Ben Miller disappointed no one in his first season with the Axemen. The 18-year-old was inserted into the starting lineup from the start, and despite a few times when he looked like the freshman he was, he showed unusual poise, playing a demanding position at point guard.
“I knew I had the talent to start, but it’s a big transition from high school, so you never know,” Miller said. “The coach put me in the starting lineup right away, and it stayed that way.”
Playing, and starting, in all 20 regular season games for the Axemen, Miller averaged 9.3 points per game. He was fourth in the conference in both three-point shooting (42 of 114) and three-point shooting percentage at 36.8. He made 85.7 per cent of his free throw attempts (24 of 28), was 10th in the conference in assists with 61, had 88 rebounds and 24 steals.
“I was happy at times with my season,” he said. “Some games I played really well, and other games I felt I underachieved. A big thing for me next year will be to work on my consistency.”
Miller was named the AUS Rookie of the Year for men’s basketball and made the CIS All-Rookie team.
“I mastered the learning curve fairly well,” he said.
Different ball game
There were still some major changes playing university basketball compared to high school.
“The physicality and the intensity could be overwhelming at times,” he said.
Miller, who grew up in Winnipeg, started playing basketball when he was in Grade 1 or 2.
“I played multiple sports when I was young, but by about age 14, I had dropped everything else in favour of basketball. It was my decision. I liked a lot of sports, but I decided basketball was the one I wanted to get serious with,” he said.
Miller played on the provincial team in his native Manitoba, and in the summer of 2013, was chosen to play on the national junior team.
“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “Representing your province is a great thing, but getting to represent your country is something else altogether.”
Off to Acadia
Miller was heavily recruited by a number of university coaches, including then-Axemen head coach Steve Baur, who he said “did a really good job” of recruiting Miller at the time.
Miller had narrowed his choice down to Acadia, Victoria, Carleton and Manitoba. The latter would have meant being close to home, “but I wanted to change things up a bit.”
On his recruiting trip to Acadia, “I liked the town a lot, and I decided a change in scenery would be good for me.”
He admitted to having “a little bit of second thought” when Baur left Acadia late last summer.
“He left late, which didn’t give a person much time (to explore any other options),” Miller said.
Ultimately, his decision was to remain at Acadia, and he has no regrets over his choice.
“It’s a great place,” he said. “I think I probably would have come to Acadia anyway.”
He has enjoyed playing for head coach Kevin Duffie, who he says has a lot of similarities to Baur in his coaching style and philosophy.
Trying new things
Miller said he has always been a point guard, but he appreciated the opportunity to expand his experience by playing off the ball some during his first year at Acadia.
“I played primarily at point guard with the national team, but I got to play off the ball, too. It takes some of the pressure off, which is good, too,” Miller said.
He plans to try out for the junior national team again this year.
“I have one more year (of junior eligibility) left. Then I’ll have to try out for the senior team,” he said.
“It’s obviously a goal of mine to play with the senior national team someday.”
Nor is he content to stop there. Once he is finished at Acadia, “I’d definitely like to be able to play professionally.”
Miller is enrolled in an Arts program, and said he is planning to major in either history or sociology. He also plans to do a four-year degree in five years, allowing him to fulfill his five years of basketball eligibility. He isn’t sure what he would like to do with his degree, however.
“My only plans for the future right now are to attempt to play professionally.”
Although the Axemen finished the regular season with a disappointing 5-15 record and didn’t qualify for the AUS playoffs, Miller is excited everyone on this year’s roster is eligible to return next season, and is planning to do so.
“I think it’s good that everybody will be back,” he said. “We should be ready to go right off the bat. We won’t have as many new players, and we won’t have a new coach.”
With the 2014-2015 season already over for Acadia, albeit somewhat prematurely, Miller is already looking forward to the fall, and his second season with the Axemen.
“The team is looking really promising for next year,” he said.
