Mike Miller has his first signature coaching win.
Miller, a former Mitchell Kernel and long-time NBA sharpshooter, guided the Houston (Tenn.) boys basketball team to an upset win on Jan. 16. The Mustangs played two games at the inaugural St. James NIBC Invitational in Springfield, Virginia, on Jan. 15-16.
Houston capped off its weekend with an 86-72 win over MaxPreps.com No. 5 Paul VI Catholic (Va.) at the event, which hosted 12 nationally-ranked teams from Jan. 8-18. Houston also dropped a 93-54 decision against No. 2 IMG Academy (Fla.) on Jan. 15.
Former NBA player Mike Miller makes Corn Palace coaching debut
Against Paul VI, Creighton signee Mason Miller -- Mike’s senior son -- led the Mustangs with 21 points and five rebounds. Oregon signee Jonathon Lawson registered 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.
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Freshman Ahmad Nowell (15 points/5 assists) and LSU signee Jerrell Colbert (10 points/4 rebounds) also contributed in the victory. Mavrick Miller -- Mike’s sophomore son -- finished with one rebound in 10 minutes off the bench.
Trevor Keels, a five-star shooting guard considering Virginia, Duke and Villanova, led Paul VI with 25 points. Dug McDaniel, 2022 four-star point guard, added 15 points and nine assists in the loss.
Mason Miller also drew strong reviews from 247Sports National Basketball Director Eric Bossi during the event. Bossi wrote about Miller and Houston: “Headed to Creighton, Germantown (Tenn.) Houston forward Mason Miller and his teammates had a big bounce back performance on Saturday. On Friday night, I arrived at The St. James just in time to see Miller and his team get throttled by a loaded IMG squad so I was curious to see how they would respond against a very good Alexandria (Va.) Paul VI squad. The response was impressive as Houston won 86-72 and they were keyed by the four-star prospect Miller who played as well as I have ever seen while scoring 21 points (9-13 FG) and grabbing five rebounds. Miller's father Mike Miller was a long time NBA player and most recently an assistant at Memphis before leaving to coach his son (little brother Mavrick is a sophomore on the team as well) and the bloodlines were evident on Saturday. Miller was aggressive to the rim, stroked some confident looking jumpers and had the look of a guy who is on his way to making some noise in Omaha for the next few years. He's got to get stronger but the size, ability to play the three or the four and base skill level are all in place.”
