Throughout the offseason, WVUsports.com has given women’s basketball fans an inside look at the team behind the team. These individuals help the Mountaineers succeed academically and athletically. The final feature in the series focuses on graduate assistant and former Mountaineer standout guard Sarah Miles.
When former West Virginia University women’s basketball standout Sarah Miles had an opportunity to return to Morgantown as a graduate assistant, it was fulfilling a dream her former high school coach and cousin Milyse Lamkin wished for her several years ago. Once Lamkin passed away in 2014, the thoughts of entering the coaching world started popping up in Miles’ head.
“She was someone who was always one of those people that wanted me to stay close to the game no matter what,” Miles noted. “I never wanted to be that typical person that went into coaching right after playing basketball. After she passed away, I felt like that was something I wanted to do not only for myself, but for her.”
After a successful career at West Virginia, Miles played professionally for two years before entering the retail ranks. The San Antonio, Texas, native rose up the ladder as an assistant manager and eventually ran a store as a manager in Florida.
“It was a great experience because you were able to learn to work with many different people,” Miles said.
But her heart was in basketball. As a Mountaineer, Miles excelled on the hardwood. She earned the Big East’s Most Improved Player Award in 2009 and was the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year during the 2010 season. From 2008-11, Miles amassed 992 career points, 422 assists, 385 rebounds and 228 steals in 109 games played.
“It was a progression,” Miles explained. “It’s where I went from being a girl to a woman from my freshman year to my senior year at WVU. As a freshman, you come in and expect to play immediately because you were the star in high school. That was a wakeup call for me, but I came back my sophomore year and worked super hard that summer and got a starting position.
“When I won the Most Improved Player Award, it validated that I did put in the hard work and it was recognized. From there, I shifted my focus to working on my defense because that is what coach (Mike) Carey wanted and, eventually, I led the Big East in steals and earned Defensive Player of the Year.”
For Miles, returning to learn under coach Carey was something she wanted to do. She grew under him as a player and felt it was important to learn and grow under him as a graduate assistant.
“Coach Carey and I have a relationship where I could be gone for years and come back here and we’d pick up where we left off as if I never left,” Miles said.
“It’s like a father-daughter type of relationship. I say that because coach Carey knows my background. I never had that father-figure in my life and I felt like he filled that void on and off the court from day one. When I was getting out of line off the court, he would call me in and say ‘Look, I’m going to treat you as if you were my own and discipline you as if were my own.’
Miles hopes that her time and experience as a Mountaineer will help those currently on the team. She sees the energy and passion it takes to succeed and knows what it takes to get there.
“I love their work ethic and I’m excited to see them all put it together,” Miles said. “The chemistry and leadership for this team is really good and I think we will have a great year.”
For Miles, her return to West Virginia University is just another step that hopefully she will parlay into a successful coaching career.
