Miller is joining the Cardinal basketball team as a “preferred” walk-on and will be competing for playing time in practices starting this month.
“I'm just looking forward to getting to know everybody and getting settled in up there,” Miller said. “I'm just going to play it out and see where it goes.”
The 6-1 guard will be learning to play the point and his well-earned reputation as a three-point shooter will be his ticket to playing time.
“They've said I probably won't get any playing time as a freshman, but I'm going to do my best to perform well enough that they won't have an option,” he said. “If they don't have a better option, then I'll get to play. We'll see what happens.”
Miller averaged 29.4 points per game in his senior year at Middlesboro. He'll be wearing number ” for the Cardinals.
“I wanted to keep number ‘10' at first, but they gave me ‘0' and it fits because zero people believe that I can go up there and do anything,” said Miller. “I can look at it and think about that when I need extra motivation.”
On the court, adjusting to the physicality of the game at the highest level of college basketball will be Miller's biggest challenge. He'll also have to find his niche on a roster filled with highly recruited players from across the country.
Still, he said the decision to go to Louisville instead of taking on a starring role at a smaller school was an easy one.
“Not many people have the option of going to a big school and playing,” he said. “I had that opportunity and I'm going to try and take advantage of it - If things don't work out, I can always go down a level and play. If you start out at a lower level, you can't go up.”
Stuart's father, Gary Miller thanked former Middlesboro coach Ed Jones and current mentor Bill Jones for giving Stuart the opportunity to play at MHS and for helping to develop his game and showcase his talent.
“As far as I'm concerned we couldn't have had any better coaching at the high school level than what Ed and Bill have done. I appreciate everything they've done for us,” he said. “I also want to thank everyone who has supported Stuart during his time at MHS.”
The Cardinals will start practice on Aug. 22 in preparation for a trip to play three exhibition games in Ottawa, Canada. They will play four-time defending Canadian national champion Carleton University at 8 p.m. on Sept. 2, at the University of Ottawa at 1 p.m. on Sept. 3 and against Laurentian University at 11 a.m. on Sept. 4 at Carleton.
“This is as positive a situation as you can find, particularly in acclimating our incoming freshman,” said U of L Coach Rick Pitino in a release from the school . “We will have the benefits of practicing as a team for ten days before embarking on three games against good competition. It's a great start for our freshmen, who I expect to be integral factors on our team this year.”
Post a Comment
