Chucky Miller

   Miller graduated from Talladega High School in 1975 and earned a degree in math education from Auburn University in 1979. He spent the first year of his professional life teaching math at Talladega High School and serving as head coach for ninth-grade football and basketball and assistant coach for varsity boys basketball.   

         In the 1980-81 school year, Miller became Wellborn’s head boys varsity basketball coach and head ninth-grade football coach, while continuing to teach math. He remained at Wellborn for 20 years. His first group of Panthers, the 1980-81 team, won 20 games. In the previous 25 years, Wellborn teams had won 20 games just once.

          In his fourth season at Wellborn, Miller’s Panthers won the 1984 Calhoun County basketball tournament. They were the No. 2 seed and reached the championship game by defeating Weaver 91-63 in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Alexandria 62-60 in the semifinals. In the title game, Wellborn downed No. 4 Jacksonville 58-55 in overtime. 

   While at Wellborn, Miller’s teams won four area championships and reached the sub-state or sub-region round of the state playoffs five times. When Miller left Wellborn following the end of the 1999-2000 school year to return to Talladega, his overall record was 290-210 over 20 seasons, the most basketball victories by any Wellborn coach.                        

   Miller remained at Talladega for 20 seasons. His teams were champions of the Talladega County tournament 12 times. Talladega appeared in an AHSAA regional tournament 14 times and won six regional tournaments.

     Miller’s first four Talladega teams to appear in the state tournament each lost in the semifinal round. That changed in 2019 when the Tigers defeated Hillcrest of Evergreen 69-58 in the state semifinal round then downed West Limestone 60-48 to capture the Class 4A state championship.

    In the 2020 final four, the Tigers bested Montgomery Catholic in a 4A semifinal contest but lost to Williamson in the championship game. Miller retired following the 2019-20 season with an overall varsity record of 785-346 in 40 seasons. The ASWA named Miller 5A Coach of the Year in 2017 and 4A Coach of the Year in 2019.

     Talladega named its basketball court for Miller in 2023. In 2024, he was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame.