In Episode 58 of Coaches at Crown Brew Getting Coffee, presented by the Swinford Media Group and sponsored by Adrenaline Fundraising, Marion Plumbing, and Swinford Wedding Videography, Kerry Martin sits down with Jim Miller, the coach whose presence, standards, and expectations shaped Carbondale basketball for nearly thirty years. With more than 550 career wins, including 445 at Carbondale, Miller didn’t just rack up championships and postseason hardware—he built a day-to-day identity for what it meant to be a Terrier. He believed in structure, discipline, practice habits, and the power of players understanding and embracing their roles. And in a conference as competitive as the South Seven, where every road trip feels like a rivalry and every gym has a history, that foundation mattered. In this episode, Kerry and Coach Miller talk about how you create culture and then protect it through changing personalities, changing eras, and changing expectations. They discuss the challenge of coaching in a community that cares deeply, the lessons that come from losing as much as winning, and the emotional transition from always thinking about the next practice, the next scout, the next game—to finally having time to reflect on what it all meant. It’s an honest look at leadership, pressure, growth, and the relationships that make coaching worth the hours most people never see.
