53°
With the second overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, the Minnesota Lynx selected Miller out of the University of Maryland after the fourth-year guard led the Terrapins to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship last month.
A three-time all-Big Ten selection and Big Ten Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Miller capped off her career with her best year yet, leading Maryland at 19.9 points per game, while chipping in 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.1 steals and more than a block per game for good measure.
For her career, the Somerset native averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists on nearly 46 percent shooting from the field.
.Miller was joined at the draft by her coach, Brenda Freese, as well as her parents and siblings, none of whom could keep the smile off their faces after hearing her name called.
“If it wasn’t for (my father), I wouldn’t be playing basketball right now, and he knows all the hard work we put in,” Miller said to ESPN after being chosen. “He’s my coach, he’s my mentor, and I just thank him for everything. All my success goes to him.”
Miller’s ascension to the top of teams’ draft boards may have come as a surprise to some a year ago, when she was nursing a fractured knee that limited her to just 22 games as she played through the pain and proved her grit to prospective pro teams.
Now healthy, Miller’s points per game average jumped six points and she was able to star for the University of Maryland in 34 games this season, including deep runs in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
“I always tell myself to fall a seven, and get back an eight,” she mused. “I constantly say that just because things are hard doesn’t mean that you can’t overcome it … And I think I did that with the injury, and I’m happy to be in this situation right now.”
Miller kept Maryland in her heart during the big night with a custom Maryland-themed jacket for the event that was highlighted by espnW as they hyped up the draft.
Miller was the consensus number two prospect in the draft, behind only 2022 National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston, who was the first pick in the draft out of South Carolina and is heading to the Indiana Fever.
As the second pick, Miller joins Marissa Coleman as the University of Maryland players picked highest in the WNBA Draft when she was picked by the Washington Mystics in 2009 with that same second selection.
"We're currently at the draft, and as you can see, it's a crazy experience," Miller posted on a video to the UMD women's basketball team's Twitter page. "I'm not here and where we're at if not for you ... So thanks for Terp Nation. I appreciate everything you've done for me and can't wait to see you again and hope you support me in this next journey."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cliffside Park-Edgewater and receive free news updates.
