Original article (Shafer Completes Women’s Basketball Staff) on the Richmond University athletic website richmondspiders.com.
Richmond women’s basketball head coach Michael Shafer announced Monday the hiring of assistant coach John Miller and Director of Basketball Operations Crystal Williams, who will complete the 2014-15 Richmond women’s basketball staff.
“We are pleased to announce the completion of our staff for the upcoming season,” commented Shafer. “We feel that we were able to find two individuals who meet the needs of our program and the values of the University of Richmond.”
Miller comes to Richmond after spending the past seven years as an assistant coach at Rider University, while Williams returns to campus after being an assistant women’s basketball coach at Shenandoah University last season.
“John joins us from Rider University where he spent the last seven seasons,” continued Shafer. “He is a very energetic and positive person. He has done a good job recruiting for Rider and in the mid- Atlantic area, which is an area we focus on. Everyone I spoke with told me how hard John works and how eager he is to learn. He has strengths in player development and I believe our young team will benefit from him on the floor coaching. He is a very good up-and-coming coach in our profession.”
Under the direction of Lynn Milligan, Miller spent seven seasons with the Broncs and helped lead Rider to back-to-back 15 win seasons the past two years.
At Rider, Miller was responsible for recruiting, player development, scouting and coordinating the Broncs’ offense.
Miller helped Rider to a 15-win season for the second year in a row this past season, which is tied for the fifth most wins in the 75-year history of the program. The Broncs are coming off a MAAC semifinal appearance for the first time ever.
During his tenure with the Broncs, Miller was instrumental in recruiting and developing several successful players. He was involved with the recruitment of three-straight members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team and in 2011-12 Miller helped develop Ali Heller into one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the nation with Heller earning MAAC 6th Player of the Year honors.
Prior to joining the Broncs’ staff in 2007, Miller spent a season under Vanessa Blair at Mount St. Mary’s University. At The Mount, Miller assisted with post instruction, practice preparation and strength and conditioning program.
Miller graduated from Mount St. Mary’s in 2006 with a degree in business and earned his MBA from The Mount in 2008.
“We feel like we were able to fill our positions with two very special people and want to welcome both, Crystal and John, as well as John’s wife Rashana, to the University of Richmond,” said Shafer. “We are looking forward to the contributions they will make to our program.”