Darius Miller compares Billy G, Coach Cal and Mark Pope

Maysville’s own Darius Miller had a unique Kentucky basketball experience suiting up for both Billy Gillispie and John Calipari, starting with the Wildcats in 2008 and finishing in 2012. His career began with an NIT and coaching change before finishing with the program’s eighth national championship, truly seeing the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Now, he’s back in Lexington and gets to keep a close eye on his alma mater with Mark Pope taking over as head coach, regularly attending practice as a fan.

What is the difference in all three, seeing or being a part of each era?

Under Gillispie, Miller averaged 5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 21.2 minutes per contest while the Wildcats went 22-14 on the year. If he could do it all over again, he wouldn’t change a thing — “I wouldn’t have made a different choice,” he told KSR on Friday, adding that he “loved the chemistry” he had with Patrick Patterson, Jodie Meeks, Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson, among others.

Billy G’s “delivery was off,” as he described it, but “he knew the game of basketball.”

“He was a more of an old school guy, just, ‘We’re going to outwork all of the teams, we’re going to be in the best shape, we’re going to be the strongest, the fastest,'” Miller told KSR. “That was his mentality and approach. He had some good X’s and O’s to put with that, so he wanted us to feel like we’re in better shape than everybody. The practices reflected that.”

Then came Coach Cal, where “a lot changed” and “it happened so quick.” He decided, though — along with Patterson, Harris, Stevenson, DeAndre Liggins and Josh Harrellson — running it back with the new staff in Lexington was the right call.

“Different system, different personality, different batch of talent,” he said. “It was a lot of adjustments to be made, but the guys that returned, we felt that was the best situation for us. That was the best situation for us to get better, and that led to us staying.”

How did those practices differ from what he saw the season before under Gillispie?

“With Coach Cal, those were very competitive practices,” Miller told KSR. “Very competitive because we had the talent to do so. Us going against each other was a lot of times more difficult than the game we were going to play at the end of the week. Setting up the practices for everything to be extremely competitive, pushing each other with kind of an iron-sharpens-iron mentality.”

He’d average 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds as a sophomore, 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds as a junior and 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a senior and a key piece of Kentucky’s national championship run in 2012. That allowed him to become a second-round draft pick before carving out a nine-year pro career with six seasons in the NBA.

Now, he gets to keep his distance and come and go as he pleases as an alum, watching the next transition unfold from Coach Cal to Mark Pope.

First, though, what was his take on Calipari’s move to Arkansas?

“Oh, man. I was hurt. I was hurt, I’m not gonna lie,” he said. “I mean, I understood it, you know what I mean? Everything comes to an end and he wasn’t gonna be here forever, so I totally understand that. But I have a lot of love for Cal and I understand the program wanted to go in a different direction and start over. I think the hire that they chose was a great hire.”

What’s the difference between now and then, Pope vs. Cal?

“I love Coach Pope, I do. I love his approach to the game — I think he’s a genius when it comes to basketball. … With Coach Pope, I feel like it’s really technical,” Miller said. “The game’s changed a lot since back in the day — now, you have analytics and a lot of different things that go into the game. I can just tell and see his approach, he treats it like a science. Everything is very intentional.”

Darius Miller talks about the differences in practices under Kentucky coaches Mark Pope, John Calipari, and Billy Gillispie.

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Both systems were player friendly, depending on how you looked at it — Miller loved playing for Calipari and would have loved suiting up for Pope, too. One way isn’t right while the other is wrong, they just have different approaches and styles.

Coach Cal let the elite talent rock out while Pope puts players in position to succeed. You can win games both ways.

“There was a lot of freedom inside of Cal’s system, and that allowed you to see some of the greatness of John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, Jamal Murray, the different guys that could express themselves on the court,” he said. “Coach Pope, everything is down to the minor detail, but it puts you in a good position to showcase your game inside of a structured environment, you know what I mean? Two different approaches, but I would enjoy playing for them both.”

With a year removed from the coaching change and his guy now in Fayetteville with new blood in Lexington, where does his allegiance lie? The former Kentucky Mr. Basketball and KHSAA state champion in 2008 at Mason County only bleeds one color.

“I’m rooting for Kentucky,” he told KSR. “I love Cal, I wish Cal all of the success in the world, I do. But I’m a Kentucky boy. I bleed blue. I’m a Kentucky boy.”

Great answer, Mr. Miller.