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As a head coach for 48 years, Gary Munsen did a whole lot of yelling on the sidelines. Thursday night, the recently retired Munsen put those pipes to work cheering on his former star Mike Miller.
Munsen coached Miller throughout his entire Kernel career and even after three state titles in high school, he never imagined that the kid he affectionately called Skinny would get so far.
"Unbelievable career. If you look at the stats, he was averaging almost 16 points per game throughout his career until the last few years when he got hurt so it's an unbelievable career," Munsen said.
And a career that Munsen believes shined the spotlight on prep basketball in the Rushmore State.
"I really believe that he opened the door for other players in South Dakota," Munsen said.
Miller has battled injuries each of the last two seasons, but as Munsen watched his former pupil pour in 23 points off the bench en route to his first ever NBA Title, he couldn't help but look back with pride.
"He got introduced as the starting small forward in the NBA. I mean, I had a hard time handling it. Tears were rolling down my eyes, I had goosebumps and if you think about it, it's an amazing thing," Munsen said.
Watch more of Munsen's reaction to Thursday night's game by clicking on the video player below.
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