College Career
Miller played college basketball at the University of Utah. He became a starter at point guard early in his freshman season, and remained a team leader throughout his career at the school. In 1998, following the graduation of Keith Van Horn, Miller and Michael Doleac took charge of the team and led the Runnin' Utes to the championship game of the 1998 Final Four. It was during that tournament run that Miller gained national attention.
Utah faced Arizona in the West Regional finals. The Wildcats were defending national champions and the top seed in the region, and thus were heavily favored over the Utes. Arizona boasted an All-American guard line of Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, and Jason Terry, but Miller wasn't intimidated. He single-handedly dominated the Wildcats, totaling 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists in the game. It was just the fourth triple-double in the recorded history of the NCAA tournament. Utah won in a rout, 76-51.
With Miller leading the way, the Utes continued their surprising run all the way to the title game, where they ultimately lost to Kentucky 78-69. Miller was a national star during his senior season (1999), earning First Team All-America honors from the Associated Press, the NABC, the Sporting News, and USBWA. Also, he was named Player of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), in addition to First Team All-WAC and WAC All-Defensive Team honors. He finished his career as Utah's all-time leader in steals (254) and second all-time in assists (721). He left the school with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology.
Read more about this topic: Andre Miller
Famous quotes containing the words college and/or career:
“I had a classmate who fitted for college by the lamps of a lighthouse, which was more light, we think, than the University afforded.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“He was at a starting point which makes many a man’s career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose, with all the possible thwartings and furtherings of circumstance, all the niceties of inward balance, by which a man swings and makes his point or else is carried headlong.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)