Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- James Miller, a transfer from Maryland, excelled in Wasatch Academy's opener against Montverde Academy.
- Miller scored a game-high 12 points, impressing despite limited recruitment attention.
- Coach Paul Peterson praised Miller's energy and toughness, likening him to former standout Richie Saunders.
PLEASANT GROVE — James Miller didn't expect to be the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on his high school basketball team when he transferred to rural Sanpete County.
But the transfer guard from Middleton, Maryland, didn't expect a lot of things when he opted for Wasatch Academy before his senior year.
Miller was a bright spot for the Tigers in a 77-47 loss to defending national champion Montverde Academy in the Tigers' opening game of the 5 For The Fight National Hoopfest at Pleasant Grove High, putting in a game-high 12 points with two rebounds, a pair of 3-pointers, and a mesmerizing alley-open to help spark his team off the bench.
Playing against a team loaded with ESPN top-100 prospects like Creighton signee Hudson Greer and Villanova commit Dante Allen, Miller — who doesn't have a recruiting profile at 247Sports, On3, ESPN or other top recruiting services — did what he does best in Wasatch's EYBL Scholastic opener for the 2024-25 season.
"We're all friends, and I enjoy all the guys. It's definitely the best move I ever made; I'm glad I'm here," Miller told KSL.com. "It was hard, but I'm glad I'm here.
"A lot was hard. Coach P (Paul Peterson, Wasatch Academy head coach) has expectations for us to be great and he coaches us to be great. Tonight wasn't our best night, but we'll go up from here."
Miller said transferring to the 150-year-old Mount Pleasant boarding school "kind of came out of nowhere," but he isn't disappointed with the move. He likes the area, even if he laughs at a passing joke to the "big city life" in Sanpete County, and he has a pair of siblings who attend BYU, whose head men's basketball coach Kevin Young sat courtside with assistants Chris Burgess and Brandon Dunson during Miller's breakout Monday night.
He's a welcome addition, too.
Peterson told KSL.com that he wasn't looking to recruit Miller like the Tigers, who compete as an independent team in the Utah High School Activities Association that eschews region and state competition for the national league formerly known as the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, usually look to add to their roster following each season.
But when the former BYU-Hawaii standout who played professionally in England, Germany and Serbia was walking through clients at a private training session at the ION Solar facility in Orem, he caught a glimpse of Miller, whose father worked for the company in Maryland and had brought his son to the company's headquarters that houses a full-size NBA court.
"I watched him for a few minutes, saw some highlights, and asked if he wanted to visit campus. He came, and then committed," Peterson recalled. "It wasn't the typical recruiting trips that we do, where we're flying across the country and all that stuff. He just fell in our lap."
Added Miller: "It just kind of happened. One thing led to another, then I met P, and I'm glad to be here."
On a team that includes five-star Houston signee Isiah Harwell and Junior County, the 6-foot-4 four-star guard in the Class of 2026 with offers from BYU, Cal, Houston, Purdue and Stanford, among others, and players from Nigeria, Mali, Italy, Switzerland and Brazil, the lightly recruited Miller may not jump off the page.
But he did Monday night, after the Tigers fell behind 43-17 at halftime to the defending champs. That's when Miller made his mark, scoring 9 points in the third quarter including a pair of triples and a rim-rattling alley-oop dunk that produced the loudest cheer of the night in the neutral-site game broadcast on ESPNU.
"That's me," said Miller, who has been recruited by Utah, Seton Hall and New Mexico, among others. "I like to play with energy. That's what I'm usually described as."
Peterson compared the 6-foot-3 guard to another former Wasatch Academy standout he's coached, and one who BYU fans may recognize, for his "toughness, overall athleticism, and how he jumps out of the roof."
Miller brought the fight Monday night, and that fight spread to the team, including County, who had 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal for the Tigers.
"He's a Division I basketball player. He doesn't jump off the board in height, size, arm length and all that stuff," Peterson said. "But he's like a Richie Saunders; he wins you games from straight toughness and playing hard. You need those team guys, and that's exactly who he is.
"He can make shots and do some other things. But one thing that never waivers is his ability to play hard and overall toughness. He's definitely a Division I player ... He's the guy you love to have on your team, but the guy you hate to play against."
Through his senior year, Miller hopes to keep playing hard through EYBL Scholastic play, and hopefully at the NCAA Division I level after.
"This is a different level of difficulty," Miller said. "The competition and not giving a crap who you're playing; just go out and play hard."
