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Girls basketball: Miller tabbed as Prospect's coach

One of Prospect's all-time great centers, Marie (Baker) Miller, has been named the varsity girls basketball coach at her alma mater.

Miller was the Knights' freshman coach this past winter and had a brief midseason stint as the interim varsity coach when the team went 4-0 under her leadership.

A 2006 graduate coached by Mike Nocella, Miller was a three-time all-area selection and named Mid-Suburban League East Player of the Year her senior season.

While at Prospect, Miller set school career rebounds and blocks records and the Knights went 24-6 and were MSL East and regional champs her sophomore season.

She played four years at Eastern Illinois and then taught at Lake Zurich High School and served as the Bears' junior varsity coach from 2012 to 2016.

"I feel incredibly grateful for this amazing opportunity to give back to a program and a community that has meant so much and given so much to me," said Miller in a Dist. 214 release. "This program truly belongs to a great group of girls who have what it takes to make some exciting headlines this next season and beyond. We have some phenomenal role models in this program, and I am looking forward to seeing where they lead us next."

Prospect assistant principal of student activities Frank Mirandola said Miller's culture of competition and compassion will create a strong team identity and empower the school's student-athletes to fearlessly pursue their goals on and off the court.

"She forms powerful relationships rooted in her passion for teaching and basketball," Mirandola said. "She has a unique ability to connect with all student-athletes. These connections enable her to maximize individual potential and team success."

Miller, who works in the food consumer science department at Prospect, met with current players on Wednesday to share her vision for the program.

"The overall goal of the girls' basketball program is to turn players into people and to teach them valuable lessons that they can take with them well beyond their years here at Prospect High School," Miller said. "That development is a result of the culture and experiences had during their time as a Prospect basketball player."

"I have high hopes for not only advancing the girl's program, but also for reigniting the excitement for the season throughout the student body, community and future Knights to come," Miller said. "I am always interested and looking for ways to get the student body as well as the community involved with our program."

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