Florida State Basketball's Baba Miller, Team Spain Win Gold at FIBA U19 Tournament

Miller played a crucial role in Team Spain's run to a Gold Medal.

Florida State forward Baba Miller has spent the last few weeks playing for his home country, Spain, in the FIBA U19 World Cup Tournament and they’ve taken home the gold following a 73-69 win over Team France, a game that went into overtime. Spain largely dominated the entire tournament, winning games by an average margin of 34.5 PPG heading into the final, with only one win being by single digits (an 83-74 win over China), which included an 88-69 win over France in the group stage. 

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Baba Miller had fouled out in the final minutes of the championship, but had a strong showing overall with 11 points and 5 rebounds. He had been solid all tournament, averaging 9.4 PPG, 6 RPG, and 1.4 APG while displaying all the tools that have NBA scouts wondering if he’ll realize his full potential. 

Baba Miller… whew pic.twitter.com/sF3miCvQSi

— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) June 30, 2023

His best showings came against Argentina, where he had 18 points and 9 rebounds, and China with an all-around performance of 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. He put the team on his back in the championship, as he scored 9 points in the final five minutes or so of the game after being down 53-46 to force a 63-63 score heading into overtime. 

Florida State is hoping he’ll use this as a stepping stone towards a strong sophomore campaign after a disappointing freshman season, one that saw him be unfairly suspended to start the season, then battle conditioning issues, tonsillitis, and a poor team around him that hadn’t been playing well. He’s looked in shape this summer, and if he can keep that level of conditioning up while continuing to make strides in his shot and overall scoring, he should be primed for a big jump this upcoming season. 

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