University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Miller Relishes Senior Status
September 28, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Sept. 28, 2006
TarHeelBlue.com will have a new player profile each Thursday leading up to the season opener on Nov. 14 (next week's subject is Quentin Thomas). We'll also have the return of the popular Basketball Mailbag on Nov. 7. For even more basketball coverage that you won't read anywhere else (including more on the summer pickup scene), order your full-color, all-glossy Tar Heel Monthly basketball preview issue now.
By Adam Lucas
Wes Miller has watched plenty of pickup games during his Carolina career.
Not played in them. Watched them.
There's a certain code to the summer pickup games in the Smith Center, and a transfer walk-on quickly learns his place in his first months in Chapel Hill. Pros and seniors first. Everyone else waits their turn--which may or may not come, depending on the amount of alums in town.
This summer, with senior status, Miller has enjoyed a new role in the pickup games.
"It's been different in the sense that Reyshawn and I are in charge of the pickup games," he says. "We have to do things like decide when to play, make the teams, and make sure everyone knows when we're playing.
"But the biggest difference is that I'm always in the first game. We might have 7 or 8 pros here, and I'm still on the floor. There were times when I got here when I would wait 2 or 3 games just to get on the court. And now I'm always in the first game and that is a dream. I'm finally at the point where I don't have to wait anymore."
The Charlotte native was the embodiment of last year's Tar Heel success. Overlooked and underrated in the preseason, Miller and the rest of the young Carolina team enjoyed a surprisingly successful season.
Much of that success came after a midseason lineup switch, as Miller replaced Marcus Ginyard as a starter at Florida State and responded with a career-high 18 points. He remained in the starting lineup for the rest of the season and was the squad's most reliable three-point shooter (44.1%).
But it wasn't his shooting that kept him in the lineup. The scrappy guard's tenacious on-the-ball defense frustrated several opposing guards and eventually earned Miller the team's defensive award at the postseason awards gathering.
As the returning defensive award winner for a coach who prizes defense and a deadeye shooter, Miller fits the profile of a player slated for major minutes. But with a loaded Carolina roster that includes two freshmen guards--Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington--who figure to see significant time, most preseason assessments of the Tar Heels will once again overlook the 5-foot-11 sharpshooter.
"There's no question that I'll be the guy most people write off this year," he says. "My whole life people have been telling me about things I can't do. They said I couldn't get a Division I scholarship. Then I couldn't be a good Division I player. Then I couldn't play at North Carolina.
"If you look at our roster, we have so many guys who can play. Somebody has to sit. Most people don't think I'll be able to play on this team. I'm as hungry and motivated as ever, especially with it being my last year. I've always been so excited to have an opportunity to play here, and I'm hungry to work hard and show I get a chance to play. There is no part of me that wants to waste my last year at Carolina."
Shooting and teeth-grinding defense will always be Miller's strengths. But in an effort to increase his value to the team, he spent the summer trying to diversify his game.
Ninety percent of his 160 field goal attempts as a junior were from beyond the three-point line. There's something to be said for an offense that utilizes a designated three-point specialist, but defenses began to play Miller differently at the end of the year when it became apparent he wasn't looking to drive. And although he handed out one assist every 11.8 minutes of playing time, good for third among Carolina guards, he wants to become an even better passer this season.
"Offensively, I want to make some more things happen while staying under control," he says. "I was so cautious with the ball last year, and that meant my assist/turnover ratio was very good (a team-leading 2.72), but there weren't a lot of assists in there. So I want to create more shots for people than I've done in the past."
As usual, Miller has attacked his areas of intended improvement with his typical fanatical workout intensity. Morning workouts, night workouts...name a time of day and he's probably been in the gym.
A couple hours each day, though, are reserved for trying out any new additions to his game in pickup. It's much easier to incorporate it into his workout plan when he knows he'll be on the floor for each session.
"To compete against the guys who come back is an unbelievable experience," Miller says. "It sets a really good example. We see how hard those guys work. It's humbling, too. You get here as a freshman and you've been one of the best players on the floor wherever you've gone. But now there are 8 pros and all the upperclassmen ahead of you and you can't even get in the game. It's a good experience because it makes you appreciate being a senior. You know you sat there and waited. And you knew that one day, you'd get your chance."
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
