better. She never cared about herself. She just wanted our team to win. What I appreciated about her most is that she had a genuine side outside of basketball that is going to take care of you, but also when you're in games, she's going to push you to be the best you can be. Coach Miller has got me to where I am today and a lot of girls have said that."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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