CINCINNATI — Woodward High School named James Millen as its boys basketball coach and program director on Monday, pending Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education approval.
Millen, a 2006 Shroder High School graduate, has more than a decade of experience in coaching at various levels – from youth leagues to professional teams.
“The competition for this position was tough and we had some extremely strong candidates for the vacancy,” Woodward athletic director Jabreel Moton said in a statement. “The hiring committee thought hard after careful consideration of all the candidates, Woodward Athletics and the athletic director felt James was the best for the position.”
James serves as the league director and associate director for basketball operations at the Ronnie Grandison Basketball Academy. He oversees league operations for youth athletes ages 3 to 15 and specializes in player development for youth, high school, college and pro athletes.
“James is one of the best player development coaches in the city and in the country; his resume speaks for itself,” Moton said. “He has some great connections (locally and globally) in the basketball world and this will be hugely beneficial for our boys basketball team as we have some good returning talent. This is an exciting hire and I look forward to working with him to continue to propel our boys basketball program to even greater heights.”
Prior to Millen’s coaching career, he played professionally in Canada. He’s also coached in China where his teams won three international championships. Besides college coaching, Millen has coached at multiple high school programs including at Shroder and Winton Woods.
Millen succeeds Michael “Bruiser” Holmes who stepped down from the position in early September. Holmes is an assistant coach at Miles College, an NCAA Division II men’s basketball program in Fairfield, Alabama.
Holmes had been the Woodward head coach since June 4. At the time, Holmes succeeded former Woodward coach Jarelle Redden, who is now a South Carolina State University men’s basketball assistant coach.
Woodward earned a 16-8 record during the 2023-24 season including 7-3 in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Red division.
This season officially begins around the state on Nov. 27.
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