Churchill Honors Long-time Area Youth Coach at Holiday Tournament

Bobby Miller dedicated pretty much his entire adult life to youth basketball in Montgomery County.

A Silver Spring native who grew up playing high school basketball at Northwood, Miller spent countless hours working with area kids, coaching youth basketball and helped teach and develop many future athletes. Which is why two years ago, Churchill decided to dedicate something to Miller and did so by renaming its annual holiday basketball tournament in his honor after the long-time youth coach died in April 2009 following a bout with cancer. 

"This tournament is a fitting tribute to the memory of Bobby Miller who touched many lives through his courageous battle with cancer and who was instrumental in helping to build the Churchill basketball program as well as supporting youth basketball in Montgomery County," Churchill coach Matt Miller (no relation) wrote in 2009 upon renaming the tournament after Mr. Miller. 

Now in its third year, the Bobby Miller Bulldog Classic Holiday Basketball Tournament has become a showcase of basketball talent that stretches into areas as far as western Pennsylvania. And Matt Miller believes that the tournament continues to be a tribute to Bobby Miller's legacy.

"Any time a youth coach demonstrates the level of commitment that Bobby did, you have to appreciate it," said Matt Miller in a phone interview on Wednesday. "It takes a lot of time and effort to develop young men and Bobby is one of those guys that committed so much of himself to helping every young man he possibly could have. I think it also gave him a chance to give back a little bit too and all the young men really enjoyed playing for him."

Matt Miller also said that Bobby was instrumental to his own success upon taking the head coaching role at Churchill in 2008. Matt Miller, who had coaching stints at other county schools such as Wheaton and Whitman as well as St. Mary’s College, said that Bobby Miller’s passion and enthusiasm for basketball helped inspire him.

"He had such a passion for basketball and just a contagious energy," Matt Miller said. "And it really got me motivated when I got to Churchill."

Bobby Miller’s footprint is apparent, particularly with this year’s senior class at Churchill. According to Marty Lewis, a Churchill area parent who coached alongside Bobby Miller for many years, a lot of current Churchill students played for Bobby at one point in time. Lewis is just one of many Churchill parents whose son played under Bobby Miller.

"Bobby always put the kids first and volunteered many hours as well as a significant amount of his own money in support of youth basketball," said Lewis, who coached the Churchill summer league and fall league teams along with Larry Chloupek and Bobby Miller. "Many of the current seniors on the Churchill varsity played for Bobby at one time or another. Churchill basketball is now seeing the fruits of his labor. I am sure he is very proud of the progress the program has made under Matt Miller."

Bobby Miller lived in Potomac and was a youth coach with Bethesda Magic and co-founded Potomac Pride AAU basketball five years ago with Lewis to improve the skills and teamwork for players in the Churchill school cluster.

This year’s tournament features eight teams, four in each of the girls and boys divisions. Along with host Churchill, the tournament includes Einstein, Quince Orchard and Seneca Valley in the girls division and The Heights, Takoma Academy and Shaler Area High School, which traveled from Pittsburgh, Pa., in the boys division.

Matt Miller said he met the coach of Shaler at a tournament a couple years ago at the University of Pittsburgh and immediately identified with the brand of basketball Shaler plays.

"They’re a very blue collar team. They play hard – go after loose balls and they are aggressive rebounders," Matt Miller said, adding that it is the type of basketball that Bobby Miller also enjoyed. "That’s one of the reasons I wanted to bring them down. They play a solid brand of basketball with tough, resilient kids."

In the boys championship game tonight at 7:30 p.m., Churchill will face Shaler, which is led by Geno Thorpe, who is considered one of the top players in the nation. Thorpe has already committed to play at Penn State. Churchill earned its way to the championship game by beating The Heights on Tuesday, 70-58.

The Bulldogs were led by three players who each had double-digit scoring nights: Sam Edens (19), Thomas Geenen (17) and Dominique Williams (10). Geenen also grabbed 20 rebounds for Churchill. Edens is the Bulldogs leading scorer on the year, averaging over 14 points per game.

The Heights will take on Takoma Academy in the boys consolation game at 3:30 today.

On the girls side, Churchill squares off against Seneca Valley in the championship game at 5:30 while Quince Orchard battles Einstein in the consolation game at 1:30.

The tournament is co-sponsored by Town & Country Movers and Mama Lucia’s and also serves as fundraising event for both the Churchill basketball program and the American Cancer Society, where proceeds of the tournament are donated in Bobby Miller’s name.

Fans have additional opportunities to make donations on their own. In 2009, the tournament raised $1,700 in voluntary donations from fans attending the games.