Dr Dave Adkins and why he should be in the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame
February 14, 2021
Brad Miley
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 15/5/58
- Place of Birth: Rushville, Indiana (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 203
- Weight (KG): 88
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Indiana State (1976–1980)
- NBL DEBUT: 6/02/82
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 18/07/82
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 24
- NBL History: Geelong 1982
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Born and raised in Rushville, Indiana (USA), Miley played his senior season for Rushville Consolidated High School in Rushville, Indiana under head coach Larry Angle, where Miley was a member of Rushville’s 26–2 1976 state runner-up squad. He remains the school’s single-season rebounding leader with 394 rebounds in 28 games (14.1 rpg).
Miley set a state finals record 29 rebounds in the Lions’ come-from-behind semi-final game against East Chicago Washington. He followed it up in the state championship game with 16 rebounds in the loss to Marion.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Brad Miley made his NBL debut with the Geelong Cats at 23 years of age. He scored 11 points in his first game.
On the back of winning a state league title in 1981, Geelong and a successful appeareance in the NBL preseason tournament where the Cats defeated multiple NBL squads, Geelong was entered into the NBL for the 1982 season.
No one would have predicted that Geelong would reach the NBL Grand Final in their first year in the competition, especially after starting the year with a 2-3 record which included a drubbing at the hands of Nunawading.
Bruton began the year carrying the offensive load for the Cats, in fact, he was the league-leading scorer for the first seven weeks of the season until eventual winner Reg Biddings took over, on the back of his 63 point effort, which remains the highest score in a 40-minute NBL game.
As a result of the team’s slow start, coach Tim Kaiser was fired and replaced with the team’s high-scoring guard Cal Bruton, who would act as a player-coach for the remainder of the season. A stunning 13-game winning streak followed, culminating with Geelong finishing in second place (20-6).
Miley averaged 7.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists for the season, alongside Bruton (23.4 points 3.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists) and fellow import James Crawford (26.0 points and 10.9 rebounds) as the team got their revenge on Nunawading by defeating them in the semifinals (71-59).
Geelong then advanced to the Grand Final where they would face West Adelaide who had lost only five games for the year, twice by one point and once by two points before eliminating Coburg in the semifinals to reach the Grand Final. In fact, during the last round of the season, West Adelaide had thrashed Geelong by 29 points at Apollo Stadium to cement themselves into a first-place finish.
The championship game was played at the neutral venue of Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium (Newcastle), as a neutral venue, where the Bearcats would prove far too strong.
Behind the team’s ‘Big Three’ of Al Green (23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists), Leroy Loggins (25.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and player/coach Ken Richardson (14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists), they resisted a courageous second-half challenge by Geelong to win the Grand Final (80-74), becoming the team from South Australia to win the national championship.
In their 15 seasons of NBL competition from 1982 to 1996, this would prove to be Geelong’s only NBL Grand Final appearance. At the end of the season, Bruton received the league’s Coach of the Year award, and Crawford earned a spot on the All-NBL First Team.
Brad Miley played one season in the NBL. He averaged 7.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 28 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 24 | Geelong | 20-6 (2) | 28 | 0.0 | 213 | 284 | 27 | 91 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 68 | 99 | 212 | 47% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 15 | 43 | 35% | 46% | 47% | 14 | Totals | 28 | 0 | 213 | 284 | 27 | 91 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 68 | 99 | 212 | 46.7% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 15 | 43 | 34.9% | 46% | 47% | 14 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 24 | Geelong | 20-6 (2) | 28 | 0.0 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 6.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 47% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 35% | 45.8% | 47% | 14 | Total | 28 | 0.0 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 6.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 46.7% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 34.9% | 46% | 47% | 14 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 14 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Iceland - Valur (1980–1981), Keflavík (1982–1984)
Brad Miley joined Valur for the 1980 Úrvalsdeild karla season, playing his first season in Iceland after signing in October 1980 with the reigning league champions.
Miley made his Valur debut against ÍS and scored 14 points in an overtime victory, then finished the season as the team’s leading scorer at 19.7 points per game across 17 games as Valur fell short of repeating as national champions.
Valur achieved better results in the Icelandic Cup, defeating national champions Njarðvík in the cup final, where Miley scored 13 points as the club secured the trophy during the same season.
Miley returned to Iceland in November 1982 when he joined newly promoted Keflavík as player-coach, taking over the role from Tim Higgins and continuing with the club through his retirement in 1984.
In Miley’s first game for Keflavík he faced Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur, and the matchup drew attention because it included a meeting with former Valur teammate Pétur Guðmundsson.
During the 1982–83 title race, Miley and Keflavík finished second to Valur, and a late sequence in the decisive Valur win included a controversial three-second violation called on Miley as Keflavík attempted a potential game-winning play in the closing seconds.
COLLEGE
Brad Miley played college basketball for Indiana State from 1976 to 1980, where he became known for his defense.
As a freshman in 1976–77, Miley appeared in 28 games and made 1 start, averaging 2.5 points and 3.2 rebounds with 1.8 assists per game while shooting 40.3% from the field and 63.0% at the line.
In 1977–78, he played 31 games and averaged 4.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 56.0% from the floor as Indiana State continued building toward a national breakthrough.
Miley started all 34 games during the 1978–79 season as Indiana State finished 33–1 and the runner-up to the NCAA championship, losing 75–64 to Michigan State with Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser in the NCAA Final. Miley averaged 5.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, shooting 62% from the field, playing alongside Larry Bird, Carl Nicks and Bob Heaton under coach Bill Hodges. Over those 34 starts he logged 950 minutes (27.9 per game), shot 74-for-116 from the field (63.8%) with 46-of-90 free throws, and totaled 194 rebounds, 55 assists, 47 steals, and 8 blocks across the season.
As a senior in 1979–80, Miley started all 27 games he played and posted his best rebounding and playmaking rates at 5.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game, while also improving to 57.5% on free throws for the season.
In 120 career games at Indiana State, Miley averaged 4.6 points 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, shooting 53% from the floor. Across his four seasons, he finished with 97 wins, ranked second in school history in games played at the time (120), and totaled 627 rebounds, which placed him among Indiana State’s career rebounding leaders while he was part of teams that won 50 straight home games and were nationally ranked across three seasons.
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