AMES, Iowa – Iowa State’s exhibition matchup against North Carolina-Pembroke on Friday will be special for Cyclone head coach Greg McDermott. The Cyclone coach will get the unique opportunity to compete against his mentor, the coach he played for at Northern Iowa, Eldon Miller.
Miller is in his second season as an assistant coach for the Braves, aiding his son and head coach, Ben Miller. The Millers will have a double-homecoming this weekend, battling ISU on Friday then traveling to Northern Iowa, the place where Eldon coached for 12 years (1987-98), on Saturday. The pupil is excited to see his old teacher.
“He’s had an unbelievable amount of influence on my coaching career,” McDermott said. “Playing for him was when I decided that coaching really intrigued me. It was in large part because of the fundamental way in which he taught the game of basketball. To this day I still think he’s one of the best teachers of the game who has coached the game.”
McDermott was in the midst of his sophomore season at Northern Iowa (1985-86) when his head coach Jim Berry announced his resignation effective at the end of the season. Many names were popping up to replace Berry, but the thought of a high profile coach like Eldon Miller coming to Cedar Falls was considered a stretch.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” McDermott said. “There were a few other guys that interviewed that we thought would get the job and then Eldon threw his name in the hat late in the process. Obviously, we were really excited when he was named the head coach.”
Miller was the head coach at Big Ten power Ohio State at the time and the Buckeye administration announced in February that the 1985-86 season would be his last. That was just one year after guiding the Buckeyes to the 1985 NCAA Tournament where they defeated Iowa State in the first round in Tulsa, Okla., 75-64.
While finishing up the year, Eldon was contacted by UNI officials and started to pursue the opening in Cedar Falls. He was named head coach at UNI on Feb. 28, 1986 and would begin when the Buckeyes ended their season. His move to Cedar Falls would have to wait a little longer than expected, however, as OSU shocked many by winning the 1986 NIT title.
McDermott remembers the first meeting he had with the legendary coach.
“There was probably only four or five of us left on the team,” McDermott chuckled. “We knew right from the start that he cared about us. I learned a tremendous amount from him when he took over that program by the way he made us feel.”
McDermott thrived under Miller’s tutelage, earning second-team All-AMCU 8 honors and ranking 16th nationally in field goal percentage (58.7 percent) in his junior year, Miller’s first year on the job. McDermott was named team captain his senior year and ended his career as 1,000-point scorer.
Two years after McDermott graduated, Miller guided the Panthers to their first NCAA Tournament berth in school history, in 1990. The underdog Panthers, a No. 14 seed, made the most of their first time in the dance, upsetting No. 3 seed Missouri in the first round.
McDermott still feels connected to UNI’s first NCAA Tournament team.
“He made us feel very important and really stressed to us that we were going to lay the building blocks for the future of the program,” McDermott added. “Even though I wasn’t a member of the team in 1990 when they went to the NCAA tournament, I certainly felt part of it because that’s the way coach wanted us to feel.”
McDermott promises both ends of the benches Friday night will savor the special two hours.
“It’s going to be fun and I am just as excited for his son, Ben,” McDermott said. “I’m happy Ben finally has the opportunity to be a head coach and is in the process of building that program. I also think it’s neat for coach Miller to work side by side with his son and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happier. I’m just really thrilled for them and I was glad this swing back through Iowa was able to work. It will be a fun and enjoyable trip for the Millers and I’m looking forward to spending some time with them, catching up.”
