Legendary basketball player, Wilt Chamberlain once said, "Nobody roots for Goliath."

In the world of sports, we love to see the undefeated team lose or the superior athlete tumble to the average guy who wins with an all out effort.If we love "David," the underdog, then it's easy to root for John Miller, a former substitute basketball player, who scored only five career points when he played for Marian High School.Without heralded hardwood accomplishments and with no collegiate playing experience to fill out his resume, Miller was recently appointed to become the top assistant coach of the women's basketball program at Division 1 Richmond University.For this former resident of Lake Hauto, the road to Richmond has been the result of Miller's relentless and successful efforts to prove that his knowledge of the game transfers into success on the court.The fact that Miller is currently coaching at the Division I level isn't a surprise. The fact that the sport is basketball is the surprise.That's because Miller was an outstanding high school athlete. But it was golf, not basketball, where he made a name for himself. Miller was so good that he was the Times News Golfer of the Year in 2002."My dad and my grandfather got me into to golf when I was a kid," said Miller. "My dad actually made a putting green in our backyard."During his senior year, and without any professional instruction, Miller led his Marian links' team to second place finish in the district championship and his school's first time ever appearance in the championship match.Despite his success on the golf course, Miller's first love was basketball. Not satisfied with his playing time at Marian as an underclassman, he elected to play CYO hoops for St Jerome's as a senior. He started at small forward for what he describes as a "very good team." Then it was onto college at Mount Saint Mary in Emmitsburg, Maryland."I had already decided that I wanted to coach basketball so I needed to figure out a way to get myself involved because I had no notable background," explained Miller.Miller played his way onto the male scout team that practiced against the women's varsity squad. He made such impressions that he earned a student third assistant position on the women's coaching staff for one year."It was getting my foot in the door," Miller said. "Then I also worked at college basketball summer camps for three straight summers at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia."While there, Miller met Lynn Donovan Milligan, the daughter of former area residents and Marian graduates Maureen and Bill "Angel" Donovan. Milligan was a former standout basketball player at Rider University in New Jersey, who had just been offered the women's head coaching job at her alma mater. She asked Miller to be one of her assistants."Of course, I accepted," he said.It didn't matter to Miller that he was going to a D1 program that was one of the worst in the country in terms of winning records. He embraced the challenge.He was given the responsibilities of recruiting, player development, and scouting. Eventually, he was named offensive coordinator for the Broncos."I had studied Curt Miller's ball screen offense at Bowling Green and decided this was what I wanted to implement at Rider," said Miller. "Basically, it's a multiple screen offense where you keep moving the ball from one screen to another screen until you get the best possible shot."One of Miller's top recruits, Ali Heller, flourished under Miller's designed offense. She became one of the nation's most prolific three-point shooters and earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors for 2011.Under the direction of Milligan and Miller, Rider's offensive production improved from tenth to third in the league. The Broncos also had two consecutive 15 win seasons and an MAAC semifinal appearance for the first time in school history.After seven years at Rider, it's now on to Richmond for Miller.As the Spiders' top assistant coach, Miller will also be in charge of player recruitment."Recruiting is so much more global now," he said. "It used to be that you just recruited your local region, but now with the internet, every coach becomes aware of every good player everywhere. Because recruiting is so competitive, I start looking at players who are only sophomores in high school. I recruit internationally as well."Miller has visited France, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Portugal, and the Czech Republic in search of talented athletes."One might think it's difficult to sell American basketball to girls in these countries, but they don't really care about whether it's Richmond or UCLA. They just want to know that someone will look after them while they are so far away from home."Head coach Michael Shafer is excited to have Miller at Richmond."John is a very energetic and positive person," said Shafer. "Everyone I spoke with about him says he works hard and is eager to learn. I believe our young team will benefit from him on the floor coaching."John is an up-and-coming coach in our profession."Miller attributes his rise from anonymity to a name brand within the circle of college coaches to his hard work and a passionate pursuit of knowledge."Learn. Learn. Learn," Miller advised. "Knowledge is the key to effective game planning which is what I love to do the most."He emphasizes other important elements to anyone who wants to climb the ladder like he has done."Outwork everyone. When others put their heads on their pillows, you have to stay up and keep working," Miller said. "You also have to make important contacts and then you have to understand people and develop solid relationships with both players and coaches."Apparently Miller follows his philosophy into his personal life as well. He met and later married Rashana Barnes while she was coaching at Rider. She is a former all conference player who led Penn State to a Big Ten Final Four before she was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks. Rashana passed on a pro contract because, like her husband, she loves to coach.With each step he takes, Miller increases his experience and credibility.Miller aspires to be a Division 1 head coach. Based upon the resume he continues to build for himself, that opportunity appears to be not so far off. The metamorphosis of John Miller from high school substitute will be complete when he fulfills that dream.And when this David becomes Goliath, people will still root for him. After all, he will have moved just a short distance from sitting on the players' bench to standing tall in front of it.