Brighton's Brock Miller, left, comes from a basketball family. And he's posting huge scoring numbers. But his game has much more to it than just scoring.
File photo by Steve Carnahan
There's an unmistakable vibe
Brock Miller feels every time he walks into a gym at home or on the road. Players, coaches and fans see the
Brighton (Salt Lake City) senior and immediately start wondering how many points he will score that time around.
That's simply a part of life when you're the youngest of three brothers who constructed their basketball reputations around an innate ability to light up the scoreboard. Miller doesn't shy away from any of those expectations. He can shoot the ball anytime, anywhere.
"I bring a scorer's mentality," Miller said. "I like to make others around me better while scoring and doing what I do."
Brock Miller, Brighton
File photo by Steve Carnahan
Miller does a good job of making the rest of his Brighton teammates better because he's far from being a one-dimensional volume shooter.
There's no denying he can score in bunches. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward averages 23.2 points per game to rank ninth in scoring among all high school players. But Miller also gets rebounds, plays tough defense and is equally comfortable making plays on the perimeter or near the basket.
"Brock is a very versatile player," Brighton coach Jeff Gardner said. "Obviously people see him on the offensive end and know he can score. But he's a really good defensive player as well and that sometimes gets overlooked. He's got good size and he can score inside and out. He can guard anyone from a point guard to a big kid."
Miller's versatility is a skill he developed through years of one-on-one battles with his older brothers Corbin and Brandon.
They spent many afternoons at a local church. After hoisting up hundreds of free throws to get warmed up, the true battles commenced with their round-robin one-on-one competitions. Miller learned quickly that he needed to develop certain nuances to elevate his game in order to get the upper hand.
His brothers helped him to learn how to score off the dribble and create his own shot. They taught him to be a strong defensive player and instilled enough toughness to make him capable of handling matchups at a variety of positions.
Eventually, Miller begin using what he learned to his advantage once he aged and hit a growth spurt.
"It would be a battle all of the time," Miller said. "Growing up, I would say that I got my butt whooped when I was really little. Once I started growing, there was a time I could say I could beat my brothers one-on-one."
He has mirrored their journey by becoming an impact player for Brighton as an upperclassman. Corbin and Brandon were each among the top scorers in Utah during their high school careers and Brandon still holds the school's all-time scoring record with 1,259 points.
Miller first emerged as a force on both ends as a junior. He missed half the season with injuries, but returned to the court with a vengeance. Miller averaged 17.5 points per game over the final 15 games of the season.
Brock Miller, Brighton
File photo by Steve Carnahan
He committed to play for Utah State at season's end, following Corbin (Harvard) and Brandon (Utah) in making the leap to college ball. Miller plans to play for the Aggies after he returns from an LDS mission to Argentina in April.
Gardner thinks Miller has the tools to thrive in college. One reason he believes Miller will be successful at that level is the same reason he has flourished in high school basketball – he has figured out how to carve out a hoops identity based on his own unique skills and not just family reputation.
"As a coach, I've tried to not ever compare him to his brothers because he's his own player," Gardner said. "All three of them are good players and they are all different players. That's what I've been most impressed with on Brock - his ability to be himself on the floor and not feel like he's got to be Brandon or be Corbin."
Still, it's safe to say growing up in a basketball family has made it easier for Miller in many ways.
He knows he would not be where he is now without the influence of his older brothers. Many families have siblings branching off to different sports. All three Miller brothers chose to play basketball and their shared love of the sport has helped them forge a stronger bond with one another.
"It's a pretty special thing for us as a family," Miller said. "My dad gave us an opportunity to try out basketball and we all ended up loving it."
John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps. You can contact John at john_coon@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports
