Jim Larranaga raves over impact of Jordan Miller

Miami‘s 88-81 victory over Texas Sunday night in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament was highlighted by the play of Hurricanes’ guard Jordan Miller. Miller’s effective offense helped lead the Hurricanes to their first Final 4 appearance in school history, and after the game, Miami head coach Jim Larranaga spoke his the impact.

“I’ve said it all season long, he’s the most underrated player in the country because he’s good at everything,” Larranaga said. “In the summertime, he had a 7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in practices. Seven to one. That’s ridiculous. That’s better than any point guard I know.”

You couldn’t have asked for a more efficient performance from Miller on Sunday if you were a Miami fan. Miller scored 27 points for the Hurricanes and didn’t miss a single shot on the night, shooting a perfect 7 for 7 from the field and 13 for 13 from the free-throw line. Miller added three rebounds and a pair of assists to his stat line, and became the first player since Christian Laettner to score 27 points on 100% FG and 100% FT in the NCAA Tournament.

His offensive impact versus the Longhorns was obvious, but Larranaga also applauded Miller for his effort on the defensive end of the floor, where he had a block and a steal on the night while also playing some pesky on-ball defense.

“He can rebound. He defends all different-sized guys. Today he was switching ball screens at the end and keeping the guy in front of him. Last week he guarded Indiana‘s center Trayce Jackson-Davis, did a fantastic job on him,” Larranaga said.

Miller was the Hurricanes’ second-leading scorer this season behind ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong, but took over the reigns of the offense after Wong had just two points on two shot attempts at halftime. Miller has scored in double-figures in all but four games this season, and chose a perfect time to notch his career high in a Miami uniform.

“He can shoot the three. He’s great at driving. Straight line drive, dribble drives. He makes all of his free throws. He is a great, great player. Simple,” Larranaga said.

Miller transferred two Miami in 2021 after four seasons at George Mason. And ironically, Larranaga also ed George Mason to the Final Four as their head coach in 2006. The Patriots reached the Final 4 17 years ago thanks to an overtime win over No. 1 seed UConn, as Larranaga and Miller will look to beat those same Huskies on Friday for a trip to the national championship game.