Stephen A. Smith says Brandon Miller should not have played vs. South Carolina, credits mental toughness

Alabama freshman Brandon Miller played in the Crimson Tide’s game against South Carolina on Wednesday, days after public revelations that he had ultimately transported the gun used in a Jan. 15 shooting that resulted in Darius Miles — another Alabama basketball player — getting charged with capital murder. ESPN analyst and commentator Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think he should’ve played.

There’s still questions to be answered about what, precisely, happened on Jan. 15, but Miller released a statement via his attorneys effectively stating that he unwittingly delivered the gun — which belonged to Miles — and the shooting started moments after his arrival on the scene. Whether his role in the shooting that left Jamea Harris dead was incidental, Smith doesn’t think Alabama should’ve let Miller keep playing after the public revelations.

“I want Brandon Miller to think about this: You didn’t pull the trigger. You didn’t shoot anybody. And It’s important to say that. But it’s also important to say this: If you didn’t have that firearm to provide for Darius Miles and the person that he was with, a 23-year-old young lady, probably, would still be alive,” Smith said. “And to think about that, and for you to have anything to do with that, is something that should make it very, very difficult for you to sleep at night. As opposed to pumping your chest at people who were booing you.”

Smith was making reference to the South Carolina crowd and their Miller-specific chants. During a 41-point performance against the Gamecocks, including a game-winner in overtime, Miller was quite animated at times.

Smith continued: “They may have been excessive in terms of saying ‘Lock him up, lock him up.’ Because you didn’t pull the trigger and according to law enforcement in Alabama, you committed no crime. But as a young man and as a human being, you brought a gun to a teammate, that ultimately was used to kill a 23-year-old innocent young lady, seconds later. That is something that I that I think the Alabama program and Brandon Miller himself should’ve wanted to avoid cameras, for. In that particular situation.”

Smith did, however, note that Miller’s performance might be viewed positively by pro evaluators. He was nominally projected as a high lottery pick prior to the news of his potential involvement in a murder, but barring criminal charges, his projection seems to be holding firm.

“I will applaud Brandon Miller the basketball player, from the standpoint that to be, to endure what he was enduring last night, and to go out there as a freshman and to put on that show on the road. Absolutely showed a level of mental toughness that I believe NBA scouts, people on the next level will look at. Assuming there’s nothing that comes from this from a legal perspective, for him, they’ll look at that level of mental toughness and find a way to applaud that,” Smith said.