Archie Miller Talks Extensively About Parker Stewart Monday Night

Archie Miller provided Indiana fans with an in-depth answer on Parker Stewart and what he has accomplished as a player, as well as what he brings to the Hoosiers.

Dylan Wallace | Feb 16, 2021

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana head coach Archie Miller was asked a question about Parker Stewart on his weekly radio show with Don Fischer on Monday night.

Miller gave a very lengthy answer, providing background on Stewart's prior destinations playing college basketball, as well as how he thinks Stewart can help Indiana.

However, Miller did not specify on if Stewart will take the floor this season. In past instances, Miller made it seem unlikely that he will play, but no matter what, Stewart has two years of eligibility with the Hoosiers moving forward.

Below is the full direct quote from Miller on Stewart:

"Parker is a terrific player. He started his career out at the University of Pittsburgh with Kevin Stallings, he was actually a college teammate of Marcus Carr. They were both from the same recruiting class at Pitt. They played together as freshmen on a Pitt team that was very young. Parker was a 40 percent three-point shooter and did a great job at Pitt in his first year as a freshman.

And then his father became the head coach at Tennessee-Martin, and when his father became the coach at Tennessee-Martin, Parker transferred to Tennessee-Martin to play for his dad. He sat out. He had an injury. I think he had a hip surgery. I think he played his first year for his dad last year, averaged about 18 to 19 a game at Tennessee-Martin and as he'll tell you, probably had to take a few bad shots every once in awhile. He played with the ball a lot more than he did his first year in college, so he got better. He was more of a dominant scorer than he was a shooter.

Tragically this fall, his father unexpectedly passed away. As you can imagine a very difficult time period for not only Parker but for his family. He took some time away from the basketball side of things, and by the time I think he realized he was ready to get back at it, I think he chose to move on from Tennessee-Martin, and Kenya Hunter had a relationship with Parker's father and also recruited Parker when he was at Nebraska while he was coming out.

Parker grew up in Athens, Ohio. His dad was an assistant at Ohio University at one point. Kenya had a relationship with his dad, so when the opportunity arose, he was only going to go to a couple places, and the relationship with the coaching staff was a big part, so Kenya being here was a big reason why, if not the biggest reason why Parker chose to come to IU. Along with the fact that playing at Indiana is a big deal. Playing in the Big Ten and then obviously, playing in a place that is a basketball school. He's a basketball kid.

As he's gotten here, it's been tough to hit the ground running as you can imagine. You have COVID going on, you have to get all of the COVID tests and all of the protocols. He arrives here when we are in the middle of the season. But as he's gotten back week-by-week, he's started to get into the routine of lifting weights, skill instruction, helping out in practice and he's a big, strong kid. He's about 6'4, about 205-210 pounds, he can really shoot the ball. He's physical putting it on the floor, and just watching him in practice, he's going to be a great addition to what we're doing.

I think the biggest thing for him is just to continue to feel comfortable and just all-in-all, just learn kind of what's going on here. The fact that he's already played in the ACC, and he's also been a guy that has had to carry a load, I think he's gonna be a welcome addition. I really love the fact that shooting is his biggest strength. I mean, he can really shoot the ball from deep. He's a big, strong kid, so I really think he's gonna fit in well in this league, and in particular, I think he's really gonna help us."

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