Darius Miller: Where have you been?

Step right up, step right up. This is what you’ve all been waiting for the glorious transformation from ‘Disapperius’ Miller to…Well…Not just regular old Darius, but a Darius Miller that carried the Kentucky Wildcats to a sound win over the Florida Gators this past Saturday, but it doesn’t start there. It’s been a long time coming for Miller who is coming off a career high 24 point day in Rupp Arena where he played so well he was top trending on Twitter. It’s also been a long time coming for the fans of Miller who has never given up on the Kentucky high school legend that signed with Kentucky three years ago.

We can all remember two years ago the athletic Miller running and hiding when the going got tough. Call in shows would go nuts when he would have a decent game with similar calls saying ‘Finally! The Darius Miller we’ve all wanted’ or ‘Maybe Miller could be that third guy we’ve been looking for’ or ‘Maybe he can keep up this level of play’ but his confidence just wasn’t there and you could read his body language and tell that it just wasn’t going to happen. For a Miller fan like myself, seeing him change not only from two years ago to now, but from last year until now.

Miller’s mannerisms have changed. Emotion is shining through the once shy exterior shell, clapping his hands on defense and after he hit a three against Florida CBS cameras caught Miller turning around with his tongue playfully out and throwing up the ‘three’ sign. Miller has changed and it’s for the better, especially with this team and its struggles on the road hurtling into March and the tournament is literally weeks away.

Two years ago we wanted to know who would be the third guy to step up and score other than Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks. Now the Wildcats are on another search and it’s who is going to be that anchor that Kentucky had last year, who is going to step up and enforce when the Cat’s need it the most. That is what Miller can bring to the table. If you really look down the list at the UK opponents from here on out…Who can guard Darius Miller? Especially when he is shooting as well as he is from deep, where he is second in the conference shooting 45%.

That is what possibly set Miller off this week because in a Matt Jones behind the scenes article which you can see here (http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/27692060) Calipari called Miller out and simply told him that there was NOBODY on the Florida team that could guard him, here is the excerpt:

‘Before dismissal, he addresses Darius Miller individually for the first time. The quiet forward, who bears the weight of heightened expectations due to his status as a Kentucky state high school legend, is one of the most talented players on the team. However he has been prone to disappearing in games and his lack of aggressiveness is a constant issue. Calipari focuses directly on Miller and says, “you can create a matchup problem for this team. They don’t have anyone to guard you, so you can be the difference.” As he speaks, he looks Miller directly in the eye and Miller shakes his head in agreement.’

Miller can be THE difference come March in a tournament that is dominated by guards, while the two man game may work very well for Kentucky with Terrance Jones and Brandon Knight, but with Darius Miller upping his level of play, and the right bracket for Kentucky this team could very well be an elite eight, final four team and I firmly believe that.

Happy Jorts Day!

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