Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Welcome Back Players, Coaches From Tom Miller Era
February 11, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Alumni C Club, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For the third year in a row, the Colorado basketball program hosted a reunion of a former Buffs coach and players from that era over the weekend.
"The whole idea is to bring the different eras of Colorado basketball together and to reconnect them with the current era," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "And secondly, it's to make sure all those players and coaches were appreciated. No matter what happened, no matter what their record was, no matter how things started or how things ended, they're appreciated here. Once you're a Buff, you're always a Buff. You're always welcome back."
This weekend's guests were players and coaches from the Tom Miller era. Miller coached at CU from 1986 through 1990, with his final team making one of the more memorable conference tournament runs in CU history. The Buffs entered the Big Eight tournament seeded eighth, but knocked off No. 1 seed and sixth-ranked Missouri in overtime in the opener, then followed up with a win over Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
Colorado then took No. 1 Oklahoma to the limit in the championship game before falling, 92-80, just missing an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
"That run and the NIT run the season after that were my fondest memories of my time at CU," said Buffs guard Stevie Wise, whose name is stills sprinkled liberally throughout the CU record book. "Those were some great runs that we all remember."
Miller and many of the players present for the reunion attended Saturday morning's CU practice, then had lunch with the players.
"I think it's great," Miller said. "Anybody that's on the periphery that played or coached or worked here knows what a great job Tad and his staff have done. To bring people back into the fold is a great situation."
Miller said he wasn't sure he would attend after initially receiving the invitation, but talked to some former players and assistants who convinced him to attend.
"After getting out here and seeing some of the kids we coached and worked with, I would have been kicking myself if I hadn't come out," Miller said. "Every coach knows he has a role to teach, to get kids to reach to improve on and off the court. It's great to see some of these guys from our era and see the successes they've been having. It's fun. There's a camaraderie when you've been in the trenches together."
Many of the players and coaches from the era have continued to keep close tabs on the Buffs and have been impressed with the successful program Boyle has built.
But the biggest eye opener to many of them Saturday morning was the Coors Events Center practice facility, which boasts two gyms, office space for coaches and administrators and a first-class weight room.
"Our old weight room is now just a storage area," said Randy Robinson, who played for both Miller and Joe Harrington. "If you had more than four or five guys in the old weight room, there was barely enough room. These new gyms and lockers and weight rooms are amazing."
But if there was one overriding theme of the weekend, it was that the players and coaches were elated to be remembered and recognized. Weekend activities included a social hour, Saturday morning's practice session, a Saturday evening social and recognition at Sunday night's Colorado-Washington State game at the Events Center.
"It's good to see them recognize past players and coaches and get the Buff family back together and keep the alumni in touch with what's going on," Wise said. "In the past, I don't think you felt that togetherness. Coach Boyle has done a great job of trying to build that. Other colleges, you see it happen, they get that strong alumni base going and he's trying to do that here and I think everyone appreciates that."
Robinson, who now lives in Las Vegas, said he was excited when he heard about last year's reunion of the Tom Apke era.
"I was really hoping they'd continue to do it with the next coaches, and I was really happy to get the email about this," he said. "CU has always had that saying 'Shoulder to shoulder' and 'Buffs for life,' and this really talks to that spirit. This gives us a chance to come back home where we first met, where we lived together, ate together, sweated together and grew up together as young men. Seeing how we all turned out is great — and it makes you feel like you are part of the program again."
After practice, Boyle had Miller talk to the current team. Miller told the Buffs how his last team made an improbable run to the conference tournament finals.
"We learn from our experiences but we can also learn from other people's experiences," Boyle said. "That's what history is all about."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
