MacArthur Grad Paul Mills Has Led Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16

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Paul Mills, Head Coach, Oral Roberts University

The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles are one of the best stories in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and are led by MacArthur High School graduate Paul Mills.

Mills’ Golden Eagles entered the South Region as a No. 15 seed and shocked the college basketball world by upsetting No. 2 seed Ohio State, 75-72 in the tournament’s first round. The Golden Eagles followed that stunner up with another upset in the second round with an 81-78 win over No. 7 seed Florida.

Mills, who has been ORU’s head coach since 2017, has led his team to the Sweet 16, where they will face No. 3 seed Arkansas on Saturday, March 27 at 6:25 p.m. in the South Regional semifinals. The game can be seen on TBS. A win over the Razorbacks will send the Golden Eagles to the South Regional finals and one win away from the Final Four.

Mills graduated from MacArthur High School in 1990 and played basketball for Walt Kaser. He attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a degree in finance in 1996. He began his coaching career as the head coach of North Belt Christian Academy in Houston from 1996-99. He was named the head coach at Fort Bend Baptist Academy from 1999-2002 before joining the Rice University basketball program from 2002-03 in the operations department. In 2003, Mills moved to Waco and served as Coordinator of Operations for the Baylor Bears from 2003-09 before joining head coach Scott Drew’s staff as an assistant coach from 2009-17. In 2017, Mills was named ORU’s head coach.

Mills has led the Golden Eagles to an 18-10 record thus far this season. Former MacArthur High head basketball coach Johnny “Hawk” Carter met Mills his senior year when her served as Kaser’s assistant coach and has stayed in contact with him since that time.

Carter said he’s happy for Mills’ success.

“I’ve known him since those days (high school days) and throughout his coaching days,” Carter said. “We speak often. Paul is a God-fearing, high-quality person. He has always been a student of the game and is an extremely conscientious individual. I am very proud and happy for him.”

Mills attended Oleson Elementary School and Hambrick Middle School before attending MacArthur High School. His wife Wendy attended Aldine High School, where she was a cheerleader during the 1990 football season that saw Bill Smith’s Mustangs win state and national football titles.

Mills said he enjoyed his time in Aldine and was fortunate to have teachers and coaches who believed in him.

“I remember football games, basketball games, and enjoying time with friends,” Mills said. “I had wonderful teachers and coaches at MacArthur who invested in me, and I’m grateful for their dedication.”

And they are probably proud to have been a part of Mills’ life and will be cheering for him and his Golden Eagles on Saturday, hoping his team has a few more big wins in them!