Daniel Miller (#5 in the video above) has been released from his letter of intent at Georgia. Per the release:
"The family of Daniel Miller expressed a desire for Daniel to be released from his letter-of-intent," said Fox. "After meeting with them over the weekend, I have granted Daniel his complete release. I wish him well in the career path he chooses for himself."I expect him to sign with Georgia Tech almost immediately. This is a bit of an unusual situation, and it really comes down to what version / rumor do you want to believe?
Do you want to believe ESPN.com who calls him a Top 100 player (#98) who is a 6'8" 240 lb center ranked at #11 in his position nationally? Or do you want to believe Rivals.com who list him as a 3 star center at 6'10" and 235 lbs who is unranked. Or do you ignore rankings because they are meaningless, but look at offers. Well...his other offers were GT, Minnesota, UT-C, Furman and Davidson?
Or do you look at stats? The AJC (who thinks he's 6'11") reports that he averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game as a senior. Granted, he left games early because of big leads, but that's common among quality players.
So...do you want to believe the best or the worst of this situation?
Did we lose a big time recruit who wanted to go to UGA badly last week only to ask out of his LOI days later? Or do you want to believe this isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, and it's not going to move the needle either way next year.
I'm of the opinion that no one in the Fox or Miller household is going to lose any sleep about this one going forward. He wasn't going to beat out Jeremy Price, AJax, Trey Thompkins or Chris Barnes next year anyway. And he's not going to beat out the front court talent stacked up at Tech next year either.
I've heard that this is a simply a situation of "fit," and it's not clear that it's as simple as he doesn't want to come to UGA or that Mark Fox doesn't think he's good enough.
So I'm writing it off to a typical transition period.
I will just add this....in the video above, he is playing one of his peer schools in the "Independent Christian Schools of Georgia and Alabama" league. For those of you unfamiliar with the I.C.S.G.A, that's a league lower than G.I.S.A. private schools in terms of athletic competition. The level of play depicted in that video and described to me by guys who've seen those teams play would be..."the lowest level of basketball competition available in this state...against males" (Update: GWA....Miller's opponent in the video above....is in GISA. Which doesn't change my point except to make me look less knowledgeable about ICSGA.)
Regardless, a Top 100 Center doesn't pull down 21 points and 8 rebounds a game against those guys.
It could end up being a blessing in terms of scholarship numbers, or it could be a kid that blossoms at Tech and haunts Fox. That's why recruiting is interesting for fans and a gigantic headache for coaches. I know I was pleased when he initially signed...then again...I didn't know what the ICSGA was either.
You could safely say that I'm assuming the best on this one.
PWD
(Note: I tried really hard not to sound like a sour grapes guy on this one. If that's how you read this, I wrote it wrong.)
48 comments:
Okay with me. If you don't have your heart in being a dawg, hit the road.
Not sure how to say this the PC way. The teams out there seemed to be missing a certain element that certainly won't be missing in Div. I.
First off PWD, GWA is in the GISA. They are one of the bigger schools in the GISA, right there with FPD, Stratford. They arnt a peer school of LCA. GWA has one more year in the GISA and then they will be in the GHSA as they have already been accepted. I graduated for GWA so i know all about GWA and the GISA. That said, Miller looks like a project to me, just another one of feltons recruits that have potential but not a lot of talent.
Not really concerned. He wasn't one of Fox's guys. I'm actually taking the positive side on this one, better for Fox to have that scholarship to pick a player that HE wants, and not a guy that Felton left him with.
Mitch - if GWA is one of the bigger schools in GISA...then I.C.S.G.A really does suck.
You got it Paul. George Walton is GISA, and I'm pretty sure from the comments they actually won that game.
Based on this video, I was going to leave a comment about the quality of play until you said it first.
George Walton Academy(GWA) is in the GISA and they are one of the bigger schools. They are located in Monroe. GWA, FPD, Stratford, Tattnall, Southland, Deerfield Windsor, Westfield are the bigger schools in the GISA. GWA and FPD will be in the GHSA in 2 years.
I think he was upset with my "demographics" comment.
Do we know for sure he's going to Tech? That's the only reason i'd be pissed at losing this kid.
We all know how Felton's big men usually pan out so I am not upset to see him go. They all have plenty of heigh and potential but always seem to play soft and never utilize their height advantage
If this was one of Felton's recruits, chances are he would've been kicked off the team in a couple of years, anyway...
If he went to tech it may help us with #'s recruiting our own state next year... more schollies for us, less for the Jackets if you want to think of it that way.
this kid has no future in division one. he is playing against a modest jv team at best by GHSA standards. I could name ten to fifteen schools whose JV squads would have destroyed both of those teams. Good riddance. And BTW, if that kid is 6'11 then Terrence Edwards has great hands, and Willie Martinez is Buddy Ryan.
Anon 8:29...I'm dyin' heah...
IF Felton recruited him, and he doesn't want to be here...I'm glad we are letting him go.
Best of luck to the Kid.
Let me second or third the comments regarding the quality of competition. I was on the basketball team at a small Christain academy in high school. I didn't start, but I did get to play. And that would shock you if you saw me play. Anyway, it was fun but all the teams were pretty bad. Good luck to Miller but I doubt this means much in the grand scheme of things.
Best player I ever played against was Hugh Durham's son (guy could shoot a little).
Anon 10:09, i will defend my school. GWA isnt a very good basketball school. Every once in a while they have a good bball team. Their football and baseball teams are pretty good every year, thats really what they are known for.
mitch...
The same could be said for UGA...
Well, you have to add in Gymnastics, Tennis, Golf, Swimming, but...you get the point...
Lol, yea i thought about that as i posted it. The overall talent level in the GISA has really dropped though. I compare it to the housing market. Right around 2000 the GISA was booming and had a bunch of talent in it and lately the talent has really taken a nose dive. This has a lot to do with schools like Augusta Christian and North Cobb Christian, Riverside Military, Eagles Landing Christian Academy, Mt. Pisgah, Fellowship Christian all joining the GHSA recently.
anon 10:09,
what's with that? Why no Billy Bennet, or Zeier, or hell, Stafford.
He looks better than Jeremy Price who can't run or dunk.
I played center in GISA, and I'm barely 6ft so that should tell you all you need to know about the GISA. I scored 16 a game and grabbed 9 boards. I sucked, but still managed to make all region. So it's easy to put up big numbers in GISA. Heck with this kid's height he should have scored 40 a game. This is no big loss at all.
Really what I drew from that article is how sketchy the numbers are on the kid's height. It's not one of those things you can just "fudge," especially in basketball and playing a position where every inch counts.
Based on that video it doesn't seem like a big loss. I wish the kid well but I think he would/will be eaten alive in the SEC or any other major conference. He looks fluid and coordinated with a nice touch but his vertical leap looks like mine.
If he's 6'11" and moves like that, he's a nice project that will help you in 3 years.
If he's 6'8" and moves like that, he's a Southern Conference player.
Regardless, if I was 6'8" playing a bunch of 5'10"-6' centers, I could dominate too. GISA has some good teams, and some of the best could probably compete in some of the smaller GHSA divisions. However, if ICSGA is worse than GISA, this guy should have put up moster numbers (30 points, 15 rebounds 8-10 blocks) per night. Like the previous poster said, he looks decently fluid, but he can only jump about 10" off the ground. Most of those layups should have been moster dunks. Always hurts when you get stiffed, and although I wish him success, it wouldn't surpise me if this was the last time we ever hear his name.
The less of Felton's kids we see in Athens the better it will be.
I don't want to rain on everyone's "If she hadn't dumped me, I would have dumped her anyway (aka I think I can find a hotter girl now that I am free) fest", but the kid has more out there on him than just this youtube.
#1- AJC implies he had offers to Kentucky, Stanford, Tech, and Minnesota....that isn't a bad list.
#2- Everyone hung up on GISA, ICSICA, CCSSAA, or whatever other league you want to come up with needs to just think about three letters...AAU. From all reports, he proved himself to be a very good player when playing AAU ball with some of the best around the country. And none of the eye witness reports I've seen have him below 6'10".
#3- The thing I don't understand is that this is a UGA kid. All of his early interviews centered on how his family has ties, he is a big UGA guy, etc.
I'm not saying this should reflect poorly on Coach Fox. I'm just saying it might not be good news.
Something tells me that he wont be playing little white kids half his size wherever he goes. That wasn't a display of "top notch" competition. The video reminded me of a Seinfeld episode where Kramer told everyone that he was the best Karate student in his class & then Elane findes out he was dominating in a class of little kids. Maybe I can send in a video of myself playing my 8 & 10 year old niece's in my driveway & then ESPN can get me a D-1 scolorship. I'm only 5'8" 190 lbs., but I'm sure they can pad that a little.
I wasn't impressed AY-TALL with the quality of competition in that video. Having said that, he made some nice steals against the choir boys he played against.
Playing against this level of competion is what got Jon Richt a scholarship to Clemson...and the end end result is a transfer to Mars Hill.
WTF Dubbayoo? Why have you got to go and bust on Jon Richt? It's just a cheap shot on a Georgia guy.
Dubbayoo, Dustin Ware, Andre Young, Ralph Sampson(2 years in GISA) came from the GISA recently and are pretty good basketball players. Also, Lekevin Smith(Played at Stratford, went to nebraska and is in NFL right now), Michael Lemon, Broderick Stewart(Starting DE for Vandy), Trevor Jenkins(Starting DT for Middle Tennessee State) all came from the GISA recently and are pretty good football players. There are plenty of players that we have signed over the years that came from GHSA schools and proved to be busts.
My son played w/ Daniel his Sr yr at LCA (Daniel's soph yr) and my wife works there. I've seen him play a bunch. We are UGA grads and go to 2-4 UGA B-ball games/yr. Here's my take fwiw.
That GWA video is from Daniel's Jr yr when he was 6'8". He's a legit 6'11" now and has size 17 feet. He'll top 7'. The league we played in is weak ...really, really weak. The league is not about embarassing people or rolling up big #'s.
He got his D-1 attention from his AAU play this summer (his only yr playing AAU - Jon Richt didn't play against any D-1 caliber comp until he got to Clemmuns). He got his offers from that (Tubby really wanted him ,but Minn too far). As soon as word got out last PM that he had been released he got phone calls from Virginia, Minn, and the like in 2 hours.
He's got a really high B-ball IQ which helps make up for some of his lack of strength and quickness by his seeing plays developing and anticipating. A year of D-1 conditioning will improve those areas I'm sure.
He has great hands and a really soft 12-15 ft jumpshot (see free throw form in video).
He is a quality kid in every regard and comes from a wonderful family with major UGA ties - Spec Towns grandson).
I haven't talked w/ him this week, but I'd guess he wanted to play for a coach he had previous relationship with (nothing against Fox, just nothing for him per se). He liked Felton adn likes Hewitt. Even after he signed w/ UGA (he attended just about every UGA home game) he also went to a couple of Tech games and likes the staff and team there
Even those I "boo-hiss" the NATS everytime I pass it on the downtown connector, I'll be cheering loudly for Daniel.
HH - it's only a cheap shot to those who don't have the ability to be objective. Let's mark this on the calendar and revisit the issue two years from now.
Anon 2:32-
Good post, but I would think a kid like him, ESPECIALLY a kid like him, would want to play for a coach who has a history of getting underrated big men to the NBA.
Good luck on getting "coached up" by Hewitt if he goes to GT.
TonyfromMacon hit the nail on the head. I'm old now, but while in high school in the late 90's my team won the AA state championship in the GISA and I was named All-State. Now, I'm 6'2 and LEAD the state in rebounding. While I had a blast playing in the GISA and wouldn't trade it for the world, we weren't exactly dying to play Oak Hill or Westside or even Camden County. My team actually beat George Walton that year and I scored around 20 points if I remember correctly. How many schools did I get basketball offers from: ZERO
Anonymous @ 2:32
Please let us know if/when you do get the chance to speak to him. The insight would be interesting.
Im sitting right here with the Daniel Miller! were reading yalls dumb post and laughin at you guys!! For your information Daniel is not just another Felton project, all the schools from the southest and also alot of schools from the west coast were after Daniel. Our league ICSGA isnt that good but Daniel got noticed playing AAU and at Tech basketball camps his sophomore year!
"Good post, but I would think a kid like him, ESPECIALLY a kid like him, would want to play for a coach who has a history of getting underrated big men to the NBA.
Good luck on getting "coached up" by Hewitt if he goes to GT."
Did you not remember that Luke freaking Shenscher played in the NBA. He may be the goofiest center ever to make it to the NBA. No coordination and no skills when he first played. Alade Aminu might end up in the league too. Jason Collier. Tech has "coached" up plenty of relatively uncoordinated big men.
I finally watched that video - and can definitely say no big loss for UGA. He has a very soft game to be so big...he should have been dominating the ICSGA league.
Anon 6:52-
Are you serious throwing out Luke Schenscher? The king of the 10-day NBA contract? "No coordination and no skill" I didn't see too much at the end of college career either. If he hadn't had a nice little run in the tourney you wouldn't even bring up his name.
Alade Aminu? You mean the guy who was one of the top prospects in the country when he enrolled at Tech (ranked #5 center out of high school)and then lost his starting position half-way through his senior season at Tech? That Alade Aminu?
I obviously stand by what I said. The "9 million dollar man" doesn't coach so much as he rolls the ball out on the court and tells them to go play.
Dubbayoo - I understand your point just fine, and you may well be correct, I just don't agree with the manner in which you made it.
GO DAWGS!
If Miller really did choose to leave UGA and Fox for Hewitt, then that only proves he is an idiot.
"Im sitting right here with the Daniel Miller! were reading yalls dumb post and laughin at you guys!! For your information Daniel is not just another Felton project, all the schools from the southest and also alot of schools from the west coast were after Daniel. Our league ICSGA isnt that good but Daniel got noticed playing AAU and at Tech basketball camps his sophomore year!"
Why don't you list who offered him, then...? Oh, that's right, PWD already did that.
Gentlemen-
#1- Maybe I am the only one that still thinks adults should have some level of maturity, but calling an 18 year old an idiot makes you all sound like a bunch of a-holes.
#2- If the post wasn't supposed to be sour grapes, the comments certainly were just that.
We lost a kid that had offers from Tech, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Stanford (per the AJC). It is safe to say that despite your 'scouting' of the youtube clip provided here, there were enough college coaches at programs that are currently better than UGA who do think he is a player worth having. I imagine they have probably done the pointless things like seeing him play in person, going to his AAU games, etc. (Actually, I heard somewhere that this youtube clip was the only available piece of information out there on the kid...he played all of his games on mars against midgets and all but two minutes of that were in a time warped universe that had no video cameras or electronic devices, making the only thing available to all scouts, coaches, and arm-chair internet scouts (aka, you morons) this youtube clip.)
I don't think it is an argument over what Fox or Hewitt brings to the table. For example, it seems safe to assume that some of you would have had a better chance to develop into productive members of society if you had different parents that had better experience with 'coaching them up.' However, like many of you, there are things that while some-what irrational when thinking about the task at hand (blood ties really don't have anything to do with parenting just like having a prior relationship with a coach doesn't have any thing to do with coaching), the young man decided to stick with what he knew versus going with the unknown.
I really don't see how there can be anything else to be said except that (a) it is unfortunate for UGA basketball that this young man wants to leave (b) there really isn't anything UGA could have done about it short of keeping Felton as the coach and (c) while this young man certainly has fine credentials on the court and off the court, the benefit of fixing the health of the program as a whole is probably worth the cost of losing him to another school (there is always going to be a little pain when trying to fix what is broken).
It doesn't make you any less of a fan to just admit that it sucks, but that firing Felton was still the right move. It makes you a little less of a human being to put an 18 year old in your cross hairs b/c he had the gaul to choose a school b/c he had a prior relationship with the coach.
While I will agree with Irwin in sentiment re: calling an 18-year-old names, I believe that what the wolves were looking for (myself included) was proof that Felton was recruiting lesser talent than could be had.
Right or wrong in sentiment and spirit, call it attempted vindication.
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