May 10, 2012
TUCSON, Ariz. - University of Arizona head men's basketball coach Sean Miller will be inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Hall of Fame, the organization announced recently.
Miller, who graduated from Blackhawk High School in Beaver Falls, Pa., in 1987, is among a group of nine athletes, three coaches, two teams and a contributor and game official that make up the WPIAL's Hall of Fame Class of 2012.
Miller's father John, his high school coach, also is among the 2012 inductees. That makes the Millers the first father-son combination to receive WPIAL enshrinement.
The younger Miller, called one of the greatest point guards in WPIAL history, finished his high school career with more than 1,700 career points and led Blackhawk to the 1986 WPIAL championship. As a senior, he led the WPIAL in scoring at 27 points per game, including a single-game high of 51 points, while shooting better than 60 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free throw line. Miller's No. 33 jersey was retired following his prep career.
"To be inducted is an honor," said Sean Miller," and to be inducted in the same year as my father makes it that much more special. So much of who I am as a person, a player and a coach comes from him."
The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League was founded in 1906 by a small group of educators who recognized the need to provide a set of eligibility rules and regulations in order to insure a level playing field for interscholastic athletic competition among the schools in Western Pennsylvania.
This induction is the second Pittsburgh-area career honor of note for Miller, as he is also a member of the University of Pittsburgh's Varsity Walk. Each year, the university selects a handful of the top senior student-athletes to have their names engraved on a sidewalk located on campus. It is the highest honor given to a Pittsburgh student-athlete.
The 2012 WPIAL Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place June 1 at the DoubleTree Hotel-Green Tree in Pittsburgh, Pa.
