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1 Darius Miller

Darius Miller
Name
Darius Miller
Position
Forward
Class
SR
Hometown (Last School)
Maysville, KY (Mason County)
Ht
6'7"
Wt
235
Seasons
2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12
Birthday
March 21, 1990

Darius Miller was born Darius Tiyon Miller on March 21, 1990, in Maysville, Kentucky, to Brian and Nicole Miller. 

In high school, Miller played for Mason County High School and averaged 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four blocked shots during his junior season.  He averaged 19.9 points per game, grabbed 7.9 boards, 3.6 assists, 2.9 steals, and shot 51 percent in his senior season.  He shot 34 percent from 3-point range and helped lead Mason County to the 2008 State Championship over Covington Holmes where he scored 19 of his team-high 24 points in the second half and grabbed eight rebounds.  Miller was an obvious MVP choice for the Sweet Sixteen state basketball tournament. He led the state tournament in points (77) and rebounds (34) and was the Royals’ go-to guy in the championship game victory over Holmes. Miller was named the 2008 Kentucky Mr. Basketball.  He scored more than 2,000 points in his high school career.  Miller was ranked the seventh-best small forward in the country and 38th overall by Scout.com.

In the summer after graduating high school, Miller was selected to the USA U-19 National team.  He played in all nine games, earning two starts in helping lead Team USA to a gold medal at the U-19 World Championship in New Zealand.  Miller led the team with 12 blocked shots, while averaging 5.0 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game.

On September 7, 2007, Miller committed to play for Kentucky.  He chose Kentucky over Cincinnati, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami, Tennessee, and Xavier.  He joined Patrick Patterson, Alex Legion, and DeAndre Liggins in that year’s recruiting class.

As a freshman at Kentucky, Miller played in 36 games, starting two in his first season as a Wildcat.  He averaged 8.1 points per game over the last nine contests.  On November 14, 2008, Miller recorded 12 points and eight rebounds in his collegiate debut against VMI.  On November 22, 2008, he totaled 13 points and four assists against Delaware State.  On November 24, 2008, Miller earned his first career start against Longwood.  On December 6, 2008, he earned his second career start, totaling a career-high 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a career-high 34 minutes against Miami.  On January 27, 2009, Miller posted the third double-figure scoring game of his career, totaling 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists in 31 minutes at Ole Miss.  On February 21, 2009, Miller had his best day as a Wildcat, setting career-highs with 17 points and six assists to go along with two blocks against Tennessee.  He was also perfect from the field (6-for-6), from behind the arc (3-for-3) and from the charity stripe (2-for-2).  On March 12, 2009, Miller scored 12 points against Ole Miss in the SEC Tourney.

As a sophomore, Miller started 32 of 38 games, averaging 6.5 points. On November 19, 2009, Miller scored 15 points, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range with three assists in a win over Sam Houston State.  On November 25, 2009, against Stanford, he totaled 13 points and three assists, tying a career-high with three 3-point baskets.  On December 29, 2009, Miller scored a season-high 16 points, including a career-high four 3-pointers, and dished out a season-high five assists against Hartford.  On January 23, 2010, Miller posted a career-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers against Arkansas.  On March 7, 2010, he led UK with 14 points, shooting 3-of-5 from behind the arc against Florida.  On March 20, 2010, Miller scored a career-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field with a team-leading nine rebounds against Wake Forest in the NCAA Second Round in New Orleans.

As a junior, Miller started 37 of 38 games, averaging 10.9 points per game and 4.6 rebounds.  He hit a 3-pointer in 36 of 38 games and averaged 15.6 points per game during his 10-game streak of at least 10 pts.  On November 12, 2010, Miller grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in UK’s season opener against ETSU.  On November 19, 2010, he recorded career-highs of five steals and four blocks at Portland and scored 15 points on a sharp 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and dished out a game-high four assists.  On November 24, 2010, Miller scored 15 points against UConn in the Maui Invitational championship game, including 13 in the second half.  On January 22, 2011, he scored a season-high 18 points at South Carolina while playing a career-high 39 minutes.  On February 19, 2011, Miller scored 22 points against South Carolina, including a career-high six 3-pointers made, nine rebounds, and three blocks.  On February 26, 2011, he scored a career-high 24 points against Florida to go with three assists and three blocks.  Miller was named the SEC Tournament MVP after averaging 13.3 points and 5.6 rebounds during the three-game run.  On March 17, 2011, he scored 15 of a game-high 17 points in first half of NCAA Tournament opening game against Princeton.  Miller finished the season with 414 points and 173 rebounds.

As a senior, Miller appeared in all 40 games while earning 11 starts.  He averaged 9.9 points and sunk 56 3-pointers.  On November 26, 2011, he paced the team with a season-high 19 points and added a season-best four made 3-pointers in a win over Portland.  On December 3, 2011, Miller tallied 12 points in UK’s win over North Carolina.  On December 20, 2011, he poured in 17 points in his second start of the season while adding five assists in a win over Samford.  On December 28, 2011, Miller struck for 15 points and matched a season-high with four 3-pointers in a win over Lamar.  On January 3, 2012, Miller became the 58th player in school history to tally 1,000 career points with 15 points in a win over Arkansas-Little Rock.  On January 24, 2012, he exploded for a season-high 19 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range in a win at Georgia.  On March 1, 2012, Miller led Kentucky in scoring with 17 points in a win on Senior Night against Georgia.  On March 17, 2012, he tallied 19 points with six rebounds in a win over Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament.  On March 23, 2012, he matched a season-high with 19 points in a win over Indiana in the NCAA Tournament.  On March 31, 2012, he scored 13 points in a win over Louisville in the NCAA Final Four.  Following Kentucky’s 2012 national championship win, Miller was chosen to present a commemorative Kentucky jersey and championship ring to President Barack Obama during the team’s visit to the White House on May 4, 2012.

Miller is the only player from Kentucky to have been named Kentucky’s “Mr. Basketball” (high school player of the year in the state), win a state championship (Mason County High School), and claim an NCAA title with the University of Kentucky.

Miller finished his college career having played more games for the University of Kentucky than any other player.  The Wildcats’ championship game and Miller’s last collegiate match was his 152nd appearance for the team, surpassing Wayne Turner’s previous record of 151 games. He and Deon Thompson of North Carolina are currently tied for sixth place in career games in NCAA Division I men’s play, and have the most games among those who played in exactly four seasons.

Miller was selected with the 46th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. On August 22, 2012, he signed a multi-year deal with the Hornets.

College Statistics:

NCAA

SeasonTeamMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Kentucky7646616018554151308092726422271913621.241.2580.3932.733.12.00.80.65.3
Kentucky80486215431283139316375573621202453821.240.0079.4933.592.51.50.50.66.4
Kentucky117814931258131586851122100665843324143831.047.7685.2944.274.61.70.81.110.9
Kentucky1043143302561495569367487825813333974026.147.3579.7137.582.82.10.80.39.9
Total-378944498917546318522714833935427721699112124715224.944.8981.5037.803.21.80.70.78.2

Career Totals

SeasonMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2008-097646616018554151308092726422271913621.241.2580.3932.733.12.00.80.65.3
2009-1080486215431283139316375573621202453821.240.0079.4933.592.51.50.50.66.4
2010-11117814931258131586851122100665843324143831.047.7685.2944.274.61.70.81.110.9
2011-121043143302561495569367487825813333974026.147.3579.7137.582.82.10.80.39.9
Total378944498917546318522714833935427721699112124715224.944.8981.5037.803.21.80.70.78.2

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