Larry Miller

Lawrence James Miller (April 4, 1946 – May 11, 2025) was an American professional basketball player. In 2002, he was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team as one of the 50 greatest players in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

An All-American star at Catasauqua High School in the 1960s, he went on to play college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was named ACC Player of the Year in 1966 and 1967.

From 1968 to 1975, he played professionally in the American Basketball Association with the Los Angeles Stars, Carolina Cougars, San Diego Conquistadors, Virginia Squires, and Utah Stars.

Early life and education Miller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on April 4, 1946. He attended Catasauqua High School, where he was an All-American basketball player and an All-League football player before choosing to dedicate himself solely to basketball.

In high school, Miller was 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (97.5 kg). He was a deft left-handed shooter and was an explosive jumper. He honed his basketball skills against professional players from the Eastern League's Allentown Jets during summers. During Catasauqua playoff games in Hershey and Harrisburg, Miller's team would draw 10,000 fans to their games. Miller's scholastic average was 90, and he averaged 33.6 points per game on the basketball team. He received 120 college scholarship offers. Miller was such a popular player in Catasauqua and the entire Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, that many local basketball fans continued to follow his career after he went to the University of North Carolina. A local Lehigh Valley radio station reached an agreement to have North Carolina basketball games broadcast to facilitate fans continuing to follow Miller's career. He also had 2,062 career high school rebounds.

College basketball

A guard and forward, Miller's final choice of where to attend college was between Michigan State, and two Atlantic Coast Conference teams, a rebuilding University of North Carolina program under coach Dean Smith and Duke University under coach Vic Bubas. Duke reached the NCAA championship game in 1964. Bubas impressed Miller by calling Miller from Kansas City, Missouri, just before Duke was about to play UCLA for the NCAA title. Miller turned down a visit to national champion UCLA and instead visited North Carolina a second time. On Miller's visits, Billy Cunningham and other Tar Heel players swayed him to choose North Carolina, where Miller played varsity basketball from 1965 to 1968.

In his sophomore year (1965-66), Miller averaged 20.9 points per game, and 10.3 rebounds per game.

As a senior (1967-68), the Tar Heels were 28–4, won the ACC tournament, and reached the NCAA tournament's final game against UCLA, losing 78–55. During the year, Miller averaged 22.4 points (second in the ACC), and was again named ACC Player of the Year, ACC tournament MVP, and first team All-ACC. He was selected to the NCAA East All-Regional Team and to the All-Tournament Team, the other four players all being from UCLA. In 1968, Miller was selected as a consensus first-team All-American, along with future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame members Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pete Maravich, Wes Unseld, and Elvin Hayes; one of the greatest college All-American teams.

Professional basketball Miller was drafted in 1968 by the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers (fifth round, 62nd overall pick), but never played in that league. From 1968 to 1975, he played professionally in the American Basketball Association as a member of the Los Angeles Stars, Carolina Cougars, San Diego Conquistadors, Virginia Squires, and Utah Stars. He made 25 of 40 field goal attempts, with 17 made foul shots, and did not have a three-point basket in that game.

His best scoring seasons were with the Cougars in 1971–72 (18.4 points per game), and his rookie year with the Stars (17 points per game). He also had his best rebounding year as a rookie (7.7 per game). In 2002, Miller was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team as one of the fifty greatest players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. His No. 44 jersey hangs in the rafters at North Carolina's Dean Smith Center. He returned home to Catasauqua, Pennsylvania when his mother became ill, after working in construction in Virginia and North Carolina.