One former UNC basketball player beats another in family affair

Brothers and former UNC basketball players faced off on Saturday afternoon, and their game had an unexpected ending.

Wes Miller graduated from the University of North Carolina a decade before his brother, Walker, stepped foot on campus in the fall of 2017, and the former is now one of the hottest young head coaches in college basketball.

But none of that stopped the younger Miller from walking away victoriously when the two former Tar Heels took the court on Saturday afternoon in opposition of one another.

Wes, now the lead man for the rising Cincinnati Bearcats, squared off with Walker, a fifth-year senior finishing out his eligibility at Monmouth under another former Tar Heel, King Rice. The outcome of this one was quite unexpected, as the underdog from the MAAC went toe-to-toe for 40 minutes with the American Athletic Conference standout that’s preparing for a move to the Big 12 in 2024 — and won.

That’s right, it was the fledgling Hawks from Monmouth that withstood and overcame a substandard first-half performance against the Bearcats that had them down by eight points at the intermission before eventually winning the game by a final score of 61-59.

For the younger Miller’s part, it was another solid performance to add to his growing resume this season, one that includes five double-digit scoring games and an average of just under 15 points per game. He finished Saturday’s family affair with 13 points and four rebounds, while hitting 5-of-11 shots for the game and 1-of-2 from three-point range.

Wes, beloved UNC sharpshooter and starter of 17 games during his time in Chapel Hill, had his team in a seemingly good position at halftime before losing the game’s final 20 minutes by 10 points. His team was out-rebounded, out-assisted and out-shot in every facet of the game — two-pointers, three-pointers and free throws. They missed 38 of their 61 shot attempts for the game, connected on just 4-for-28 beyond the arc and converted a meager 9-for-20 at the foul line.

So, after beating the 14th-ranked Illini last week and narrowly losing to the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks, Miller’s Bearcats are now losers of two straight, including their most recent defeat to the surprising Monmouth Hawks, who now find themselves sitting at 5-1 on the season, and just one two-point loss to Charlotte on opening night away from being undefeated.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for more on the Miller brothers and Monmouth’s King Rice — and of course the UNC basketball program — throughout the 2021-22 college hoops season.