Matt Miller is the Winning Ticket

Junior Matt Miller scored 27 points last Monday, but his Mariners were unable to hang on to a double digit second half lead, and USMMA dropped its second straight conference game to Elizabethtown 75-74. The Mariners now hold the sixth spot in the Landmark Conference standings.

See the highlights of Miller's 27 point outing directly below:



I coached Matt during his high school days as a GAIS Eagle. He is the most impressive person I've coached. I have talked about his accomplishments before, and recently I've been calling him AugBball's man of the year.

Before I direct you to Matt's own words, I'll share some of his college basketball accomplishments as described by USMMA's play-by-play man John Kelly. (I'll throw a few in as well):

From Kelly...

• Miller has scored 20 or more points against conference opponents 9 times in his first 3 seasons, including 23 in a recent win over NCAA Division III's #23 team, Scranton (January 13).
• He has scored 10 or more points against conference opponents 45 times.
• Matt's 9 point, 7 rebound performance against Juniata (January 16) snapped his 12 game streak of double figure games.

From me...

• Matt is the Landmark Conference's 10th leading scorer (14.8 ppg).
• He has recorded the conference's 5th highest three point field goal (42%) and free throw (82%) percentages.
• He shoots 5 free throws per game. He is so much more than a shooter only. He is a player!

I have made much of the fact that Matt's course of study is unique and extremely impressive. I describe it here in a January 8 interview with WGAC's Ashley Brown:

In addition to Matt's exploits on the court, in the classroom, and at sea, he has found the time to start this blog with me and teach me how to edit video (years ago); to start this blog with my father; and recently to make this contribution (along with several others).

Matt explains (in the post linked directly above) that we all have a winning lottery ticket: ourselves and our ability to consistently try our best, to do it purposefully, and to remain persistent in the face of adversity. Matt's record on and off the court illustrates his commitment to being a proper steward of his "winning ticket:" his willingness to commit the time and the effort needed to reach his goals.