Alabama freshman star Brandon Miller had a career night on Wednesday as questions and debate continued to swirl around his role in delivering a firearm used in a fatal shooting.
In a game many thought he shouldn’t be allowed to play in, Miller scored a career-high 41 points on 14 of 25 shooting (6 of 13 from deep) with eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in a 78-76 win over South Carolina in overtime.
This included a basket to tie the game at the end of regulation and send it to overtime, then a winner with 0.8 seconds left in OT.
The performance came a day after it was reported that Miller delivered a gun to former Alabama teammate Darius Miles, which police say was later used by another man, Michael Davis, to kill 23-year-old mother Jamea Harris in a late night shooting. January.
Miles, who was promptly fired from Alabama, and Davis face capital murder charges. Miller, however, has not been charged with a crime, as Tuscaloosa Chief Assistant District Attorney Paula Whitley said Tuesday, “We can’t blame him.”
Miller’s attorney released a statement earlier Wednesday saying, contrary to initial reports, Miller never saw the gun left by Miles in the backseat of his car or handled it, but became aware of it. when Miles asked him to bring it after asking Miller to pick it up. .
Alabama management later decided that Miller would not be suspended or face school sanctions either, allowing him to play on Wednesday. Facing a hostile South Carolina crowd and a supportive ESPN stand, Miller was booed just about every time he touched the ball and saw a chant of “Lock him up” at one point:
Nate Oats apologizes for his “poor choice of words”
One of the main reasons Miller’s story was so successful was a press conference with Alabama head coach Nate Oats shortly after the news broke on Tuesday during which the coach mitigated the situation by saying that Miller was in the “wrong place at the wrong time”.
Oats found himself apologizing for that comment and more in a statement on Tuesday evening, then apologized again while speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s game:
“I’m not here to make excuses, but I want to make it clear that I didn’t have the hearing details that morning as I was coming straight from practice,” Oats said. “I used the wrong choice of words, giving the impression that I didn’t take seriously this tragic situation, which we have throughout this one. I sincerely apologize for that.”
It won’t be the last time Miller and Oats tackle shooting this season, especially with 24-4 Alabama on course for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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