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Wildcat Basketball Preview: #1 Darius Miller

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#1 DARIUS MILLER – G

JR  6’7  230

Mason County High School

Mayesville, KY

CAREER HIGHS

PTS:  20  vs Wake Forest, 3/20/2010

REBS:  10  vs Miami, 12/6/2008

STEALS:  3 vs Cornell,  3/25/2010 (most recent)

ASSISTS:  6  vs Tennessee, 2/21/2009

AS A WILDCAT:

Darius had an up and down season his freshman campaign with the Wildcats.  He scored in double digits in two of his first three games.  That actually landed him a spot in the starting lineup for Billy Gillispie’s Wildcats, but the rest of Darius’s freshman campaign was more like a roller coaster ride.  Darius unfortunately was the victim of the bizarre substitution patterns of Billy Gillispie and under those circumstances, it is hard for anyone to find rhythm and continuity.  But that’s not to say that Miller did not have good moments his freshman year. Miller gave us all a glimpse for the future with his “perfect game” against Tennessee in which he had 17 points (6-6 FG, 3-3 3 pt, 2-2 FT) and he also added 6 assists.  For the season, Miller had a respectable 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds average per game, despite his inconsistencies.  .

Miller’s sophomore season brought heightened expectations as he found himself in the starting lineup with four first round NBA picks for John Calipari’s Wildcats.  Miller got off to a fast start on the season, averaging 8.5 points a game through the first six games and shot a blistering 50% from three point range.  Old habits seemed to come back to Miller who found himself on the bench after going scoreless for two straight games and four out of five.  After that mini-slump, Miller worked himself back into the starting lineup and started to do more of the little things.   He did tend to get lost at times in the All Star lineup, but his goal was to be a good defender and provide support.  He did have a couple of memorable games down the stretch, scoring 14 vs Florida and 20 against Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament.  While Miller’s offensive game was still inconsistent, he showed that he can step up and score when needed, with 7 games in double digits.  For the season, Miller upped his scoring to 6.5 scoring and 2.4 rebounds a game.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR THIS SEASON        

In his third season as a Wildcat, Miller has his third role.  After a couple of seasons of being a supporting player, Miller is fully  expected to step up and to be a leader, both vocally and in the scoring column.  And it is a role that Miller has seemingly embraced.  Through his first two seasons with UK, Miller has been the consummate team player, he takes good care of the basketball and he is a solid defender.  The one role where Miller has not lived up to his high school press clippings is in the scoring area.  Sure, he has had good games, but that has been followed by not so good performances.  With this team, Miller can not disappear and has to take the shots when he sees them.  I think that playing more of a DDMO offense will benefit Miller as he can slash to the basket and can be a good shot from outside.  Miller will have to be a vocal leader as he is the returning player with the most stars for Calipari.

With the influx of talent, Miller still does not have to be “the man” every night, but the Wildcats can not afford to have him disappear for long stretches either.  After a couple of seasons where he averaged 21.2 minutes a game, look for Miller go get around 26-28 minutes.  If this happens, look for Miller to increase his scoring to about 9-11 point a game and pull down 4-5 rebounds and 3 assists a night.  Of course, Miller is always a threat to have the hot hand and throw down the occasional 20 point game, but that will not be expected every night.  As long as Miller can handle the role of leader and increase his scoring, Kentucky should have a successful season.

OH CANADA!

Darius certainly took to his role as a scorer during August’s trip to Canada.  In the three games, Darius averaged just below 21 points a game and 6.3 boards a game.  Especially impressive was his three point shooting as he was 6-15 for 60%.  Of course, this came on a team with no Enes Kanter or Eloy Vargas and only a little Terrence Jones, but it is good to see Darius pick up the scoring when the team was short-handed.

DARIUS MILLER ON HIS NEW ROLE        

“You can’t always be happy or satisfied with your game. You should always have things to work on. With me I am always working, I’m always trying to find things to improve. If it’s shooting, ball handling, quickness, anything, I will work hard to improve,” 

"“I have a different role on the team this year. I need to step up my role and, like I said, we all have to do our part,” “Right now, Coach Calipari just wants me to be one of the best perimeter defenders out here. He wants me to finish plays, you know, not necessarily scoring or shooting, but finishes. And that’s what I have to do to be on the court, so that’s what I’m going to do.”  Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fansPublished on 10/19/2010 at 4:00 AM EDTLast updated on 10/21/2016 at 6:39 PM EDT “Right now, Coach Calipari just wants me to be one of the best perimeter defenders out here. He wants me to finish plays, you know, not necessarily scoring or shooting, but finishes. And that’s what I have to do to be on the court, so that’s what I’m going to do.”  Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fansPublished on 10/19/2010 at 4:00 AM EDTLast updated on 10/21/2016 at 6:39 PM EDT “Right now, Coach Calipari just wants me to be one of the best perimeter defenders out here. He wants me to finish plays, you know, not necessarily scoring or shooting, but finishes. And that’s what I have to do to be on the court, so that’s what I’m going to do.”"