Charlotte 49ers have a new look to start Wes Miller era

CHARLOTTE ATHLETICS

Keyshaun Tillery, who averaged 3.8 points per game as a freshman at Cincinnati, transferred to Charlotte to continue playing for coach Wes Miller.

The Charlotte men’s basketball team will look a lot different in 2026-27.

New coach Wes Miller hit the transfer portal in the offseason to bring in several players he at Cincinnati. While Miller said he doesn’t take a results-oriented approach, if the 49ers reach their potential, the results could be special. 

“We’re going to be driven by things that we can control,” he said, “and what we can control is the way that we approach whatever we’re going to do today. One of the standards that we have is to maximize the moment, to be present, and to try to grow and evolve as much as we can in each and every moment. And if we can do that one day at a time, one drill at a time, one practice at a time, I think we give ourselves the best chance to reach our potential by the end of the year.”

One key addition is point guard Keyshuan Tillery, whose stats from his freshman year at Cincinnati – 3.8 points per game, just over one assist and a rebound per game – don’t jump off the page. Tillery was a four-star prospect at New Hampton High in New Hampshire, and the eighth ranked point guard in the nation. He’s learning from Miller and assistant coach Marcus Paige – both played the position at North Carolina – during the offseason.

“It's been great, especially learning from coach Paige,” Tillery said. “He was one of the best point guards in the country for a long period of time. [He] played professionally for a long period of time, so I try to take as [many] jewels from him as I can. I'm still early in my career. I’m only a sophomore, so trying to still learn a lot being in this new system. And then Coach Wes was also a point guard on a national championship team, so I really try to learn a lot from those guys.”

Miller said there were some tough days coaching Tillery, but he knew it would be in his best interest and better him as a player.

Said Miller: “In today’s climate, nobody wants to hear this, but there’s a process to improvement and sometimes the most difficult segments are the most important segments for growth. We had some really difficult times last year, Keyshawn and I, where I was very demanding, very hard on him. 

“He struggled at times, especially at this time in the preseason and early in the year as a freshman point guard, I say all that because he’s been through some process to get to this this place, and he’s been a real bright spot – not just recently, but the entire time he’s been here at Charlotte.”

One key returner is forward Arden Conyers, who averaged 7.5 points per game last year on 36% shooting from three-point range. Retaining Conyers was a top priority. 

“When you looked at this roster, there were some really, really good players on last year's team that we did want to keep here at Charlotte,” Miller said. “Arden was at the top of that list. His shooting, he’s proven it in this conference. He shot over 40% for most of the season last year. I think, maybe in February he had a stretch where he didn’t shoot it as well, and it dropped to 37 or 38% for the year. But a guy that is, I think he was 6-6 last year, he’s 6-8 now, so it’s pretty cool that he grew a little bit. But he’s a guy with length on the perimeter, a ton of shooting gravity, and experience in the conference.”
Conyers said there was connectivity from the start with Miller.

“With coach Miller, we definitely had a good conversation,” he said. “A good long conversation about the season. I decided to stay with him because I felt like we were on the same page. I liked everything that he said to me, and I felt like we really meshed. So that's why that's why I stayed.”

The 49ers won a closed 60-minute scrimmage against East Tennessee State, lost an exhibition at Georgia and will travel to North Carolina on Oct. 27 for an exhibition. Miller said North Carolina will always be special to him but wants to beat the Tar Heels as bad as anyone else.

“Do I love North Carolina? Absolutely,” he said. “Will it be neat to go back to Chapel Hill with our team? Absolutely. But 99.99% of my focus and energy and attention will be on preparing our team for this season. And every time in the preseason, you get a chance to play against a different opponent, it’s worth about 10 practices because you learn so much and you get to do things against somebody else that’s not yourself.”

The Miller era officially starts on Nov. 2 at Indiana State.

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