Basketball Hall of Fame

Playing for Pekin High School, Fred Miller is recognized as one of the all-time greatest performers in the history of the Illinois High School Association state basketball tournament. Miller was a two-time all-state selection, including first team as a senior in 1967. From the 1964-65 season through 1966-67, Miller led Pekin to an 85-8 record, reaching the Sweet 16 in 1965 and ’66, then winning the single-class state championship in 1967. In its title run, Pekin won its four state-tournament games by an average of 17 points, the closest a 13-point victory over Toluca in the Sweet 16. And Miller was the star, capping off his high school career by making 16 of 20 field-goal attempts, then the record for most shots made in a title game, and scoring 36 points to lead Pekin past Carbondale for the championship. He scored 1,452 points in his career, then second in Greater Peoria Area history. In the 2008 celebration of the first century of the IHSA basketball tournament, Miller was named one of the “100 Legends of March Madness.” He accepted a scholarship to the University of Illinois, where he averaged 6.8 points through his three-year varsity career, including a 9.1 average as a junior, and was named captain for his senior season in 1970-71.