Former Tar Heel Walker Miller is having a huge season, and I’m here for it

Former UNC basketball reserve Walker Miller is having a huge season with King Rice’s Monmouth Hawks, and I’m here for it.

For four years, Walker Miller was a member of the North Carolina men’s basketball program. And for four years, Miller sat behind Tar Heels with more skill and more athleticism and more accolades than him coming out of high school.

To be fair, Miller knew what he was facing in terms of playing time when he chose to join Roy Williams’ program back in 2017. After all, he’s the younger brother of former UNC sharpshooter, Wes Miller, who logged just 3.8 minutes per game during his first season at North Carolina before earning nearly 23 minutes per game the following season. So, if anything, Miller was well aware that he had his work cut out for him in Chapel Hill.

But after four years of feeling like the Rudy Ruettiger of UNC basketball, Miller was ready to see more time on the hardwood. He was ready to be a more integral part of his team and to see the fruits of his labor play out on the court. He was ready for a change, even if that change meant leaving North Carolina.

So, at the conclusion of his senior season with the Tar Heels, the former UNC big man made a decision to make the most of his fifth and final year of eligibility, one that was granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s when he chose to take his talents to West Long Branch, New Jersey, where he’d suit up for another former Tar Heel, King Rice, and the Monmouth Hawks.

And take his talents to West Long Branch did he ever.

Miller’s first game of the season was a statement, as he set a career-high in points with 23. He hit 9-of-17 shots from the floor and 5-of-5 at the foul line in a hard-fought two-point loss to the Charlotte 49ers — their only loss of the season as it turns out. He’s scored double-digit points in five of his seven games since, highlighted by a new career-high of 24 points in a win over Canisius last weekend.

And after eight games with the Hawks, Miller is third on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game and a team-high 7.1 rebounds. He’s logging the second-most minutes per game on the team and ranks first in blocks and free throw percentage. The 6-foot-11, 235-pound power forward has even knocked down four of his 14 attempts from three-point range this season.

To say that he’s having a good season would be an understatement. His play has helped guide the Hawks to a 7-1 record, currently tops in the MAAC standings. “I wanted to set the tone early, I wanted to get in a groove,” Miller told the Asbury Park Press following his scoring outburst against Canisius on Sunday. “I wanted to get back to what I do well and that is what I tried to do early in the game.

Miller’s sentiments about his most recent game seem to fit his season as a whole and his decision to leave North Carolina in the first place. He set the tone early this season, and he’s certainly in a groove. He’s gotten back to doing what he was prior to his time at North Carolina, and he appears to be having as much fun doing it as we are watching it.

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