LUBBOCK, Texas – Former Southern University Men’s Basketball standout Malcolm Miller grew up on the east side of Midland, Texas with his mom, Vickie Gail Miller and four siblings LeRoy Ellis, III., Shamon Miller, Shanna Miller, and Taya Miller.
 
At the age of three, Miller’s dad, Mr. Willie McCoy, introduced him to the game of basketball after purchasing him a basketball goal.
 
“My oldest brother loved basketball,” said Miller. “He liked both women’s and men’s basketball. He would always record the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls games throughout the season. He would set up the camera to record WNBA games on those VHS cassette tapes, and we would watch those all the time, because we didn’t have cable or anything.”
 
Miller was mentored by both his brothers coming up but would practice against his brother Shamon mostly.
 
“LeRoy loved basketball and played but Shamon was very successful in high school and known around the town for his basketball talents,” said Miller. “I used to always play against him in the backyard. He would beat me up and everything but he taught me how to dribble and shoot. He would also make me rebound for him all day and night, and I was not able to shoot until he left the court.”
 
Miller played basketball all the time coming up but began participating in organized basketball in the third grade around the age of nine at the Boys and Girls Club in Midland.
 
“I was up there at the Boys and Girls Club in an open gym session with my brothers one day and coach David Jones approached me about playing basketball for them,” said Miller. “My dad heard about it and approached my mom about coaching me on the team. We won the championship twice.”
 
Miller stayed focused playing for his father from the third grade to the sixth grade. Miller participated in both basketball and football while making a name for himself throughout the city.
 
In seventh grade, Miller attended Alamo Junior High School where had to compete in every sport.
 
“Out here in Midland, it is really a football town,” said Miller. “In order to play one sport, you have to play all of the sports. I had to play football, run track, and play basketball, but basketball was my thing.”
 
Being one of the taller kids at that time everyone in the town wanted Miller to focus solely on football because of his athletic ability. Although Miller did not want to compete in football and track he did well in both sports.
 
Miller competed in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump, while running the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and the 200-meter hurdles. He stayed consistent with competing in multiple sports through the tenth grade.
 
“When I was there at Alamo Junior High, we won the championship in basketball each year,” said Miller. “All kind of D-1 schools were sending me offer letters for football when I was in the ninth grade, but I really did not want to play football.”
 
Miller decided to stop competing in other sports when he made it to the tenth grade to focus solely on basketball.
 
Attending Robert E. Lee High School (Midland Lee), Miller started on the varsity team. They made it to the regionals his freshman season but were eliminated in the semi-final game. Miller began receiving more recruiting letters after playing well during his sophomore campaign.
 
Miller’s junior and senior seasons went well also as his team captured the district championship both seasons but could failed to advance in the playoffs. Texas Tech, TCU, Texas A&M, and several other D-I institutions recruited Miller his senior season but he hadn’t heard of Southern University until he arrived at junior college.
 
“When I was 16 I got into some trouble with the law and ended up going to juvenile detention for three weeks for hanging with the wrong crowd,” said Miller. “This is why I was not able to go D-I straight out of high school so I had to go the junior college route and this is also how I found out about Southern.”
 
Once Miller got was released from juvenile detention he was initially denied his spot back on the team and was informed that he would have to earn his spot back.
 
“I had to run with weights over my head, do extra things after practice such as push-ups, sit-ups, etc.,” said Miller. “When I was 17, I had my son Ka’Marion Miller as well.”
 
Once he arrived at South Plains Community College Miller began making better decisions for his future, focusing on his craft and family.
 
“Going to junior college was actually one of the smartest decisions I’ve made,” said Miller. “A lot of kids do not know about JUCO sports and just want to go play D-I ball, but JUCO helps develop you for Division-I ball.”
 
During Miller’s freshman year he played well with his team making it to the playoffs and receiving an invite to the Top-100 JUCO players’ camp. Miller averaged double-digit points per game during the camp and caught the eye of a Southern University recruiter.
 
“My sophomore season, we were stacked with great players at my JUCO,” said Miller. “We went 36-0 the entire season and won the championship, but before the 28^th game that season, I was kicked off the team for failing a drug test. I was ranked as one of the top three shooting guards/small forwards in the nation in JUCO at this point before getting kicked out of school.”
 
“I started staying with a great friend Braxton Maxwell at the time. He let me stay with him to finish up my associate degree. Mr. Hank Panola who was my assistant coach/mentor, helped me out a whole lot. He would give me work, work me out in the mornings, and make sure that I was able to finish school.”
 
Panola introduced Miller to SU’s assistant basketball coach, Ryan Price upon his completion of junior college. After the summer Miller began his journey at Southern. Arriving on campus in Baton Rouge in 2012, Miller was shocked that the school was an HBCU as well as filled with such a great atmosphere.
 
During the first week of practice Miller quickly came to the conclusion that he was not as well equipped as he thought he was for D-I basketball.
 
“I was working out all summer, so I thought that I was ready for whatever the coaches threw at us the first week of practice,” said Miller. “He stated to make the team, we would have to run eight miles, sprint drills, etc., so it was different. I really thought that I was in shape, but I found out quick that I was not. All the players were telling me that coach Banks did not play any games, but I came to love him till death. He was like a father figure to us.”
 
“Coach Banks wanted us to come in, become greater players but an even better man. Coach Banks is a man that always looks to build you up and he does not mind getting on your tail when you are doing wrong. You could not be fake around him and I just wanted to bust my butt to go hard not only for myself but for him as well.”
 
Before junior season started, Miller fractured his thumb playing pick up ball with a few Louisiana State University (LSU) basketball players during open gym so he ended up earning a role off the bench during his first season with the Jaguars.
 
Miller averaged 50% from beyond the arc and over 50% from the field, while being one of the top reserve players in the nation. At the end of the season, Miller earned SWAC Newcomer of the Year Honors and was named to the All-SWAC First Team. His team won the regular season title as well as the conference tournament championship that season. Miller was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 16 points per game.
 
“That junior season was possibly what helped propel my professional career,” said Miller.
 
After college, Miller practiced with the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans, but neither team opted to sign him but he was granted a chance with a G-League team. He decided not to play in the G-League and instead decided to go play in Luxenburg, Europe.
 
“First season in Europe, we won the championship and I won MVP of that league,” said Miller. “I averaged like 23 points per game in that league so that helped me receive more notice. I moved up to another league in Hungary, Europe.”
 
After playing a year in Hungary Miller worked out with the Celtics and played with their G-League team, the Maine Red Claws.
 
“That season, I had like eight National Basketball Association (NBA) players on my team,” said Miller. “Teammates such as Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Jordan Mickey, Jalen Jones, Ryan Kelly, and Abdel Nader, so I had to bust my butt to stay on the court playing behind these guys.”
 
At that time Miller was disappointed for the lack of playing time received during his stint with the Red Claws. Always putting in the extra work, Miller decided to go back overseas to Canada to play ball in St. John’s New Brunswick with the Rip Tide.   
 
“That season we made it to the playoffs after I averaged 18 points per game but we lost in the second round,” said Miller.
 
Last season before the COVID-19 swept across the world Miller played basketball in Brazil for one of the top six teams in the country. He is currently signed with Corinthians Paulista in the city of South Paulo.
 
“Back home during the summer, I am hosting skills camps with the youth in and around my community,” said Miller. “I’m always going back to my high school to help and talk with the basketball players there. Since I live here in Lubbock, Texas I’ll go over to Tech to play open gym with the guys there and dropping the younger guys knowledge.”
 
“When I can go back to Southern, I just like giving them advice and playing in open gym with the guys. Help them develop and gain confidence with their game and being able to play against a former/professional player. My dream is to eventually go back to Southern, and maybe become a mentor/assistant coach but right now I am still young so I enjoy playing ball for now.”
 
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.
 
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
 
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