Miller Takes Advantage of Starting Opportunity

Eat. Sleep. Weight-lift. Shoot. Practice. Repeat.

While most would find this to be simply a cliché, it is precisely what Columbia senior center, Jason Miller did to prepare himself for his final season. This summer Miller really worked, playing with the Big East All Stars and going to Europe with Columbia. Both of these allowed him to garner the confidence he needed to compete for the starting role.

“He really wanted to be the starter,” coach Joe Jones said. “We went to Europe, and he was just a monster—he played with great energy. Things all started to click after the Europe trip—he thought, I can do this at a very high level.”

Confidence was something lacking in Miller’s tenure at Columbia prior to this season. He played three seasons behind two-time All Ivy Leaguers John Baumann and Ben Nwachukwu, causing him to rarely see much action, which forced him to think about this season.

“It was very hard playing behind [Nwachukwu] and [Baumann] and remain motivated,” Jones remarked. “He wasn’t getting better because he knew he wasn’t going to play. So, he thought how do I stay with it?”

In Miller’s first three season, he played a combined 411 minutes (in 66 games), averaging a measly 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds. His low point was last year when he played only 75 minutes, scoring 14 points.

Entering this season, it appeared that Miller would play an important role, but not the one of starter due to Brian Grimes availability and Asenso Ampim’s improved play from last season. When Grimes went down with an injury, Miller’s opportunity was suddenly upon him.

And he has yet to relinquish it.

Preparing for the season opener at Fordham, Columbia expected the play of Miller to be key, considering the injuries that plagued the Lions in the off-season. His teammates and coaches recognized his improved playing ability and thus began to rely on him more.

“I think as we started to get ready for our first game he had been finishing a lot more shots than he had in previous years,” Jones said. “So we went into the Fordham game thinking that we need to go into him and Asenso just because we really weren’t shooting the ball that well.”
Miller’s improvement and the team’s reliance on him down the stretch has surprised many, including the six-foot, eight-inch center.

“It never occurred to me a few years ago that the offense would be going through me late in the game,” Miller said. “I was playing behind Ben Nwachukwu and John Baumann—which affected me. A lot of it is just pride in having the big men.”

Within the first 18 games of the season, Miller has surpassed his minutes played in the first three seasons prior. Also, he is averaging 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds—ranking him second in the Ivy League in rebounding—and has shot a remarkable 53.4 percent from the field.

The numbers don’t lie—his improvement has been seen in his offensive and defensive footwork, while he is able to finish much better around the basket—something that the Lions have desperately needed this season. Without Miller’s consistency down low, who knows where the Lions could be at this juncture.

“He’s been a huge boost for us this year with his play,” Jones said. “I think he’s the most improved player in the League.”

While improvement may be measured usually in numbers, Jason Miller’s rapid rise has been measured in both numbers and influence on the floor. Surprising to many, the Lions would probably languish in last without him.

Eat. Sleep. Weight-lift. Shoot. Practice. Repeat—six words every Columbia basketball player should live by.