Former Redskin basketball star Angela Miller has just signed with Armstrong Atlantic State University on a basketball scholarship.
Miller has a decorated past with BCHS. She is widely considered to be one of the top reasons the Lady Redskins made it to the state competition during her 2001-05 tenure. The Lady Skins went to state three out of the four years she was on the team. Two of those years they made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. All of this was with her father Johnnie Miller as the coach.
After graduating, Miller accepted a scholarship offer to attend Pearl River Community College in Mississippi. After Katrina devastated the school and the area, Miller evacuated and moved further east where she signed a scholarship deal to attend Florida Community Junior College in Gainesville, Fla.
After this past school year, Miller decided to move closer to home. AASU Coach Roger Hodge welcomed her with open arms. He pursued her when she was graduating, has kept up with her progress at the prior schools, and said he is happy to have finally signed her to his Lady Pirates team.
"Angela is the most versatile player we have signed in this class," Coach Hodge said. "She has good size for a guard, passes well, has three-point range and can handle the ball, seeing the floor like a point guard. Her father, Johnnie Miller, is one of the most respected coaches in the area and has taught his daughter well. Angela has the ability to play all three perimeter positions and will be a valuable asset to Lady Pirate basketball. More importantly, she is a person of great character and will represent our program well."
Miller was a second-team All-Mid Florida Conference honoree this past season. She averaged 7.6 points per game this past year and 15.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in her final year at Bryan County High School.
She follows in the footsteps of AASU Athletic Hall of Famers Yolanda Oliver (1991-95) and Sonia Oliver (1994-98) as Lady Pirates who played for Bryan County under her father’s tutelage. She acknowledges these past players, among others, as inspirations to her. She said she is trying to follow in the footsteps of some of the many players she has seen that have successfully come through her dad’s program since she was very young, such as Frances Williams, Angelica Rivers, Natasha Miller, Shameka Gaines, Latrell Smith, Becky Adams and Janice Dixon.
"It feels great to be joining the team at Armstrong," Miller said. "I just really wanted to come home so my family could attend more of my games. They have a great program here too."
Coincidentally, Miller will be joined at AASU this coming season by her teammate from Florida and Hinesville native Alandris Griffin which she is excited about.
Angela has been active in basketball since she was very young. She said she was heavily influenced very early on by her dad Johnnie, who retired from BCHS last year after a highly successful 33-year coaching stint with the Lady Redskins.
"Basketball is in my blood," she said. "Sometimes I feel like I’m getting tired of it, but I just can’t stop. It’s a part of me."
"I’m real proud of her," said Johnnie Miller. "We’re all excited and I really think she’s going to help the whole team. Their attendance may go up as well, as Angela and Alandris really drew a crowd in Florida after people saw what they were capable of."
Angela started attending basketball camps at the tender age of six. At the age of eight, Hendrix Park officials deemed her to be too advanced for the girls rec team she was on and moved her to the all-boys team.
Her tenure at BCHS also included a state title in track for the triple jump. She had a competitive streak against former boxing champ Evander Holyfield’s daughter Yvette where one year Yvette got the title with Angela taking it the following year.
Johnnie Miller beamed with pride when speaking of former protégés and AASU hall of famers Yolanda and Sonia Oliver. Not only is he looking for Angela to make that same impact on the college, but he is hopeful this will enhance the university looking to BCHS for future stars. "I look to present and future Bryan County basketball players to sign with Armstrong and follow in their footsteps," he said.