While Scott Willard has made a monster impact as a basketball coach at the Miller School, he’s also had his hands in the elevation and founding of several other blossoming programs for the Mavericks. He helped get the school’s one-of-a-kind endurance program off the ground and helped bring in former Major League Baseball player Billy Wagner to jumpstart the baseball team.
That impact will end after this year when Willard steps down as athletic director at Miller. Ralf Melis, who’s been Miller’s junior varsity coach and is a former UNC-Asheville and European professional basketball player, will lead the basketball program while girls basketball coach James Braxton takes over as athletic director. Braxton will shift over to the athletic director role from Miller’s disciplinarian position where he’s served for eight years.
“In four years here I’m extremely proud where we’ve come and how we’ve picked up where (former athletic director) Fred (Wawner) left off,” Willard said. “(In basketball) we were able to attract some of the best student-athletes on the East Coast.”
Willard leaves behind one of the state’s top prep school basketball programs, a team that sent Andrew White to Kansas and brought in another future high-major signee in Isaac Copeland this year. The Mavericks have certainly brought in academic achievers as well, as the team’s GPA has gone up an entire point since Willard took the helm led by players like Cameron Smith, a reserve point guard, who boasts six Ivy League offers.
“Our attendance has gone through the roof here and that brings excitement during winter months when there’s not a lot going on,” Willard said. “We’ve been standing room alone. We’re not only showing off talent but we’re also showing off our school.”
Willard oversaw a renovation of the school’s gym and fitness/training center, helping elevate the Miller experience across the board for the school’s athletic programs. He’s currently deciding his next move, looking at some high school and college opportunities.
“We’re just deciding which one’s the best fit,” Willard said.
He’ll finish out the year at Miller and then Braxton will take the helm.
“It’s a new gig for me, a new learning experience,” Braxton said. “I’ve been doing discipline here for eight or nine years and I’ve learned from the best here with Wawner and Willard and I’m just hoping to keep what they’ve done going.”
Like Willard, Braxton will be focused on expanding and improving the school’s athletic and outdoor programs
“I’m definitely excited to expand on what we already have,” Braxton said. “We’ve had some discussions about starting some other sports. I think if we have more girls sports, we’d have a better pool of female student athletes to choose from in the admissions process.”
