Maybe the tide has turned.
Tyler Miller, a 6-foot-1 senior shooting guard, hopes that he has left behind the school of hard knocks and injuries that can come with it, moving on to his time to shine for Metea Valley.
It appears so, according to senior leader Jake Nosek.
“He missed the entire summer with a concussion,” Nosek said of Miller. “He’s a good shooter. Toward the end of last season, he’d give us a little spark, but he struggled with injuries then, too.”
A sprained ankle late in the season slowed Miller just as he was breaking into the team’s regular rotation.
“So this is his first time really getting in the rhythm and getting in the groove,” Nosek said.
Miller missed three straight 3-pointers to open Tuesday’s nonconference game against East Aurora but then made four straight from beyond the arc to get the Mustangs rolling in a 70-39 rout.
Tre Watkins, a 6-2 junior guard, and Miller each scored 18 points each to lead host Metea Valley (4-1) in Aurora. Watkins added four rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Senior point guards Khalil Jones and Anthony Hildreth added eight and seven points, respectively. Hildreth, a reserve, had just one point in the second quarter but sparked a 22-12 run for the Mustangs with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Marcus Wallace Jr., a 6-4 junior forward, had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead East Aurora (0-5). Jaiyon Spivey, a 6-5 senior forward, came off the bench to add nine points for the Tomcats, who committed 14 turnovers in the middle two quarters against Metea’s press.
“Tyler’s a shooter and always finds a way,” Watkins said. “Nine times out of 10 it seems like it’s going in. If you’re open, you shoot it — that’s what we teach.
“And Hilbreth, that’s what he does. He does the dirty work, likes to get in and play defense. He always finds somebody open. That’s just Anthony.”
Miller suffered the concussion in May. He was undercut while attempting to grab a rebound in an AAU game.
“Took my legs out and I just landed straight back,” Miller said. “It was awful. I had pounding headaches. There was a two or three-week stretch where I was just sitting in my room with the lights off.”
He put the rest of his time off to good use, however.
“I was really skinny last year,” he said. “I weighed like 125 pounds. I took that opportunity to put on as much weight as I could. I added about 25-30 pounds and was able to get in the weight room.”
Eventually, he did some shooting in his local gym.
“That’s been developing since freshman and sophomore years,” he said of his shot. “I was not a great shooter, but I got in the gym and it became a priority for me.
“Now, like when I missed those 3-pointers, I don’t worry about that. No matter how I start, keep shooting. You shoot your way out of a slump, always.”
Nosek knows a little bit about injuries and shooting. He missed the bulk of his sophomore year with a foot injury and was expected to lead the Mustangs this season at the offensive end.
Nosek will be sidelined until February after suffering a broken wrist in the team’s season opener. He faced surgery Wednesday but hopes to stay in shape and be ready to return as soon as he gets the OK.
Miller, whose role will likely expand, also scored three times Tuesday on drives to the basket.
“Coming into the season, I thought my role was pretty much hit shots and play defense,” Miller said. “I was still looked at as kind of a third or fourth option to score the ball.”
Nosek, meanwhile, has had a pause in his recruiting.
“I had five or six schools planning to come out to watch me and wanting me to send them film,” he said. “Now they have to wait and see until I get back.
“I might play AAU in the spring as an unsigned senior just to get some film out.”
