March Madness Sweet 16/Elite Eight Prospect Review - Brandon Miller

How did the Alabama freshman wing look in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament?

It has been quite the rise to the top, nearly, of 2023 NBA Draft Big Boards for Alabama freshman wing, Brandon Miller.

Don’t get it twisted, Miller was obviously a familiar name coming into the season being the consensus No. 14 overall recruit via 247sports composite but that is a far cry from the No. 3 overall prospect in the draft that now adds in non-freshman, overseas prospects, and members of OTE and G League Ignite.

Climbing all the way into what seems to be consensus top three conversation is one thing but the fact that Miller is now legitimately drawing No. 2 overall prospect buzz, from analysts and front offices, is downright impressive and indicative of the impression on court season he has put together.

We must mention that there are legitimate, and serious, off the court concerns with the pending legal case involving a shooting and unfortunate death of 23-year-old, Jamea Harris. His involvement has been highly covered and something that NBA teams are sure to dive even deeper on than many of us will be privy to know.

Speaking specifically to his on the court play, the 6-foot-9 wing has been sensational all season long averaging just under 19 points per game on shooting splits of 44%, 40% and 86% from the free throw line.

The plus-size and shot making ability alone make Miller an intriguing prospect but he also pulls down over 8 rebounds per game and has shown improvement throughout the season with his scoring inside the 3-point line and his playmaking.

The Cerebro Sports metrics back up the eye test and box score stats as well. Miller is one of four players, and the only freshman, to meet the following criteria:

>80 point scoring prowess (PSP), Miller - 82

>80 3-point efficiency (3PE), Miller - 90

>55 Floor General Skills (FGS), Miller - 57

>70 Around the Rim (ATR), Miller - 76

>70 Defensive Stats Impact (DSI), Miller - 77

The other three players include two other NBA Draft prospects in Kris Murray (Junior) and Brandin Podziemski (Sophomore) and one of the best low major players in college basketball, Jake Stephens (Grad Senior) of UT-Chattanooga.

The weekend did not start off as Miller wanted as he was actually held scoreless in Alabama’s first round matchup, he had only been held to single digits once all season, but bounced back with a 19 point and seven rebound performance vs Maryland.

Eyes were definitely on Miller and his Crimson Tide as they rolled into the Sweet 16 for the second weekend of the tournament.

Game 1 vs San Diego St

Unfortunately for Miller, not only did the Crimson Tide season end sooner than expected with this game but ended with a pretty poor performance from Miller.

Miller was just 3-for-19 from the field in this game and 1-for-10 overall. In the final four games of their season the freshman went a total of 13-of-61 (21%) from the field.

The level of concern of his poor efficiency will vary depending on who you talk to but there is no denying that it definitely is going to put a halt in the momentum he was building for being the No. 2 overall draft pick.

A couple things that did stand out in this game, and are encouraging signs, is that Miller still made his presence felt in other ways.

He had double digit rebounds in this game, 11, where he has been impactful all season long and was still able to flash his passing with three assists. The one hand live dribble passes stood out, in particular.

Coming into the tournament he seemed like a six game run to an NCAA championship where Miller dominated the competition would solidify his position in the debate for the No. 2 prospect vs Scoot Henderson.

While that conversation will still happen, and is still warranted, the train has slowed and his play was such that it may open back up conversations around him being the No. 3 overall prospect ahead of the likes of Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Cam Whitmore and others.

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