About the Book
The Art of Coaching Basketball is not about diagrams, sets, or schemes. It is about discipline, structure, leadership, and the standards that define winning long before the game begins.
Drawing on more than four decades of championship experience, Coach Michael Miller presents a clear blueprint for building a program that is consistent, accountable, and built to last.
This is basketball at its highest level– where culture, discipline, and leadership determine who wins before the game is ever played.
Chapter One
The Court of Preparation
Chapter Two
Knowing Yourself and Knowing Your Opponent
Chapter Three
Leadership and the Moral Law
Chapter Four
Building a Culture That Wins
Chapter Five
Motivation, Fear, and Psychology
Chapter Six
Offensive Strategy: Striking with Purpose
Chapter Seven
Defensive Strategy: Denying the Opponent’s Plan
Chapter Eight
Special Situations (ATO, BLOB, SLOB)
Chapter Nine
In-Game Adjustments and the Flow of Battle
Chapter Ten
The Element of Deception
Chapter Eleven
Exploiting Chaos
Chapter Twelve
Player Development and Long-Term Mastery
Chapter Thirteen
Building a Championship Program
A Coach’s Charge
Epilogue
Strategic Influences
About the Author
“Coach Miller is literally one of the best coaches in the world particularly his ability to teach and prepare his players for competition and how to become better players for higher levels The proof is in his results and the countless number of players he has advanced including the professional ranks. What isn’t publicly seen is his tireless work ethic and devotion to helping his players become fine people off the court and winners in life.”
Bob Burton – Former Head Coach | Cal State University at Fullerton | California Community College Hall-of-Fame Inductee
“Mike Miller is the total package. He is a fantastic Coach and teacher. He genuinely cares about his players as people first. He has built L.A.C.C. into one of the nation’s elite programs. When players leave his program, they are ready to excel in the classroom and on the court at the next level!”
Seth Greenberg – Former Head Coach | Virginia Tech | ESPN College Commentator
“Mike Miller has put LACC on the map nationally. His knowledge of the game is obvious by the way his players perform. He is one of the most fundamentally sound coaches I have ever been around since John Wooden.”
Henry Bibby Head Coach | University of Southern California
5th Winningest High School Coach in the History of California
Best Career Winning Percentages
(On the court, varsity only, three-season minimum)
91.5 – Gary McKnight, Santa Ana Mater Dei, 1983–2008 (797–74)
87.9 – Vaughn Webb, Easton Washington, 1996–99 (109–15)
87.3 – Frank Allocco, Walnut Creek Northgate, 1991–97 & Concord De La Salle, 1998–2008 (468–68) (current)
86.7 – Gary Porter, Modesto Christian, 1997–2008 (357–55) (current)
86.2 – Mike Miller, Los Angeles Cathedral, 1987–1989 & Los Angeles Ribet Academy, 1989–1991 (100–16)
85.2 – Willie West, Los Angeles Crenshaw, 1971–2007 (803–140)
84.8 – Michael Lynch, Los Angeles Price, 1996–2008 (329–59) (current)
84.3 – Wayne Merino, Lakewood Artesia, 1987–2002 (343–64)
84.0 – Elam Hill, Fresno Edison, 1947–1955, 1957 (189–36)
83.3 – Russell Otis, Compton Dominguez, 1988–2000, 2003–08 (513–103)
Source: ESPN RISE
Author Dr. Michael Miller
Coach Michael Miller is a veteran basketball coach, program builder, and leadership strategist whose career spans more than four decades at the high school, junior college, university, and professional levels.
Over that time, he has built and led programs defined by discipline, structure, and sustained excellence–earning recognition as one of the most consistent and accomplished program builders in the field of basketball.
Coach Miller began his coaching career at a young age, becoming one of the youngest head coaches in California history when he was hired at Cathedral High School at the age of 22. From the beginning, his teams were built with intention–grounded in preparation, accountability, and standards that never wavered.
At the high school level, he developed two highly successful programs in Los Angeles at Ribet Academy and Cathedral High School, where he achieved the fifth highest winning percentage in California high school basketball history and established a reputation for building disciplined, championship-caliber teams, culminating in a state championship and 100 wins over a four-year span.
He later served sixteen seasons as head coach and athletic director at Los Angeles City College (LACC) from 1992 to 2007, where he was hired at the age of 27–becoming the youngest college head coach in the country at the time. His program quickly became a national model of sustained excellence, with his teams winning fourteen consecutive conference championships–the longest streak in college basketball history–surpassing the UCLA record of 13, nine of which were achieved under John Wooden, and later matched by Bill Self at the University of Kansas.
From 1999 through 2007, the program compiled a record of 241 – 38 (.864), achieving a level of sustained excellence that exceeded every NCAA Division I program over the same period.
At the university level, Coach Miller’s program at the University of Los Angeles College of Divinity (ULACD) compiled a dominant 105 – 8 record (.929) over a four-year span from 2018 through 2022. During that same period, only Northwest Missouri State (NCAA Division II), coached by Ben McCollum–now the head coach at the University of Iowa–recorded a higher mark at 126 – 8 (.940), with Miller establishing the ULACD program as one of the most successful in the nation across all levels of college basketball.
Coach Miller holds a unique place in basketball history as the first coach in California history to lead his teams to both a high school and junior college state championship–and remains the only coach to achieve that distinction while also leading a program to a national championship at the four-year level.
At the professional level, he led the Los Angeles Skyline to a 17 – 0 undefeated season, culminating in a championship during the 2016 – 17 season in the California Basketball Association (CBA), further demonstrating his ability to build winning systems at every level of the game.
Across his career, Coach Miller has been honored multiple times as Coach of the Year, has developed more than 100 Division I players, and has led numerous teams to 30-win seasons–while building programs designed for long-term success rather than short-term results.
But his legacy extends far beyond wins and championships.
As reflected throughout his career and recognized at the time of his retirement, Coach Miller’s greatest impact has been in the development of people–instilling discipline, accountability, confidence, and leadership in the thousands of athletes he has coached.
His philosophy is clear:
Winning is not the purpose of coaching–it is the byproduct of doing everything else right.
In The Art of Coaching Basketball, Coach Miller brings together the lessons of a lifetime in the game–combining decades of experience with timeless strategic principles–to provide a blueprint for coaches who want to build programs that are disciplined, intentional, and built to last.
This book is not about plays.
It is about standards, leadership, and the construction of a program that endures long after the final score is forgotten.