Rodney Haas 

605 Sports 

LAS VEGAS — Ten years ago Ryan Miller was an associate head coach at Auburn. The idea he would find himself in Omaha, Nebraska a decade later, would’ve been crazy for him at the time.   

But after stops at UNLV and TCU, Miller is in Omaha as an assistant coach for Creighton where he’s closer to home, coaching his nephew and helping build a program that hopes to make consistent deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. 

“It’s a profession that is difficult to predict,” said Miller during a Christmas Eve phone interview before the Bluejays played DePaul in a nationally televised Big East Conference game on Christmas Day. A game Creighton won 80-65. “If I would say you were going to be the assistant coach at Creighton 10 years ago, I would say you are crazy. But life and the progression has taken me here.”

It’s a progression that started for Miller when his dad Tom was coaching him as a kid and moved to high school where during his senior year at Mitchell High School, he was part of the 1994 Kernels’ Class AA championship team. After high school he went on to play for Bob Olson at Northern State.  

“At the end of day you lean on your foundation,” Miller said. “Those are the people who helped me build my strong foundation. Whether it was my dad coaching me since I was 1 years old or coach (Gary) Munsen in high school or coach Bob Olson in college. Those are my foundation roots and you always go back to your foundation roots to where you are today.”

Creighton assistant coach Ryan Miller’s father, Tom looks on during the Bluejays' game against Arizona State on Dec. 12, 2022 at the Jack Jones Hoopfest in Las Vegas. (Rodney Haas/605 Sports)
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After college Miller had a brief professional playing career with Fargo-Moorhead of the CBA and the short-lived Dakota Gold of the IBA which called the Corn Palace home. 

Miller would begin his college coaching career in 2003 at Memphis under coach John Calipari where he was the director of basketball operations and video coordinator. While at Memphis, the Tigers made trips to the NCAA Tournament three of four years including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2006. 

After Memphis, he went on to Pepperdine for a season, New Mexico, Auburn, UNLV, TCU before joining Greg McDermott’s staff at Creighton before the start of the 2021-22 season.

“When I look back, I’m always going to look back at the amazing kids I coached but also the people I coached for,” Miller said. “I’ve been able to learn the craft from coach Calipari in Memphis, coach (Jamie) Dixon at TCU and coach McDermott.” 

Part of that craft has been the ability to recruit well. While at UNLV, Miller was named fourth-best recruiter outside the Power 5 conferences by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Adam Finkelstein. 

While at UNLV, Miller coached Rashad Vaughn, who was drafted No. 17 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2015 and current Dallas Maverick Christian Wood. At TCU, he was able to get future NBA first round Desmond Bane to come to Fort Worth. Bane was later drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies where he’s averaging 21 points per game this year. 

Creighton’s Mason Miller goes up for a shot during a game against Arizona State on Dec. 12, 2022 at the Jack Jones Hoopfest in Las Vegas. Miller is the oldest son of Mitchell native Mike Miller and the nephew of Bluejay assistant coach Ryan Miller. (Rodney Haas/605 Sports)
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Shortly after his arrival at Creighton, Miller helped the Bluejays secure the No. 7 recruiting class in the country which included Big East All-Freshman team members Trey Alexander, Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma. 

“You create these relationships over time,” Miller said. “It’s these relationships where people trust you with their kids. Coaches trust you with kids they coach. High school coaches trust you with kids they coach. Junior college coaches trust you with kids they coached. European club coaches trust you because of these relationships you’ve been able to build over time.”

Miller said one of the big reasons why he left TCU for Creighton was the opportunity to coach his nephew Mason Miller along with being closer to family in Sioux Falls, where his parents currently live. 

“That was a big part of the decision making process of coming back here and brave the winter temps,” Miller said.  

Miller added it’s a challenge to coach Mason, who is the oldest son of Ryan’s little brother Mike, who played 18 seasons in the NBA.  

“It’s a challenge because it’s both professional and personal at the same time,” Ryan said. “I have to treat him like everyone else and be hard on him. I’m probably harder on him than everybody else because I expect a lot out of him. It’s family and I want him to succeed and I want him to succeed at the highest levels.”

Ryan added there’s mutual respect between him and Mason and there’s a difference between uncle Ryan and coach Miller. He said for Christmas Eve, the two would tell stories and laugh, but there’s a serious side because the next day they were playing DePaul and Mason has to execute his assignments both offensively and defensively and has to be ready to come in and play. 

“Obviously it’s a family connection but it’s the challenge to be able to do both,” Ryan said. “You have to be uncle and be a family member and be that support system, but you also have to coach him in a way where he can continue to develop as a player at the highest level of the Big East.”

Creighton assistant coach looks on as his nephew Mason Miller takes a shot during a shoot around before the Bluejays' game against BYU on Dec. 10, 2022 at the Jack Jones Hoopfest in Las Vegas. (Rodney Haas/605 Sports)
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The Bluejays began the year ranked No. 9 in the preseason rankings and went 6-0 before falling to Arizona in the championship of the Maui Invitational. This year, almost every Creighton game has been featured on national television. It’s part of the plan according to Ryan in building a successful program which included moving from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East in 2013-14.    

“Not only is there a strong local fan base but a strong local national fan base,” he said. “As long as we keep putting ourselves in positions to win Big East championships and then go to the NCAA Tournament. All that stuff matters in building that brand over time. Gonzaga didn’t become Gonzaga overnight. It took them a couple decades to get them to where they are at. That’s what we’re trying to do.” 

As for taking the next step and becoming a head coach? 

“I think everyone takes the steps they can to elevate their careers. In my opinion, I would love to be a head coach someday, but I’m happy where I am at,” Ryan said. “If the head coaching job at the Lakers comes, great, but if I’m the assistant coach at Creighton for the rest of my career, great too. My job is to do the best I can day in and day out. Obviously set goals but the day-to-day goals are more important. I feel if I do a great job with the day-to-day goals, the long-term goals will happen.”