Miller to visit Louisville

[ukbellco14]

I definitely agree. Everyone tries to justify his scoring with the fact that he shoots it several times a game but then they want to look past the fact that he is shooting a very stout 43%.

 

bellalumni40, are you sure that is what you really think about Miller or what you want to think??

 

First of all, he's every bit of 6' and probably a half an inch more. No 5'11" to it. Second of all, like noah2001 said, your comment about many people being about to make the number of shots as he does if they were given the green light is simply naive and down right blind. Do you honestly believe that any player given the green light from behind the arc could make 139 3's this year at 43 %?? Not a chance. There are very very few in the state that could do it.

 

Is a walk-on spot to Louisville not an incredibly opportunity to for a player coming from a team like Middlesboro?? You and bellco14 have been bashing the kid all season and now you all are having to eat crow since Rick has invited him up. I believe that he is a better judge of talent that you are and if he thinks he could contribute in the BEast, then I think he could as well.

 

First off let me say that I havent been bashing Miller. What I have done is state that I think Proffitt from SL is a better PG and all around player then Miller. I dont think that is bashing. All I have been doing is simply giving my honest assessment of his ability as an all around player. I have always given Mr. Miller credit for his ability as a shooter and as an athlete. As a matter of fact if you go to the other thread on this topic you will see that I congratulated Miller and said he deserved every oppurtunity he was given. I am ALL FOR any kid from the mountains being successful on the field of play and being given the oppurtunity to go on to college (especially here in their home state) and represent this area.

 

As far as this topic is concerned though, I think alot is being made to do about nothing. No scholarship offer has been made, no OFFICIAL visit has been planned, and its important to remember that, although Louisville obviously has some interest in Miller, it may not be as much interest as is being portrayed. Lots of kids receive letters and invitations for unofficial visits. As a matter of fact, unless the letters are hand written, they are mass produced, stamped by the head coaches secretary with the head coaches signature, and the same letter is sent to every POSSIBLE recruit (not even actual legit recruit, but just kids that the team has some very moderate interest in). The same doesnt just go for letters, it goes for unofficial visits. Any highschool kid that a school is even remotely interested in receives an invitation for an unofficial visit, even if the school is not REALLY considering giving the kid a scholarship. When Miller is offered or given an invitation for a OFFICIAL visit or Pitino shows up at M'boro highschool, then I think we can start congratulating Miller. Until then I think everyone should just chill. I hope all of these things happen for Miller. But let them happen, dont try to build a kid up only to watch him fall. This happens every year with kids from the moutains because ppl are so dead set on proving that kids from the moutains "CAN PLAY WITH THE BEST." I totally agree they can play with the best, but building a kid up doesnt prove that, they have to do it on their own, and if they deserve the hype then they will get it without the help of their fans. I think its also important to remember that with this attention coming this late in the ball game, it doesnt traditionally bode well for the player. If UofL or any other D1 school was going to offer Miller it would have already happened. He is finishing up his senior season and if any major D1 school, especially a powerhouse, was interested in him they would have already had him up for visits, receiving coaching visits and phone calls, and on and on and on. These coaches do their homework, and if he hasnt been receiving major interest yet, its very unlikely he will be receiving in now. I hope I am completely wrong and UofL feel like they have found an undiscovered diamond in the rough. Let me repeat that, I hope I am wrong and everything works out for Miller.

 

On the topic of Millers ability...... I will stick with my stance that Miller is an incredibily gifted 3 point shooter and a great athlete who handles the ball very well. I think 3 things hurt him with regards to college recruitment:

1.) his height

2.) his highschool program

3.) his "stigma" of being one dimensional as JUST a 3 point shooter, and not a all around great player. He is a poor defender at times.

 

#1 can be overcome, we see it all the time. #2 really shouldnt even be an issue, but when it comes to college recruiting, college coaches want kids that come from winning programs. However, I think Miller's ability gets him past #2. #3 IMO will come down to whether a college coach thinks hes a big enough reward to take the risk. I personally think Miller has all the tools to be a great defender and all around player, if he had the coaching and talent around him to to do so (which he hasnt had either of those), so who knows. You also have to take into consideration NEEDS. If Pitino or any other coach feels like they need a great 3 point shooter, they will take a chance on Miller. If they dont feel like a big need is having a great 3 point shooter, then they wont. Pure and simple. I could honestly see Miller being a player alot like Chris Lofton, however he doenst play defense like Lofton, he isnt coming from a championship program like Lofton, and he is close to 3 inches shorter then Lofton.

 

Miller will be a very dangerous shooter wherever he goes and will be an asset to any team he joins. I hope everything works out for him and that this UofL thing follows through for him. I am not trying to knock the kid down or say he isnt one of the best, I am simply talking facts of the matter. I wish him the best of luck.

[Jim Schue]

First off let me say that I havent been bashing Miller. What I have done is state that I think Proffitt from SL is a better PG and all around player then Miller. I dont think that is bashing. All I have been doing is simply giving my honest assessment of his ability as an all around player. I have always given Mr. Miller credit for his ability as a shooter and as an athlete. As a matter of fact if you go to the other thread on this topic you will see that I congratulated Miller and said he deserved every oppurtunity he was given. I am ALL FOR any kid from the mountains being successful on the field of play and being given the oppurtunity to go on to college (especially here in their home state) and represent this area.

 

As far as this topic is concerned though, I think alot is being made to do about nothing. No scholarship offer has been made, no OFFICIAL visit has been planned, and its important to remember that, although Louisville obviously has some interest in Miller, it may not be as much interest as is being portrayed. Lots of kids receive letters and invitations for unofficial visits. As a matter of fact, unless the letters are hand written, they are mass produced, stamped by the head coaches secretary with the head coaches signature, and the same letter is sent to every POSSIBLE recruit (not even actual legit recruit, but just kids that the team has some very moderate interest in). The same doesnt just go for letters, it goes for unofficial visits. Any highschool kid that a school is even remotely interested in receives an invitation for an unofficial visit, even if the school is not REALLY considering giving the kid a scholarship. When Miller is offered or given an invitation for a OFFICIAL visit or Pitino shows up at M'boro highschool, then I think we can start congratulating Miller. Until then I think everyone should just chill. I hope all of these things happen for Miller. But let them happen, dont try to build a kid up only to watch him fall. This happens every year with kids from the moutains because ppl are so dead set on proving that kids from the moutains "CAN PLAY WITH THE BEST." I totally agree they can play with the best, but building a kid up doesnt prove that, they have to do it on their own, and if they deserve the hype then they will get it without the help of their fans. I think its also important to remember that with this attention coming this late in the ball game, it doesnt traditionally bode well for the player. If UofL or any other D1 school was going to offer Miller it would have already happened. He is finishing up his senior season and if any major D1 school, especially a powerhouse, was interested in him they would have already had him up for visits, receiving coaching visits and phone calls, and on and on and on. These coaches do their homework, and if he hasnt been receiving major interest yet, its very unlikely he will be receiving in now. I hope I am completely wrong and UofL feel like they have found an undiscovered diamond in the rough. Let me repeat that, I hope I am wrong and everything works out for Miller.

 

On the topic of Millers ability...... I will stick with my stance that Miller is an incredibily gifted 3 point shooter and a great athlete who handles the ball very well. I think 3 things hurt him with regards to college recruitment:

1.) his height

2.) his highschool program

3.) his "stigma" of being one dimensional as JUST a 3 point shooter, and not a all around great player. He is a poor defender at times.

 

#1 can be overcome, we see it all the time. #2 really shouldnt even be an issue, but when it comes to college recruiting, college coaches want kids that come from winning programs. However, I think Miller's ability gets him past #2. #3 IMO will come down to whether a college coach thinks hes a big enough reward to take the risk. I personally think Miller has all the tools to be a great defender and all around player, if he had the coaching and talent around him to to do so (which he hasnt had either of those), so who knows. You also have to take into consideration NEEDS. If Pitino or any other coach feels like they need a great 3 point shooter, they will take a chance on Miller. If they dont feel like a big need is having a great 3 point shooter, then they wont. Pure and simple. I could honestly see Miller being a player alot like Chris Lofton, however he doenst play defense like Lofton, he isnt coming from a championship program like Lofton, and he is close to 3 inches shorter then Lofton.

 

Miller will be a very dangerous shooter wherever he goes and will be an asset to any team he joins. I hope everything works out for him and that this UofL thing follows through for him. I am not trying to knock the kid down or say he isnt one of the best, I am simply talking facts of the matter. I wish him the best of luck.

 

 

Good post.

 

A request: In the future, when you have long posts like this, can you break them up with a few more paragraph spaces? It's hard to read the long ones like this, and a lot of posters simply skip past anything this long. Which is a shame, because you have a lot of interesting posts.

[bballfan42]

Very well stated bell. I would say this however. This is not much ado about nothing. If it is what the other thread stated, then he was contacted by phone, by an official basketball person to come and make a visit. This is not a generic contact. And it does happen a lot at the end of someone's senior season. (ala Loften). True, nothing may come of it, but I can't think of another kid in the 13th region in the last several years who has even gotten this far with Louisville..... I think it's just the fact that shooters with his range and ability are rare and the Loften fiasco has caused coaches to take a step back and realize that some players may be unable to play defense but can shoot while some can play defense but can't shoot. Given this scenario, coaches always choose the defender, but if you do that in every case, you never have a bonifide shooter.

One last thing. I think that Miller would serve himself better to go to an OVC school were he would have more of an opportunity to excel unless he wants to go into coaching. If that's the case, BEG for any opportunity to be on Ricky's bench.

[13th Analyst]

First of all bellco14, you are flip-flopping back and forth. You said you congratulated him in the other thread but came back to say, "When Miller is offered or given an invitation for a OFFICIAL visit or Pitino shows up at M'boro highschool, then I think we can start congratulating Miller. Until then I think everyone should just chill." So which is it, do you congratulate him or do you think we should wait this out.

 

Secondly, you obviously know very little about his specific recuiting situation. The head of recruiting operations and top assistant coach from the University of Louisville, Kevin Willard, called Miller's home phone asking him to come up for the DePaul game. In no way shape or form is this a norm for a college recruit. This isn't football, they don't invite 50 high school players a game to come watch. I admit, in football it doesn't really mean much to be invited to the game. But in basketball, when the arena only holds around 15-20000, however many Freedom Hall holds, and when there is only about a 12 man roster to fill, I would say there are about 10 players or fewer invited in for a game.

 

Yes it is late in the recruiting season to some but perhaps Pitino missed out on a player or two he was going for and is no reopening his recruiting. Happens all the time.

 

As far as this statement goes:

"He is finishing up his senior season and if any major D1 school, especially a powerhouse, was interested in him they would have already had him up for visits, receiving coaching visits and phone calls, and on and on and on."

 

His phone never stops ringing. He has been told he could go to LMU, Carson Newman, Walter State (Juco), Morehead, SIU, and even Belmont and step right in the starting lineup. They are simply waiting on him to say the word. Excuse him for waiting things out and seeing if better options come his way. Thank goodness he did though.

 

For your info, this is an OFFICIAL visit. Sorry to spoil your fun.

[ukbellco14]

Very well stated bell. I would say this however. This is not much ado about nothing. If it is what the other thread stated, then he was contacted by phone, by an official basketball person to come and make a visit. This is not a generic contact. And it does happen a lot at the end of someone's senior season. (ala Loften). True, nothing may come of it, but I can't think of another kid in the 13th region in the last several years who has even gotten this far with Louisville..... I think it's just the fact that shooters with his range and ability are rare and the Loften fiasco has caused coaches to take a step back and realize that some players may be unable to play defense but can shoot while some can play defense but can't shoot. Given this scenario, coaches always choose the defender, but if you do that in every case, you never have a bonifide shooter.

One last thing. I think that Miller would serve himself better to go to an OVC school were he would have more of an opportunity to excel unless he wants to go into coaching. If that's the case, BEG for any opportunity to be on Ricky's bench.

 

:thumb: If he has indeed been contacted by the basketball offices then this is a legit interest, and hopefully it will work out. Once again though, before we get all fired up I think we need to let this play out and see what happends. Being contacted for a UNOFFICIAL VISIT is a far cry from an OFFICIAL VISIT or a SCHOLARSHIP OFFER. I hope it all works out well for Miller though and I wish him the best of luck. I may be his harshest critic, but I will give credit where credit is due.

 

I just hate when kids get hyped and hyped and hyped and then its just a let down. Its bad for the kid, its bad for their school, its bad for the fans, and its bad for EastKY. Its just plain bad for everyone. If this thing is legit, then let it play out and then take that last laugh.

[ukbellco14]

Good post.

 

A request: In the future, when you have long posts like this, can you break them up with a few more paragraph spaces? It's hard to read the long ones like this, and a lot of posters simply skip past anything this long. Which is a shame, because you have a lot of interesting posts.

 

:thumb: I just get so darn excited. LOL.

[bballfan42]

Why dont' somebody just call Coach Jones and get the official scoop.

[ukbellco14]

First of all bellco14, you are flip-flopping back and forth. You said you congratulated him in the other thread but came back to say, "When Miller is offered or given an invitation for a OFFICIAL visit or Pitino shows up at M'boro highschool, then I think we can start congratulating Miller. Until then I think everyone should just chill." So which is it, do you congratulate him or do you think we should wait this out.

 

Secondly, you obviously know very little about his specific recuiting situation. The head of recruiting operations and top assistant coach from the University of Louisville, Kevin Willard, called Miller's home phone asking him to come up for the DePaul game. In no way shape or form is this a norm for a college recruit. This isn't football, they don't invite 50 high school players a game to come watch. I admit, in football it doesn't really mean much to be invited to the game. But in basketball, when the arena only holds around 15-20000, however many Freedom Hall holds, and when there is only about a 12 man roster to fill, I would say there are about 10 players or fewer invited in for a game.

 

Yes it is late in the recruiting season to some but perhaps Pitino missed out on a player or two he was going for and is no reopening his recruiting. Happens all the time.

 

As far as this statement goes:

"He is finishing up his senior season and if any major D1 school, especially a powerhouse, was interested in him they would have already had him up for visits, receiving coaching visits and phone calls, and on and on and on."

 

His phone never stops ringing. He has been told he could go to LMU, Carson Newman, Walter State (Juco), Morehead, SIU, and even Belmont and step right in the starting lineup. They are simply waiting on him to say the word. Excuse him for waiting things out and seeing if better options come his way. Thank goodness he did though.

 

For your info, this is an OFFICIAL visit. Sorry to spoil your fun.

 

I will address each of your 4 concerns seperatley, but first, let me say....... chill out and dont get so darn offensive.

 

1.) I congratulated him because any kid who gets some form of recognition for his ability on the court deserves congratulations. It is obviously quite an accomplishment to be invited to visit a college and I am not trying to diminish that whatsoever. However, I guess I wasnt clear. There is a big difference between the congratulations that I gave...... and the congratulations that alot of ppl on this board are giving. The fact remains NO OFFER has been made, and until one is made, no one should be shoveling crow at anyone else. I wont even be the one eating it because I have said all along that he is a great shooter and athlete, and possibly could play at the D1 level. I think there are alot of things holding him back, namely his height and the program and area he comes from, but I hope he overcomes that and goes on to have a great college career, whether it be at UofL or anywhere else.

 

2.) You are completely correct..... I know very little about his specific situation, which is why I was speaking in generalizations. However, I do understand the recruiting process (both of football and basketball). If he has indeed been contacted by a UofL assistant coach and invited personally over the phone then this is a legit interest. The fact remains it is still extremely late in the recruiting process, and one phone call for a visit is a far cry from an offer. Once again, I hope I am wrong and when he makes the visit he receives an offer on the spot.

 

3.) There is a gargantuan difference between offers from LMU, Carson Newman, Walter State, Morehead, SIU, Belmont, and an offer from UofL. Pitino and UofL dont battle those schools for their recruits, trust me. I am glad that Miller has waited around and that his decision to do so may be opening bigger and better doors for him. But the keyword is MAY be opening bigger doors.

 

4.) It is an OFFICIAL VISIT? So he will be staying the weekend, touring the campus, hanging with the coaches, etc etc etc. I didnt know that? I find it hard to believe considering he hasnt even taken an unofficial visit, or received any interest from UofL prior to this. However, if it is for sure an official visit, then once again, congrats to Miller. However, being the voice of reason, official visits dont always = scholarship offers either. Lots of kids get invited for official visits because coaches want them as preferred walk-ons. Even if that is the case with Miller, then it is still quite an accomplishment. Better then has been seen around here in basketball in a long time.

 

In closing, I am not trying to diminish Miller as a player or as a college recruit. I am simply saying that before ppl get on here and start hyping him up and shoveling crow at me or anyone else, they need to let things happen and develop and get the full story. It seems like this happens every year, only for the kid to either sign nowhere or end up at a smaller school. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is something wrong with ppl hyping those kids up, only to watch them fall. Once again I hope it works out for Miller.

 

On a side note: Maybe someone should inform CardinalSports.com, the leading media outlet for recruiting news at UofL, of Pitinos interest in Miller. Miller is nowhere to be found on there recruiting boards or databases. Not saying that Rivals is the be all and end all of recruiting, but if he isnt on that site then I doubt he is on Pitinos radar. Rivals very rarely misses a kid if he is legit.

[bballfan42]

I will address each of your 4 concerns seperatley, but first, let me say....... chill out and dont get so darn offensive.

 

On a side note: Maybe someone should inform CardinalSports.com, the leading media outlet for recruiting news at UofL, of Pitinos interest in Miller. Miller is nowhere to be found on there recruiting boards or databases. Not saying that Rivals is the be all and end all of recruiting, but if he isnt on that site then I doubt he is on Pitinos radar. Rivals very rarely misses a kid if he is legit.

 

Good stuff, but, by the above comment, are you saying that you think this information about them contacting him is false? I'm just having a hard time understanding what you mean.

[ukbellco14]

Good stuff, but, by the above comment, are you saying that you think this information about them contacting him is false? I'm just having a hard time understanding what you mean.

 

I have no hard proof of whether him being contacted is true or false. I would think no one would post lies on this board so I will assume that he has been contacted and everything we have been told is true. So the answer is no, I dont think the info is false.

 

I am just saying that if UofL were serious about offering him, he PROBABLY would have been contacted before this, and he would PROBABLY be on the Rivals database. I am not saying that late recruitment and offers dont happen, because they do. I am also not saying that the Rivals database doesnt miss a few kids here and there, because they do. Like I said before, Pitino may think he has found a diamond in the rough. I hope that is true.

[Jim Schue]

I have no hard proof of whether him being contacted is true or false. I would think no one would post lies on this board so I will assume that he has been contacted and everything we have been told is true. So the answer is no, I dont think the info is false.

 

I am just saying that if UofL were serious about offering him, he PROBABLY would have been contacted before this, and he would PROBABLY be on the Rivals database. I am not saying that late recruitment and offers dont happen, because they do. I am also not saying that the Rivals database doesnt miss a few kids here and there, because they do. Like I said before, Pitino may think he has found a diamond in the rough. I hope that is true.

 

I have to agree with this.

 

Has anyone from UofL actually seen Miller play in person? Who would be passing the word on to them about him?

[bballfan42]

I have to agree with this.

 

Has anyone from UofL actually seen Miller play in person? Who would be passing the word on to them about him?

unbelievable

[Jim Schue]

unbelievable

 

What's that supposed to mean???

[The Riot]

IMO, Miller doesn't posses the "All around game" that it takes to play at a school such as UofL. He can shoot the ball very well, but let's get real. This topic reminds me of Blake Hubbs of Cawood last year. We is he playing this year?

[bballfan42]

What's that supposed to mean???

Nothing really. It's a legitmate question. It just seems that we're all putting too much thought into it all. They just called and ask him to come and visit. I'm sure that they would not bring him up just to say "your no good, go home". They may ask him to walk on which, to me, is unbelievable that they would even do that. But even if they don't ask him to walk on, just to be called to take a visit from Rick is special.