I reached out to head RHS boys basketball coach Mark Miller to see if he would be interested about answering some questions about his upcoming season. Coach Miller happily replied to the questions I emailed him and was glad to help. Now lets see what his replies are.
Coach Mark Miller
How do you expect the season to go for you?
This will be a fun year to watch the Bulldogs. They play hard and play a very exciting style of basketball.
Who do you think will be the hardest team you will play this year?
We’ve got a very challenging schedule this year so several teams will present a challenge but I think that DeSmet HS could be the toughest. They won the class 5 state championship last year and return all but one of their players.
What is the most important thing about Basketball?
Learning how to work hard with discipline and figuring out how to blend well as a team are extremely important parts to being a good team.
What do you like more for defense and why: zone or man-to-man?
They both can be very beneficial in the right situations. I think the thing I like to do most with our defense is diversification. Keeping the offense off balance by constantly changing defenses has been something we’ve done well over the years.
What are you most excited about this season?
I just enjoy the challenge of taking a new mix of guys each year and try to shape them into the best team that they can be.
Who do you want to beat the most?
One on one, I think the guy I would enjoy defeating the most is Gibson Hohe. But of the teams we play, you always wanna beat the best, those number one ranked teams.
What do you like most about your new gym?
The entire atmosphere has been really awesome. The two games we played in there last year were packed with fans and very exciting.
What got you into basketball in the first place?
I got a taste for coaching back in 1984 when Tom Barr, a former RHS coach, asked me to coach his off season teams for him. It kind of carried on with the other RHS coaches asking me to do the same thing. That led me down a path that’s brought me here, 17 years as the RHS head coach.
What is your favorite drill to do in practice?
I like Bulldog Shooting the most because it has so many details the guys are working on as they get lots of shots up.
What do you want to see out of your up and coming freshmen?
I want them to be good people, play hard and have lots of fun while they’re doing that.
I would like to thank Coach Miller for taking time out of his schedule to answer my questions. Even though I love Coach Miller, I have to respectfully decline his challenge to a one on one. I already know he would beat my butt.
