Darius Miller shared his favorite Kentucky Basketball memories and more on KSR

One of Kentucky’s all-time basketball greats, Darius Miller, retired from nearly a decade-long professional career in 2021 and now resides in Lexington as a father of two and proud new owner of a youth basketball complex, The Alumni Center. On Friday, Miller stopped by Kentucky Sports Radio’s live radio broadcast to reminisce on old times and discuss life as a dad and getting involved in local youth sports.

Before the on-air interview, Miller politely declined a fan’s invite to suit up for Kentucky’s TBT alumni team next month, admitting that his competitive days are behind him. Still, Miller had plenty to say to KSR about his playing career at Kentucky and beyond, a truly one-of-a-kind resume that includes the trio of Kentucky high school state champion, Mr. Basketball, and NCAA champion.

• 2012 NCAA Champion
• 2011 NCAA Semifinalist
• 2x SEC Tournament Champion
• 2x SEC Regular Season Champion
• 2012 SEC Sixth Man of the Year
• 2011 SEC Tournament MVP
• 2008 Kentucky H.S. State Champion
• 2008 Kentucky Mr Basketball

In speaking with Matt Jones on the show, Miller recalled a timeline of Kentucky memories from state champion to NCAA champion before pro basketball took him far beyond his home state. Miller even shared a little about his one season under Billy Gillispie before the drastic transition into the John Calipari era and the pageantry that came with it in Miller’s sophomore year. He even compared the contrasting coaching styles of Gillispie and Calipari, as well as what he has observed as a guest at Mark Pope’s Kentucky practices. He called Pope a genius.

[Darius Miller compares Billy G, Coach Cal and Mark Pope]

Beyond the three coaching comparisons, other highlights in the conversation include:

— The best moment he’s ever had on a basketball court: It was the 2012 title game in New Orleans, as you can imagine. Miller said the 2011-12 team was able to get over the hump and win it all because they jelled right away when they arrived on campus. “I think the thing that stood out the most was just how quick we clicked, you know what I mean? With those other groups, it took a little time for us to get used to each other, a lot of big names coming in, but my senior year, that team jelled really, really fast. You know, with Terrence Jones coming back, Doron (Lamb) coming back, we had a little bit more guys come back that had some experience down the line in the tournament, and we were able to, you know, kind of facilitate that a little bit better than in the past, but it just happened so fast, and everybody was just totally bought into winning the championship.”

— He couldn’t be on the team that lost to Louisville in the Final Four: Before beating Kansas for the national championship, Kentucky faced rival Louisville in the semifinal game in New Orleans, a must-win game for Miller’s legacy, in addition to everything else at stake. Miller was a senior, so a Final Four loss to Louisville would have ended his college career, along with the team’s title hopes that year. His thoughts beforehand? “We can’t lose. I didn’t want to be on the team that lost to Louisville in the Final Four. I just, I didn’t, I didn’t, to be honest. You know what I mean? And I think the guys understood that, too.”

— Love for Lexington: In those same comments about beating Louisville in New Orleans to set up the championship, Miller added that he thought about how much the Final Four rivalry game meant to the people of Lexington. “All of us that’s come through here love Lexington, love the people in Kentucky, how you embrace us. It means a lot to us… so we wanted to do that for Lexington, too.”

Darius Miller said the 2012 team carried the love of a state with them all the way to the national championship.

They wanted to WIN for the people of Kentucky! pic.twitter.com/BmWPZL4Skj

— Mario A Maitland (@MarioMaitland_3) June 27, 2025

— He was hurt when Calipari left: Like many, Miller was surprised to see his former coach, John Calipari, leave Lexington for Arkansas last year. When asked how he reacted to the news, Miller told KSR, “Oh, man, I was hurt. I was hurt. I’m not gonna lie. I mean, I understood it. You know what? I mean, I understood… because everything comes to an end, you know? He wasn’t going to coach here forever, and I totally understood that, but I have a lot of love for Cal, and I understand the program wanted to go in a different direction and start over.” Though Miller wishes Calipari the best, he still bleeds blue, never Arkansas red.

— He thinks Mark Pope is a genius, loves his halftime adjustments: Miller hated to see Calipari leave, but he loves the hire his alma mater made to replace Calipari. “I think the hire that they chose was a great hire,” Miller told KSR. “I love Coach Pope, I do. I love his approach to the game. I think he’s a genius when it comes to basketball.”

— On impacting the community in retirement: Miller and his business partners took over the old Sports Center basketball complex by Fayette Mall, renaming it The Alumni Center. He recalled Tony Delk and Scott Padgett, among other UK basketball alums, helping him out as a kid, and now he wants to pay it forward with the same approach. Miller plans to have other UK alums help out in giving back to the community.

Listen to Darius Miller on KSR

Miller joined the program at the beginning of the second hour, as found in the player below. You can hear Friday’s show from the start with Hour 1 here.