The story behind Chris Miller's sudden exit from Seattle Prep
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Q: What's the scoop on why Chris Miller resigned as boys basketball coach at Seattle Prep? I was shocked that he quit given Prep's success under him and the fact that he was an alum of the school.
A: What seems to be the main reason for the surprise resignation requires some reading between the lines. But not much.
Miller told me, "You need a lot of support from the key people in the school to be a high-school coach, and in my next job I'm looking for a school that shows that kind of support."
Miller denies that he resigned on May 25 because of the strained relations with the Conti family, who provide a home for Prep star Martell Webster.
Webster, whose mother disappeared when he was 5, has lived primarily with the Contis during his Seattle Prep years.
The tension with the Conti family was an ingredient in the postseason talks with administrators that resulted in Miller suddenly resigning. However, this doesn't appear to be a case of Seattle Prep siding with a player's guardians instead of the coach. Instead, it looks like a case of a successful but worn-down coach feeling unappreciated, getting fed up with criticism from multiple directions and finally throwing his hands up and walking out the door.
A little background: Miller, 44, is a Seattle Prep alum who had been coach at the school for 13 years. He compiled a 219-120 record, placed at the state tournament all five times his teams qualified and won the Class 3A state championship in 2000. He is a serious, shy, likeable man who teaches sixth-grade religion and math at St. Joseph's School on Capitol Hill. He works hard at being a coach and is respected by his coaching colleagues. Reporters will tell you no one takes losses harder than Miller.
Webster is the most gifted player ever to put on a Seattle Prep uniform. He is a 6-foot-6 athlete with a soft shooting touch who was MVP at a national summer camp. He has been on top-10 national lists for his class, and many consider him NBA material.
Last season, Webster was injured in a preseason open-gym session at Edmonds-Woodway High School, where the Contis' son (a transfer from Prep) plays. Webster missed the first two months of the season with the injury to his left foot. He was cleared to play late in January and suffered a season-ending injury to his right ankle in a triple-overtime loss to Rainier Beach in the Metro League semifinal game Feb. 11.
With Webster gone, Prep dropped from state contender to state hopeful. Two weeks later, the Panthers blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to Cleveland in overtime at district in a winner-to-state, loser-out game.
Throughout the season, according to a Seattle Prep source, there was nonstop friction between the Contis and Miller over everything from Webster's attendance at practice while injured to whether he played too much against Rainier Beach. Before the season ended, relations were so testy that Miller delegated an assistant to be the primary link between the coaching staff and the family.
Coaches routinely have end-of-season evaluation talks with their athletic directors or principals. Miller had been told for years by Tom Doyle, now-retired Seattle Prep athletic director, that he needed to improve his communication skills, especially with parents. But Miller liked Doyle, a senior statesman among state ADs who had dealt with thousands of parents and difficult situations in multiple sports in his 27 years at Prep.
This year's postseason meeting with first-year athletic director Jeff Pietz and principal Matt Barmore obviously had a different tone. It turned into a series of meetings.
Sensing that Miller was vulnerable, critics who included influential alumni and some unhappy parents of past and present players said this would be a good time to replace Miller. Meanwhile, Webster was heard talking about possibly transferring.
"Chris wasn't on the hot seat from our standpoint ... ," Pietz said. "We anticipated and wanted him back next year. ... He resigned on his own, and it came as a surprise to me. I was under the impression that he was either going to: A) come back; or, B) take a year off."
One friend of Miller said the coach thought he would have been on the equivalent of probation if he returned. His resignation has triggered letters to the editor and strong reactions — pro and con — in the Seattle Prep community.
Miller isn't saying much, but he did say, "I didn't resign at Prep because of the Martell injury situation.
"I love Martell," he added. "I've coached for 22 years — 13 as a high-school head coach — and he is one of my five favorite kids."
Anthony Conti declined to discuss this year's tension, saying it was an "internal thing" and "nothing to talk about really." He said, "I like Chris Miller. He's a good person and good coach."
Miller hopes to become a high-school or college assistant coach somewhere next season then eventually become a head coach again. "Martell is going to have an incredible senior year," Miller said.
But Chris Miller won't be part of it.
Q: What schools have won the most state championships in this century? I'm talking about championships in sanctioned sports (sorry water-polo fans) from January 2000 on, which means fall championships in the 1999-2000 school year don't count.
A: By our count, here are the leaders:
4A — Bellarmine and Snohomish, 7 titles each; Inglemoor of Kenmore and Kentwood 6 each; Mead of Spokane 5.
3A — Lakeside of Seattle and Seattle Prep, 8 each; Bellevue and Mercer Island, 7 each; Bellingham 6.
2A — Othello 8, East Valley of Yakima and Connell, 7 each; Mount Baker 6.
1A — King's of Shoreline 14, Colfax 9, Brewster 8.
B — St. George's of Spokane 7, DeSales of Walla Walla 5.
Craig Smith's Tuesday question-and-answer column on high-school sports will take a summer break after today. Questions you would like answered when Sideline Smitty returns next fall can be asked by voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111) or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com