CORVALLIS, ORE. ? Kansas University graduate Ralph Miller, who coached Oregon State to four Pac-10 Conference basketball championships and eight NCAA Tournament appearances, has died. He was 82.
Miller, who also coached at Wichita State for 13 seasons, died Tuesday at his home at Black Butte Ranch. Cause of death was not released.
Miller retired in 1989 as the sixth all-time winningest Div. I coach with 674 victories. His teams had three losing seasons in 38 years as a major-college coach.
“Oregon State University has lost a true giant,” athletics director Mitch Barnhart said.
The Hall of Fame coach compiled a record of 359-186 in 19 seasons at Oregon State, beginning in 1971.
Miller led the 1981 team to the nation’s No. 1 ranking for nine weeks, and five of his teams were ranked in the top 10. In addition to conference titles and NCAA appearances, his teams made three trips to the NIT and won seven Far West Classic titles.
He also was a two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year and coached future NBA standout Gary Payton.
“I looked to Ralph as my mentor, but most of all as a good friend,” said longtime assistant and former Oregon State coach Jim Anderson. “Every coach in the program since Ralph has attempted to emulate the high level of achievement his teams experienced.”
Miller was born in Chanute, where he earned four letters in football and track, three in basketball, and one in golf and tennis at Chanute High School.
He also earned all-state honors in basketball three times before entering Kansas in 1937 and became a two-sport standout. He earned three letters as a football quarterback and three in basketball playing for Phog Allen.
Following his graduation from Kansas in 1942 with a degree in physical education, Miller served three years in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and was discharged at the rank of first lieutenant.
“Anytime conversations turn to ‘the greatest high school athlete in Kansas history,’ you have to include Ralph Miller at Chanute. He was brilliant in football, basketball, tennis, golf and was a tremendous track performer in events such as hurdling,” said Bill Mayer, Journal-World contributing editor, who watched Miller as a KU athlete and followed his career as a coach.
“He often is compared to the late Dale Hall of Parsons, but people such as the late Dick Harp, who played with Ralph at KU, generally felt Ralph should be the choice,” Mayer noted.
“Miller was outstanding as a football and basketball player at Kansas. Had he not suffered a terrible knee injury that never could be treated with the expertise of today’s medicine, he would have been even more phenomenal.
“His great coaching record at Wichita East High, Wichita U., Iowa and Oregon State produced Hall of Fame credentials, and he was a widely admired and respected individual as a family man and citizen. When they talk about ‘the greatest’ in this or that, Ralph Miller’s name always leaps to the fore in many categories.”
Miller started his coaching career at Wichita State in 1952, where he also earned a master’s degree in physical education. In 13 seasons, he guided the Shockers to a record of 220-133, a Missouri Valley Conference title, three appearances in the NIT, and one berth in the NCAA tournament.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988.
“This is a sad day for college basketball,” Beavers coach Ritchie McKay said. “Ralph had a huge impact on the game and in young peoples lives.”
Miller is survived by his wife Jean; son Paul Miller of Black Butte Ranch; daughters Susan Langer of Vancouver, Wash., and Shannon Jakosky of Balboa, Calif.; two sisters, 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A private family service was pending.
