Ole Miss head basketball coach Andy Kennedy announced Friday he has recommended the hiring of Owen Miller for the position of assistant coach. The appointment is pending approval of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

"I'm excited about Owen joining the staff," said Kennedy, who was introduced as Ole Miss' 20th head coach on March 24. "His 12 years of experience at the collegiate level along with being a Mississippi native make him an ideal fit for our situation."

A native of Gulfport, Miller is coaching in the Southeastern Conference for the second time in his career, having spent three years at Mississippi State where he helped the Bulldogs to a pair of SEC Western Division titles and a Final Four berth. He served as an assistant coach at Colorado State the last two seasons and was the recruiting coordinator this past campaign.

"It's an honor to be on Andy's first Ole Miss staff," Miller said. "I grew up watching Andy play, with him being from Louisville and a couple years older than me. He is someone whose career I've followed, including his success this year. I'm just thrilled to be working for Andy."

At CSU, Miller was involved in every aspect of the Rams' program including on-floor coaching, recruiting and program organization and administration. He helped Colorado State to a 16-15 mark this past season.

Miller joined the Rams after seven years at Texas-San Antonio, including the final four as recruiting coordinator and the last two as associate head coach. While with UTSA, he helped the Roadrunners annually challenge for an NCAA berth, and in six of seven years, the team recorded a second-place finish or better in the Southland Conference. In his seven seasons in San Antonio, the Roadrunners won more games than any other team in the league.

Miller's first coaching experience was as an assistant on Richard Williams' Mississippi State staff 1994-95 through 1996-97. He helped the Bulldogs to an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 1995 and a Final Four trip the following year. MSU won the SEC West crown twice in his tenure and captured the league tournament title in 1996.

Miller spent his college playing days at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas where he played two seasons before finishing his career at Mississippi College. As an MC senior in 1993-94, Miller started 23 games, ranked second on the team in scoring and topped the team in three-pointers. He earned his B.A. in communication from Mississippi College in 1994.

Miller enjoyed a successful prep career at Gulfport High School, helping the team to back-to-back 5A state titles. Playing alongside LSU and NBA standout Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Miller averaged 21.2 points, five rebounds and four assists per game as a senior and was named to the all-state team.

The 35-year-old Miller is married to the former Hollie Joe Mathis of Poplarville, Miss. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law.