North Texas men’s basketball head coach Grant McCasland has announced the hiring of James Miller and Jareem Dowling as assistant coaches.
Miller and Dowling join associate head coach Ross Hodge, completing McCasland’s coaching staff.
Assistant coach James Miller
“We are thrilled to have James Miller join the Mean Green family,” McCasland said. “He is an extremely hardworking coach that gets every aspect of helping a program be successful and that starts with student-athlete relationships. He has won at a high level as a head coach and continues to prove he can recruit and develop young men. We are excited to have his family, Darlene and Mia join us and they will be a huge asset to our program, university and community.”
Miller spent one season at Arkansas State, helping secure a 20-win season, including eight non-conference wins over Division I opponents. Miller was a part of the second biggest turnaround in NCAA Division I as the Red Wolves had a 10-win improvement in 2016-17.
“I’m blessed to continue to work for coach McCasland and with the amazing staff that he is assembling in Denton,” Miller said. “The passion and energy with which he leads the program daily is contagious. I’m excited to be a part of the family at North Texas.”
Before ASU, Miller spent one season as an assistant coach at University of Nebraska Omaha. The Mavericks ended the 2015-16 campaign with an appearance in the second postseason tournament in the Division I era of the program with an invite to the College Basketball Invitational.
Omaha, which ranked fourth nationally in scoring offense (85.3 points per game), finished third in the Summit League. The Mavericks ranked fifth nationally in steals per game (9.4) and 12th nationally in turnovers forced per game (15.8).
Prior to joining the staff at Omaha, Miller was head coach at New Mexico Junior College from 2012-15. Over his three seasons at NMJC, Miller led the Thunderbirds to a 77-23 record. In that span, 21 players went on to sign NCAA Division I scholarships with programs including Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, TCU and NC State.
Miller directed NMJC to a 23-9 record in his final season, which included a run to the semifinals of the Region V Tournament. In his first two seasons, Miller guided the Thunderbirds to a 54-14 record and two consecutive trips to the NJCAA National Tournament. Under Miller’s guidance, the 2013 team won the Region V Championship, securing the first national tournament bid for the Thunderbirds in 17 years.
Miller spent three seasons as assistant coach at NMJC before being named the head coach. Before NMJC, Miller, a native of Colorado, served as the assistant coach under coach Pat Eberhart for four years at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Before he arrived at CSU-Pueblo, Miller served as an intern for the Arizona State University men’s basketball program and as a manager for the Colorado State University men’s basketball team, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree. Miller went on to earn his Master’s degree from University of Northern Colorado in 2007.
Assistant coach Jareem Dowling
“Jareem Dowling has an uncanny ability to help student-athletes reach their full potential on and off the court,” McCasland said. “He truly cares about our players and helps them grow as men. He has had tremendous success as a head coach and his understanding of the game of basketball is a huge asset. We are excited to have Coach Dowling, his daughter Laiya and fiancé Qiana join the Mean Green Family.”
Dowling brings 11 years of collegiate coaching experience to North Texas. Most recently, he spent a year as an assistant coach with McCasland at Arkansas State.
“I’m very fortunate and grateful of the opportunity to work with coach McCasland,” Dowling said. “It is a new beginning and we are hoping to strive for greatness one step at a time.”
Before ASU, Dowling served as the head coach of the Scotland Performance Institute, a prep school in Scotland, Pennsylvania. While with SPI, Dowling developed several players that went on to earn college scholarships, including three that signed with Division I programs.
Prior to SPI, Dowling spent three seasons at Southern Miss as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He helped the Golden Eagles post a three-year record of 65-37 (.637), while earning a pair of postseason berths. Three players during that span garnered All-Conference USA honors.
In 2013-14, Southern Miss posted a school record 29 wins, claimed a share of the C-USA regular season championship, posted a perfect 15-0 record at home and made its second straight trip to the NIT Quarterfinals. The 2012-13 campaign saw Southern Miss post a 27-10 record and capture its first postseason victories since 1988, as Southern Miss made a trip to the NIT Quarterfinals.
Dowling moved to Southern Miss after spending one season at Morehead State. In his lone season with the Eagles, Dowling assisted with all aspects of the program, including recruiting, practice/game preparation and player development. He was also responsible for monitoring the academic progress of all student-athletes in the program.
He joined Morehead State’s staff after three seasons in a similar capacity at Slippery Rock. Dowling helped the Rock to three consecutive winning seasons, including 21-win campaigns in 2008-09 and 2010-11.
Prior to Slippery Rock, Dowling was an assistant to legendary junior college coach Bill Lewit at Cecil College. Dowling’s recruiting and scouting contributed to a 97-6 overall record in three seasons from 2005-08.
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