The Big 12’s New Faces: Baylor’s Quincy Miller

Posted by dnspewak on October 17th, 2011

Quincy Miller: The Essentials

  • Class: Freshman
  • Position: Forward
  • Height: 6’9″
  • Weight: 210 pounds
  • Hometown: North Chicago, Ill./High Point, North Carolina
  • Rivals.com Accolades: #7 overall, Class of 2011 (5-star)
  • High school statistics: 25.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 5.0 APG (2009-10)

Quincy Miller Can Do Almost Anything on a Basketball Court

What They’re Saying

“He is a great, explosive finisher and has a very high basketball IQ as well. Miller can play with his back to the basket or facing it and can knock down shots from behind the arc too. His rebounding and shot-blocking also makes him a playmaker but only when he puts his full effort into it.”

–National Recruiting Spotlight

“Miller, who is from North Chicago, Ill., is an elite player who will be a top NBA pick with development. He has a unique skill set as a versatile 6-foot-10 forward with the ability to dominate a game both inside with his shot blocking and rebounding and on the perimeter with his shooting touch. Right now he is a power forward with the potential to be a small forward and could even play center in a pinch.”

–Paul Biancardi, ESPN

The Breakdown

How good is Quincy Miller? So good that nobody’s even blinked an eye at the ACL injury that sidelined the lanky forward during his senior season of high school basketball. By all accounts, even after a long rehabilitation process, Miller can do it all. The fifth consensus top-50 recruit to choose Baylor during the past five seasons, Miller has even drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant as a hyper-athletic, versatile big man. Miller isn’t a traditional forward, and he admits himself that he’s more comfortable attacking the basket face-up on the perimeter.

He won’t play the same kind of role that Durant did for Texas, though. As strong as Durant’s young supporting cast was in 2006-07, he still took more than 18 shots per game and dominated the offense. In Waco, coach Scott Drew can ease Miller along a bit more. Perry Jones is the star of the Bears, but even as a projected lottery pick, he’s hardly the only option in this frontcourt. Miller will also compete for playing time with seniors Quincy Acy, J’Mison MorganAnthony Jones and sophomore Cory Jefferson.

Even with all of that firepower, Miller is too good to keep out of the lineup. The only knock on him is his relative lack of strength as a forward, as well as his tendency to take his athletic ability for granted. These are not major concerns, of course, or else Duke, Louisville and just about every other school in America wouldn’t have had scholarships lined up for him.  Take a look:

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