CHILLICOTHE — Nowhere in the trophy cases that line the walls outside Unioto’s gym will you find a basketball etched with the number “261.”
In Shermans’ lore, it is a number with significance. This winter, particularly, is more significant than ever.
Earlier this month, Unioto girls basketball coach Jeff Miller became the school’s all-time wins leader with — you guessed it — 261 victories, surpassing longtime boys coach Matt Hoops.
“My daughter was here, and she came out on the court and presented me with the game ball,” Miller said. “I was like, ‘put that back on the rack.’”
Not that he didn’t appreciate it — he certainly did — but a personal win tally isn’t the goal. The next win, and the next, and the next … that’s what he’s here for.
“Every game we go into, they feel like there’s a way they’re going to win this game,” he said of his Lady Shermans, currently 20-2 overall and the No. 1 seed in the Division III Southeast Region 1. “As a coach, you’re always looking at your path. This year, our path is more on our level. This year, I don’t feel like there’s anyone in our region head and shoulders above anyone else.”
Unioto’s postseason path begins Thursday night at home in a sectional title game against Marietta, a team that advanced by knocking off Washington Court House 50-44 in OT on Monday night.
“They are down a little compared to the last few years,” Miller said. “They are traditionally good. They were undefeated last year. When they go into games, they expect to win games.”
He openly admitted that it’s a coaching cliché, but Miller said he looks at the postseason one game at a time.
“They are a quality opponent. If you just show up, you’re in trouble,” he said. “If you look ahead, you’re not going to be playing that next game.”
Modesty aside, though, this Shermans team is special.
Their six seniors have never lost a Scioto Valley Conference game. Yes, you read that right. Four years, four Gold Ball seasons, an astounding 56 consecutive league wins.
“That’s the crazy thing to me,” Miller said. “Over the course of 56 games, there are illnesses, injuries, someone stubs a toe, you just have bad nights. You think about the NFL playing 18 games. It’s nearly impossible to go undefeated.”
Unioto’s six seniors — Magnolia Holbert, Zoie Detwiller, Aidyn Danison, Piper Frump, Cloie Fisher and All-Ohioan Milee Smith — have gone undefeated in the SVC four consecutive times. They have reached the district title game once and the Sweet 16 twice.
“This core group has played a lot of basketball together,” Miller said. “The familiarity of all of them together. The friendships they have. Understanding each other.”
The Shermans have worked for and earned their reputation as an elite team. They are aware that it puts them in a bullseye for any team looking for a statement win.
“My philosophy is that pressure’s a privilege,” Miller said. “That means if you’re facing pressure, then you’re playing in something important.”
Heading into the season, there was no talk of lofty goals. Rather, it was about simply improving.
“They just want to go farther,” he said. “End this year farther than they’ve ever been.”
Miller echoes that sentiment. The next game — the next win — is the biggest one.
Now in his 15th season, he never set out with a goal to coach a specific number of seasons or attain a certain number of wins.
“I remember that first season a little bit,” he said. “It was (taking over for) Cyndi (Driggs), and she was phenomenal. She had a great program. It was more like, take this job and don’t screw it up. I had no idea how long I was going to do it.”
Miller sat at the scorers’ table Tuesday afternoon watching his team run drills — very likely with one of them using that record-setting game ball (that really did go back on the rack) to shoot around in warmups — as they prepped for another postseason run.
Win No. 261 was the farthest thing from his mind.
“I’ve been a coach in some capacity for 30 years,” he said. “The milestones as a coach are the hundreds. Three hundred. Four hundred. I’ll keep that ball and put it on a shelf. But I didn’t win those games. The girls won the games.”
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Unioto coach Jeff Miller sets school wins record, eyes deep postseason run
Reporting by Lance Cranmer, Chillicothe Gazette / Chillicothe Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
