Florida State University Athletics
Miller Drawing on World Championship Title As Fire For 2023-24 Season
11/7/2023 4:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State's Baba Miller put together one of those stat lines – 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots – in Florida State's victory over Valdosta State in the Seminoles' second of two exhibition games on Sunday night left many in attendance hoping his performance against the Blazers was a sign of things to come for the sophomore.
It was more of how he accumulated his statistics than his final line in the scorebook that left fans hoping for more as the Seminoles open their season against Kennesaw State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Miller scored from long range (he tied for the team lead with two made 3-point field goals), short range (he made two field goals), from the free throw line (he made two of four free throws) and on the Seminoles' vaunted fast break. He assisted on a rim-rocking dunk by Cam Corhen and thwarted the visitors from Valdosta, Ga. numerous times with his work on the defensive end of the court.
It's Florida State's work on the defensive end of the court that has Miler and his teammates excited.
"We're doing a lot of stuff (on defense) that we didn't do last year," said Miller as the Seminoles began their preparations for Kennesaw State. "We've upped our energy level, increased our communication level, and most importantly, the effort level is different from last year. We are going to keep going from here"
Here against Valdosta State was an incredible 20 steals and eight blocked shots. Here is a 29-7 margin on points off of turnovers. Here is a 20-10 margin on fast break points. Here is holding the Blazers to below 43 percent shooting from the field and leading by 33 points in the second half.
Miller's approach to his second season in Tallahassee comes in large part from his success in helping Spain's U19 team to the team title at the FIBA U19 World Championship tournament in Hungary. Spain finished the nine-day competition with a perfect 7-0 record. Miller was the third leading scorer for Spain, as he averaged 9.4 points, and was its second leading rebounder with a 6.0 rebounds per game average. He also averaged 0.7 blocked shots, and 0.6 steals per game. Miller was a starter in each of Spain's seven games which included victories over Canada, France, China, Lebanon, Argentina, Turkey, and France to win the championship.
"Playing for Spain in the World Championship tournament was exciting," said Miller. "Coming off of last season and having the opportunity to play during the NCAA off season, then winning with my national team, was an amazing experience. It was especially exciting because I had the chance to play with people who have I have known since I was a kid and played with since I was 12-years old."
In August, Miller was invited by Spain's powerful basketball federation to practice with its full national team as it prepared for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Championships. He is optimistic of earning future invitations to play for his country.
"Having the opportunity to play during the NCAA off season helped me gain confidence," said Miller. "It allowed me to get into shape and get back to playing my game."
Miller, who models his game after Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, showed true flashes of his abilities and athleticism in just 15 games in his first season at Florida State. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in relatively limited playing time after missing the first 16 games of the season. Miller's best outings came against Clemson with 12 points and against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament while eight rebounds.
"I think this off season helped me to reset my mind," said Miller, who along with senior Darin Green Jr. represented the Florida State program at the ACC Tip Off in Charlotte. "I feel myself having fun on the court playing basketball. During the off season with Florida State I got to know the new guys and building chemistry with the guys I played with last year."
Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton and his staff have seen as much growth from the Spaniard as any player they have coached at Florida State.
"Baba Miller is one of the most improved – mentally and emotionally – players on our team," said Hamilton. "The anxiety of just being a freshman, with all of the outside stuff he had to deal with was challenging. Now he's more confident, he's bigger, he's stronger, he's a different person. He facilitates, and he probably could be a little more selfish.
"He plays the game the right way; that's what's going to make him great. He has made as much progress as anybody on our team. He was 18 years old; he's just turned 19, and he was making an adjustment to an entirely new system coming 1,000 miles away from home. I'm so proud of him and the progress he's made. I expect him to have a big year."
A big year – something many are hoping to see from the athletic Florida State big man from the island of Mallorca.
It was more of how he accumulated his statistics than his final line in the scorebook that left fans hoping for more as the Seminoles open their season against Kennesaw State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Miller scored from long range (he tied for the team lead with two made 3-point field goals), short range (he made two field goals), from the free throw line (he made two of four free throws) and on the Seminoles' vaunted fast break. He assisted on a rim-rocking dunk by Cam Corhen and thwarted the visitors from Valdosta, Ga. numerous times with his work on the defensive end of the court.
It's Florida State's work on the defensive end of the court that has Miler and his teammates excited.
"We're doing a lot of stuff (on defense) that we didn't do last year," said Miller as the Seminoles began their preparations for Kennesaw State. "We've upped our energy level, increased our communication level, and most importantly, the effort level is different from last year. We are going to keep going from here"
Here against Valdosta State was an incredible 20 steals and eight blocked shots. Here is a 29-7 margin on points off of turnovers. Here is a 20-10 margin on fast break points. Here is holding the Blazers to below 43 percent shooting from the field and leading by 33 points in the second half.
Miller's approach to his second season in Tallahassee comes in large part from his success in helping Spain's U19 team to the team title at the FIBA U19 World Championship tournament in Hungary. Spain finished the nine-day competition with a perfect 7-0 record. Miller was the third leading scorer for Spain, as he averaged 9.4 points, and was its second leading rebounder with a 6.0 rebounds per game average. He also averaged 0.7 blocked shots, and 0.6 steals per game. Miller was a starter in each of Spain's seven games which included victories over Canada, France, China, Lebanon, Argentina, Turkey, and France to win the championship.
"Playing for Spain in the World Championship tournament was exciting," said Miller. "Coming off of last season and having the opportunity to play during the NCAA off season, then winning with my national team, was an amazing experience. It was especially exciting because I had the chance to play with people who have I have known since I was a kid and played with since I was 12-years old."
In August, Miller was invited by Spain's powerful basketball federation to practice with its full national team as it prepared for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Championships. He is optimistic of earning future invitations to play for his country.
"Having the opportunity to play during the NCAA off season helped me gain confidence," said Miller. "It allowed me to get into shape and get back to playing my game."
Miller, who models his game after Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, showed true flashes of his abilities and athleticism in just 15 games in his first season at Florida State. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in relatively limited playing time after missing the first 16 games of the season. Miller's best outings came against Clemson with 12 points and against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament while eight rebounds.
"I think this off season helped me to reset my mind," said Miller, who along with senior Darin Green Jr. represented the Florida State program at the ACC Tip Off in Charlotte. "I feel myself having fun on the court playing basketball. During the off season with Florida State I got to know the new guys and building chemistry with the guys I played with last year."
Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton and his staff have seen as much growth from the Spaniard as any player they have coached at Florida State.
"Baba Miller is one of the most improved – mentally and emotionally – players on our team," said Hamilton. "The anxiety of just being a freshman, with all of the outside stuff he had to deal with was challenging. Now he's more confident, he's bigger, he's stronger, he's a different person. He facilitates, and he probably could be a little more selfish.
"He plays the game the right way; that's what's going to make him great. He has made as much progress as anybody on our team. He was 18 years old; he's just turned 19, and he was making an adjustment to an entirely new system coming 1,000 miles away from home. I'm so proud of him and the progress he's made. I expect him to have a big year."
A big year – something many are hoping to see from the athletic Florida State big man from the island of Mallorca.
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