AN APPRECIATION: Miller Time Has Been Winning Time

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Isaiah Miller has mesmerized masses, won 95 games, set school records, and helped contribute to the success of the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s basketball program during a spectacular four-year career. 

He also shut down “Club Corbett” with a dunk that had to be seen to be believed. 

Now, the greatest show this side of Broadway delivers its final act on the Greensboro Coliseum stage Wednesday when the Spartans welcome Western Carolina for a key Southern Conference contest. This will be Miller’s home finale.

“UNCG is a special place,” Miller said. “It’s going to be bittersweet when I leave. I am going to take everything in. I am going to do what I can to enjoy the time with my team, my family. It’s going to be one of those things where I have to keep moving on to what life has for me in my next adventure.”

Before focusing on the future, it’s time to look back at one fabulous career for the 6 foot, 1-inch guard out of Covington, Georgia. He has helped UNCG achieve three consecutive 20-win seasons, a Southern Conference regular-season title, a trip to the NCAA Tournament where it almost knocked off Gonzaga, and a No. 1 seed in the National Invitational Tournament. 

Those team accomplishments matter more to Miller than the 1,823 points he has scored or the three double-doubles this season or his 298 career steals, a total good for second all-time in Southern Conference history. 

Even though he was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Miller has stayed grounded and cherished each opportunity he had to be around his teammates this season.

The foundation of Miller’s success is his family. They have been his rock throughout his career. 

“They’re very special to me,” Miller said. “They are one of the reasons why I keep going. Even on my days when I don’t feel like going, they always keep me focused. They will ask me why I am not working. Everything I am doing is for them to give them a better life.”

Long before he blossomed into a must-see attraction, Miller was a football player who also learned to prove himself on the basketball court as a youngster. When it came time to choose sides for pick-up games, Miller wasn’t the first one picked. He wasn’t selected last either. 

“When I first started playing, people didn’t look at me as the best player out there,” Miller said. “They were just looking at me like I am an average normal hooper and stuff like that. I was a good athlete when I was little. I was playing football as a kid. As I got older, probably around third or fourth grade, I got better in basketball.”

Miller, who was born in Norfolk, Virginia, hasn’t stopped improving. The communication studies major and media studies minor competes with a chip on his shoulder that can be seen from a blimp hovering over a stadium.

Like all the great players, Miller is consistently refining his craft, rarely satisfied with any previous masterpieces or soul-crushing dunks. The real joy for Miller during his career has come during practice, film sessions, or while lifting weights. 

Of course, the fun-loving Miller has enjoyed the road trips and spending time with his teammates. 

The best snapshot of Miller occurred during Monday’s victory over Western Carolina. Resting comfortably, Miller, like the rest of the bench mob, exploded with excitement after Mohammed Abdulsalam’s steal and dunk. Miller leaped high into the air, high-fived a teammate, and waved a towel. 

“He's just a joy to interact with,” veteran UNCG head men’s basketball coach Wes Miller said earlier this season. “He is incredibly special as a young person. He has this unique balance of confidence and belief in himself without having any entitlement or arrogance. I think that's incredibly rare.”

Miller has credited his head coach for helping him mature and blossom into one of the top players in the country.

“Coach Wes, he grew me into the man I am in today,” Miller said. “He taught me things on and off the court that I can’t take back and I am appreciative of.”

A swirling mass of menace and muscle, Miller attacks ballhandlers with merciless fury. A bundle of disruption with larceny in his heart who bounces around the court like a charged particle, he provides consistent energy and leadership.

“The time I realized that I could make something of my life was in eighth grade,” Miller said. “I was probably the best player on my team. I had the most basketball experience. It just kind of fueled me as I was taking that role of leading a team and getting other players involved.” 

This season for the first-place Spartans, Miller leads the Southern Conference in steals per game (2.4). He is fourth in scoring (18.1). His 3.6 assists per game are eighth and 6.8 rebounds per game are eighth. He is also 12th in the SoCon in field-goal percentage (45.5%). Miller is seventh in defensive rebounds per game (5.3). 

He will be feted for his career and contributions to the UNCG program during a pregame ceremony that promises to be emotional. Amazing highlights will be shown throughout the game and he will receive a framed jersey among other treats of an excellent career.

The good news for Spartan fans is there are a few more chapters to be written in Miller’s hoops story in Johnson City, Asheville, and potentially Indianapolis. 

Miller may be gifted when it comes to the rudiments of the game, but it is his character, pleasant attitude, passion, selflessness, and ability to bring smiles to others that make him special. UNCG