April 16, 2007
University of New Mexico men’s basketball head coach Steve Alford announced the hiring of two assistant coaches. Billy Garrett, who coached under Alford at Iowa last season, and Ryan Miller, an assistant at Pepperdine in 2006-07, are joining the Lobo coaching staff. Garrett and Miller join associate head coach Craig Neal to round out Alford’s staff. Alford became New Mexico’s 19th head coach on March 23, 2007.
“Billy was with me at Iowa last year,” stated Alford. “He has great experience, working in the Big East Conference and as a high school coach in Chicago. He is an outstanding recruiter and a great person and we are excited for him to join our staff.”
Garrett joins the Lobos program after serving as an assistant coach at Iowa last season. He helped guide the Hawkeyes to a 17-14 record, including a 9-7 mark in Big Ten play that tied for fourth place overall.
Prior to his stint at Iowa, Garrett was an assistant at Seton Hall for five seasons. He helped the Pirates post an 18-12 record in 2006, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Seton Hall advanced to the NCAA second round in 2005 and competed in the NIT in 2004. Overall the Pirates posted an 80-69 record in five seasons with Garrett as a member of the staff, making three straight postseason appearances.
Garrett, 42, joined the college coaching ranks in 2000-01, serving as an assistant coach at Siena. The Saints posted a 20-11 overall record and tied for first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Prior to Sienna, Garrett served as athletic director, boy’s basketball coach and head track and field coach at Providence St. Mel High School in Chicago (1994-2000). Taking over a basketball program that was 4-22 the year before he arrived, Garrett compiled a 130-50 record while transforming the program into a city, state and national power.
Billy Garrett comes to UNM after spending last season on Alford’s staff at Iowa. |
A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Garrett attended Illinois State University, where he played football for four years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Youth Administration from the University of Indianapolis in 1991.
As is the case with Lobo coach Steve Alford, Garrett comes from a basketball family in the state of Indiana. Garrett’s father, the late William Garrett, was Indiana’s “Mr. Basketball” in 1947. He led Shelbyville High School to its first state title and later became the first African-American basketball player in the Big Ten Conference while at Indiana. William was the Hoosiers’ Most Valuable Player in 1951.
Billy was born Dec. 16, 1964. He and his wife, Annissa, have one son, Billy (11).
Ryan Miller spent last season as an assistant coach at Pepperdine under first-year head coach Vance Walberg. While with the Waves, Miller got a taste of The Pit in the 2006 Comcast Lobo Invitational. Pepperdine defeated Binghamton in the first round and fell to the Lobos in the championship game.
“Ryan is someone who has an awful lot of energy,” added Alford. “He was at Pepperdine and I thought it was very important that we bring in someone with ties to the West Coast. He has been around the game a long time as a player and as a coach. He got his start at Memphis, so he is a great addition to what we are trying to do here at New Mexico.”
Miller was a basketball operations assistant at Memphis under head coach John Calipari from 2004-06. During his three years at Memphis, the Tigers compiled a 78-28 (.736) record and made three postseason tournament appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2005-06, Memphis compiled a 33-4 overall record and reached the NCAA Oakland Regional Final where the Tigers fell 50-45 to UCLA. In 2003-04, Memphis went 23-7 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were 22-17 and reached the NIT Tournament Final Four during the 2004-05 campaign.
In December of 2002, Miller was named head coach of the Dakota Lightning Boltz of the Midwest Professional Basketball League. In his only season as head coach, Miller led the Boltz to a 14-5 record and a league title.
Miller was a two-time Northern Sun all-conference and all-academic selection. He finished his career eighth on Northern State’s all-time scoring list after guiding his teams to four straight conference championships and the 1998 regional title. Miller was a Division II All-American following the 1997-1998 season. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in physical education.
Ryan Miller was an assistant at Pepperdine in 2006-07. |
Following his collegiate playing career in 1999, Miller was drafted into the CBA. His professional career included playing for the Fargo-Moorhead Beez of the International Basketball Association (IBA) in 1999. He also played for the Dakota Gold of the IBA where he served as a player/assistant coach during the 2000-01 season.
Miller also played two seasons in Australia where helped his team to a league championship and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Miller attended Mitchell Senior High in Mitchell, S.D., where he was a two-time all-state performer, leading Mitchell to the 1994 state championship. His brother, Mike, currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA.