TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Unlike the chorus of boos he received in Columbia, South Carolina earlier this week, Brandon Miller took the floor inside Coleman Coliseum to a thunderous ovation Saturday afternoon.
The constant between those two occasions was his stellar performance.
Miller posted a team-high 24 points Saturday, leading No. 2 Alabama to an 86-83 victory over Arkansas. That came just three days after he supplied 41 points, including the game-winner, during the Crimson Tide’s overtime victory at South Carolina.
Miller’s production has been the only normalcy he’s faced this week. Tuesday, a police investigator testified during a preliminary bond hearing for now-former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and Michael Davis that Miller brought the gun used to kill Jamea Harris to the scene of a fatal shooting that occurred on the Strip in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 15.
Miles and Davis are facing charges of capital murder for their roles in the shooting. Miller has not been charged with any crime nor has he been disciplined by the team.
While he was welcomed by a positive reception from the home crowd Saturday, that wasn’t the case earlier in the week as South Carolina booed every time he touched the ball while lambasting him with chants of “guilty” and “lock him up.”
Despite Alabama reaffirming Miller as an active member of the team on Wednesday, his status has been heavily debated as several outside voices have called for his suspension. The negative attention hasn’t had a negative effect on the forward as his 65 combined points this week are his highest over a two-game span this season.
“He completely understands that the situation’s tragic, and he takes it seriously as he’s been cooperating the whole time,” Alabama head coach Oats said. “He’s also done a great job being able to focus on practices, games and getting just laser-focused when he’s dialed into where his feet are at.”
During his 41-point game against South Carolina, Miller shot 14 of 25 from the floor, including 6 of 13 from beyond the arc. While he shot a respectable 8 of 15 Saturday, he struggled to find his stroke from deep, connecting on just 1 of 6 attempts. However, Miller was still able to able to contribute, driving to the lane for contested buckets while also recording six rebounds and a block to go with his team-high scoring.
As he did following the South Carolina game, Oats praised Miller for his focus, calling him one of the most mentally tough kids he has ever coached.
“He got adjustments to his game,” Oats said. “He got downhill. I mean he was coming into huddles [saying], ‘Hey, they’re not going to help off me. Use me as a screener. I’m going to screen you.’ He’s talking to the guards, ‘I’m going to screen because they’re not helping off me. You can get downhill.’
“You saw that numerous times, he sets the screen and Quinerly gets in the paint, Sears gets in the paint. He’s got a high IQ. He wants to help the team win. It’s really an us thing, not a me thing with him. I think when really talented players are fully bought in to do whatever it takes for the team to win, sometimes you see weeks like he had. He has a special way of getting locked in to where he’s currently at.”
Alabama (25-4, 15-1 in the SEC) will wrap up its regular season next week as it hosts Auburn (19-10, 9-7) on Wednesday before traveling to Texas A&M (21-8, 13-3) next weekend. A win in either of those games will earn Alabama its second SEC regular-season title in three seasons.
