For the first time in 15 years, Eastern’s new men’s basketball coach is coming back home.

With the announcement of Mike Miller as the Panthers 15th head coach in school history, the Monmouth. native felt he was in the right place at the right time.

“I think after the Final Four, I started to get the feeling that this was certainly the right fit for me and my family,” Miller said.

Miller was a high school basketball player at Monmouth High School, but was forced to travel to the Lonestar state of Texas to continue his education and never returned to his home state of Illinois until accepting an assistant coaching position at Western Illinois in 1990.

Miller stepped to the podium to officially be named the leader of the Panther program. His wife Kelly was present along with his two sons Matt and Joey. Joining in the family affair was his parents Ron and Connie who drove down from their home in Monmouth.

“It’s terrific to have him back close because as a parent you realize that your kids have to leave once college rolls along but it’s definitely home for Mike,” Ron Miller said.

“Mike left home at 18 and I almost cried today because it really hit me how important coming back home was to him today,” Kelly Miller said.

Miller will have a home court advantage behind him while on the bench next season at Lantz Arena, which he sees as a comfort not more pressure.

“Pressure comes when you fail to prepare and I challenge you to find a team more prepared than us next year,” Miller said.

The Miller boys will both be in the Charleston school system including Matt, who started on the Manhattan (KS) High School team as a sophomore and will be a contributor on the Charleston High School team for the next two years.

“He was a perimeter player there, so we’ll see how that goes here,” Miller said. “I’ll probably have to sit in the living room and sell his mom on the program like everyone else.”

During the process, Miller’s wife was the one who admittedly was getting more excited as it appeared the Eastern job was looking more promising.

“It’s the complete opposite of what you would think because he is the more stable of us,” she said. “I’m the one who is more hyper and emotional.”

To watch Mike achieve a career accomplishment was big for a family that is a close-nit group.

“Mike has two brothers in Monmouth and the whole Miller gang will be here for every home game,” Ron Miller said.

“It’s so nice for Mike that he gets to come closer to our family,” Kelly Miller said. “We’ve always been closer to my family (originally from the Dallas area) and we don’t move much as a family.”

Miller’s contacts with high school coaches in Illinois should make for easier local recruiting.

“I think the basketball that is played around here gives Charleston a great recruiting base and there’s talent all around here right now,” Miller said.