Buffs Soph Miller Turning Heads On Court

BOULDER — At a recent Colorado basketball practice, CU sophomore Tory Miller took a pass in the low post, turned to his right, then whirled back to his left and dropped the ball over a defender into the basket.

Two possessions later came the same move and same result; then a drop step along the baseline and another basket, along with a couple of rebounds.

This is not the Tory Miller CU fans saw as a freshman. This is a leaner, more muscular and more explosive Miller, a player CU fans will see much more of this season — and they will almost certainly like what they see

The 6-9, 240-pound Miller showed glimpses last year of what he was capable of doing. While he averaged just 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, an 11-point, 13-rebound game in a triple-overtime win at USC and a 10-point, seven-rebound effort in a home win over Washington State were indications of his potential.

But what's become clear in the first three weeks of CU's practices this season is that Miller is much closer to that potential than he was a year ago.

Gone is about 25 pounds of body fat that's been replaced by 15 pounds of muscle. Better nutrition, better sleep habits and an offseason of lifting weights, combined with a summer of speed and agility work, have turned him into what CU coach Tad Boyle called “without a doubt our most improved player.”

When asked about the transformation, Miller laughs. It's been no joy ride.

“My offseason stunk,” he said. “Straight up. But I knew I had to make some changes physically, so I did. I think I lost about 25 pounds from where I started, and I've put back on about 15 of it thus far. … I realized I had to make a lot of changes, diet-wise, lifting wise, sleeping habits, everything. I switched up my whole schedule.”

Miller realized he had to make the changes soon after starting practice a year ago.

“I came in and thought I was pretty well ready for college basketball, athletically and physically,” Miller said. “In high school, it was easy to just move people with that extra weight and not necessarily have to run the court. I could just bully everybody in the halfcourt.

“But once I got to college, especially in this conference — the Pac-12 is a running conference and we're definitely not a halfcourt team. I had to make that change if I wanted to play.”

Boyle said Miller's dedication to making the change made the difference.

“James Hardy (strength coach) has done a great job with Tory and Tory has done a great job in the weight room,” Boyle said. “Laura (Anderson), our nutritionist, has done a great job in terms of talking with Tory about what to eat, when to eat, sleep habits — all those things, and Tory has taken that to heart.”

The result is a more explosive Miller who still has the the wide body necessary to do battle in the paint.

“He's still a strong, wide-bodied, big-boned guy, but he's running the floor, he's moving his feet,” Boyle said. “He's much more explosive and his post move — he's got some bounce.”

Miller attributes that to his summer of agility work.

“I've gained a lot in that regard,” Miller said. “I can do a lot of second-jump things, first-step jump things. I can guard multiple positions now much better than I could last year. I put in a lot of work this summer.”

The Buffs have two experienced big men up front in senior Josh Scott and junior Wesley Gordon. But the Buffs will also be counting on Miller to provide some quality minutes on a regular basis.

“Absolutely,” Boyle said. “And quite frankly, last year coming into this year, I wasn't sure. But in the first 15 practices, he's separated himself in terms of where he was last year and his role to where he is this year and his role. He's going to be a big part of what we're doing.”

Miller isn't ready to worry about playing time. But he is ready for the Nov. 13 season opener against Iowa State in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“I'm just excited about every day that I get to come in here and play,” Miller said. “To get out here with the team and be a part the cohesiveness among one another is something I enjoy.

“But am I excited for the season? Yes. I cannot wait until Nov. 13.”