Khaalidah Miller brings professional experience to elevate Midtown girls basketball
Former Atlanta Dream guard and standout Georgia Bulldogs player, Khaalidah Miller, has recently stepped into the role of assistant coach for the Midtown girls’ basketball team, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the court.
Miller, known by her students and players as Coach KM, has an extensive basketball background. According to ESPN, in the class of 2010, Miller was the number 36-ranked recruit and number 10-ranked guard recruit in the U.S., as well as the number 1 recruit in Georgia out of high school. As a five star, she was heavily recruited in middle school and throughout high school, receiving her first offer from Duke University in the seventh grade, with more offers quickly following.
“It was a handwritten letter with [Duke] offering me,” Miller said. “Then, the week after that Tennessee came, and then Kentucky, and then they all started rolling in. I had offers from everyone in the SEC, the ACC, the Big East, everybody.”
Miller graduated from Douglass High School, where she was named class 5A’s Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution her senior year. Her senior season, she averaged 29.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.4 steals, 2.5 blocks and 1.8 assists per game, and ended her last season with the Lady Astros 17-9. Throughout her high school career, she scored 2,097 points and was a four-year starter for Douglass. Out of the many offers Miller had, she signed with Georgia.
“I ended up deciding to sign with Georgia, not because it was at home, but just because when I took my official visit there, it felt like a home atmosphere,” Miller said. “I also had narrowed down my choices to Rutgers, Georgia Tech, the University of Florida and Alabama, so I knew I wanted to stay in the Southeastern Conference and, at the time, Georgia was ranked number two in the nation.”
Graduating early, Miller started at UGA at 17. Her freshman year, she was the leading scorer, and helped lead the team to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. In 2014, she was the lone senior on the Bulldogs and was one of 35 Bulldog athletes to have scored over 1,000 points in their collegiate careers at that time. She was ranked number 22 among UGA’s top offensive producers with 1,291 points. She finished second in 3-point career takes, with 702, and third in 3-point career makes, with 218. Throughout her career at UGA, she played in 132 games, which tied her for seventh all-time at UGA.
“I had a really great career there,” Miller said. “The furthest we went in the NCAA tournament was the Elite Eight, and we lost in overtime to [The University of California – Berkeley].”
Kaelyn Causwell, a longtime friend and former teammate of Miller at UGA, recalls Miller as an amiable and astute player.
“KM is one of the best players I know,” Causwell said. “She’s a vocal player, knowledgeable, extremely logical and is able to dissect her opponents’ game like crazy. She can also shoot the lights out of the gym.”
Causwell, being two years younger than Miller, recalls how welcoming Miller was to the incoming class of 2016.
“Khaalidah was one of my first friends on the team at UGA,” Causwell said. “She welcomed me and the rest of the freshman class with open arms. Whenever I’d get stuck on a play I could always count on her to help me get through it. One thing about KM, she’s gonna hold you accountable in regards to getting in the gym and encouraging you to be the best player you can be.”
In April of 2014, during Miller’s senior year, she was picked up by the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
“It was fun, but it was hard, as far as training and practice times go,” Miller said. “When I initially got with the Dream, I was still in college. I had finals that I had to take. So, I was going back and forth between Athens and Atlanta trying to get to practices, which were twice a day. It was a lot, but it was a great experience, and I got to meet a lot of different people who I am still connected with to this day.”
Unfortunately, Miller’s time with the Dream was cut short due to a quadricep strain, her first major injury in her career. She was forced to go to rehab for a few months before recovering and playing overseas with Bellinzona Basket in Switzerland.
“I played in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, and I was the top scorer in those countries when I played,” Miller said.
After a season of international play, she took a step back and pursued coaching at her former high school, Douglass.
“My first year coaching there we went to the Elite Eight, which hadn’t been done [at Douglass] since I was a player,” Miller said. “My second year there we won a state championship, which had never been done in school history. And then in my third year there we won the state championship again, back to back, which had never been done by any girls basketball team in Atlanta Public Schools, ever.”
After three years at Douglass, Miller was looking for a change. A long-time friend of current Midtown girls basketball assistant coach, O’Neisha Smith, and head coach Martravious Little, Miller jumped on the opportunity to coach at Midtown.
“I just wanted to be in a different type of environment,” Miller said. “I saw what [Smith and Little] were building here, and I saw they made it to the Elite Eight last year, and I know I can get us that extra push. I have the knowledge and the skillset to get us where we need to be so that we can get to the championship game and win a championship here.”
Miller and Smith’s paths intertwined during high school, as Smith graduated from Chapel Hill. Their connection persisted into college when Lipscomb, Smith’s alma mater, faced off against Georgia in December of 2012.
“I never would have thought that I would be coaching with her after playing against her ten plus years ago,” Smith said. “Definitely a full circle moment. Really and truly I am kind of speechless that we’re back at the same school now, actually being on the same team versus being on different teams. It’s exciting and I enjoy it. We are able to talk about the past and just reminisce.”
Likewise, Little and Miller share a seven-year history, having crossed paths through his trainer, a close friend of Miller’s. Little was thrilled upon learning about Miller’s application for a position at Midtown.
“When I figured out she had actually left Douglass and applied for a job here, I was excited,” Little said. “I called her the day that I heard and said, ‘I’m ready.’ I said, ‘Are you going to work with me?’ she said, ‘yeah, let’s get this done.’”
Little appreciates the experience Miller brings to the program.
“I love the fact that she’s a top rank coming out of the state of Georgia. She has college experience, professional experience, and not only that, she won two state championships at Douglass,” Little said. “So she understands how to win on a high school level as well. So that, along with the experience that we already have here, is just, that’s piling experience on top of experience.”
For Midtown, Miller will be acting mainly as an offensive coach, working with players on dribbling, shooting and attacking the basket.
“She adds another level to our staff,” sophomore guard Devin Bockman said. “Before this, we never really had anyone who was like a special coach for offense for our guards, but I think having her will help grow the guards and the offense, in general.”
Sophomore Colbi Browning believes that Miller’s extensive experience and profound understanding of the game will play a pivotal role in the team’s growth.
“I think that her background will help us extremely as she has really seen the court and knows what it means to be a winner,” Browning said. “She understands what it means to be under pressure; she knows the level of intensity we need to have if we want to be champions, and overall, she just knows the game extremely well.”
Smith is confident that, given Miller’s remarkable career trajectory, she can assist aspiring young athletes in advancing their basketball careers to the next level.
“She definitely brings experience,” Smith said. “Being able to have played overseas, and experience that pro-life, that’s definitely much needed experience for the girls that want to play at the next level. She is definitely able to guide them in the right direction.”
Miller is excited to coach at Midtown and said this team has what it takes to win a championship.
“I can see it for us,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of talent here, in every position. So I am excited to be here and to be able to have an impact on them and develop them as players. I really want them to reach their full potential this year, which they can. I know we can get to the championship game, and I know we can win.”
Little and the rest of the coaching staff have been focusing on specific aspects with the team this year. One of Little’s main goals is to perfect the defense, but Browning has appreciated Miller’s focus on the offense this season.
“The key aspects that the coaches are focusing on this year, similar to last year, is really just about defense,” Browning said. “They want us to lock teams down and apply pressure so we have our games won before half time even hits. Coach KM contributes to this with her skill work. She trains us on that so we can reward our hard defensive work with buckets on the other end of the court.”
Browning said Miller has adjusted to the team well, and has made it easy for her players to communicate with her and appreciates her enthusiasm for the game.
“I have loved Coach KM so far,” Browning said. “She is easy to talk to, easy to be around, funny, fun, but on top of that, makes us lock in when we need to. She fit in right away when she joined Midtown girls basketball, and it felt as if she’s almost been here since day one.”
Reflecting on the past, Causwell recalls the leadership qualities Miller demonstrated at Georgia and remains unswayed by her choice to pursue a coaching career.
“She’s always been an extremely vocal player and someone who is open to sharing her knowledge about the game,” Causwell said. “It’s been such a cool experience seeing her make a flawless transition from player to coach. She’s definitely built for this.”
