GREENTREE -
Keaton Miles came running into the Greentree Sportsplex
Wednesday in a hurry. His game was set to begin in a matter of minutes and
there he was just jogging into the gym after making the journey from Morgantown
to Pittsburgh.
No time for warming up, Miles found himself flipping his
jersey from the black he showed up in to his GNC team's white and immediately
entering the lineup for the opening tipoff.
While Miles was right on the cusp of getting to his game too
late, the rest of his college teammates had not made the trip at all. Miles'
team was off on Monday, but again, no other WVU players were there.
The Pittsburgh Pro Am Summer League is by no means a
mandatory event and among the reasons players had missed included homework and
health concerns, but Miles had no such excuses. He just wanted to play the game
he loves.
"It's just always fun to come out here and play some good
competition, just being able to play your game," the WVU sophomore said after
his team pulled out an overtime win. "Other guys have different situations and
they try to make it when they can. I wasn't doing anything right now, so I
chose to come up here and compete."
Miles, along with just about everyone else in the league,
had the opportunity to showcase his individual talents in the game rather than
play as part of a system.
Oftentimes when the ball got to him, he did not let it go
unless it was directed toward the basket.
Time after time, his arsenal was made up of spot-up jumpers
or a dribble drive past his defender to the hole.
He finished the game with 17 points and nine rebounds on
5-of-10 shooting.
"I wish I had more rebounds," Miles admitted. "That's what I
was trying to focus on tonight was rebounding. My jumper wasn't falling as
much, so I just tried to find a different way to [score] and that was getting
to the free throw line and getting some rhythm."
Miles ultimately got in his rhythm by connecting on seven of
his 11 free throw attempts, but he did miss the front end of a 1-and-1 that
could have helped seal a win in regulation. In overtime, he went to the line
and upon making his first shot, the scoreboard gave his team two points.
One of the opposing players pointed this out, to which an
official replied, "He's automatic."
That may be a stretch, but Miles looked comfortable
penetrating against bigger athletes in an effort to score however he could,
whether on a layup attempt or from the line after getting hacked on his way up.
"It's always fun to compete against different faces and not
always try to bash your teammates in practice and in open gyms," says Miles.
"Competing against each other is fine, but to actually go beat up on somebody
else is always fun too."
That competition outside of the WVU practice facility helps
Miles gain confidence as he sees his game working against other college
players. At the same time, he knows he has a lot of work to do before his
athleticism and the things he does to exploit players in this league translate
to the work he does in head coach Bob Huggins' system.
As a freshman, Miles started in 30 of the team's 33 games,
but averaged fewer minutes than six of his teammates and finished with just 1.4
points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
For a player full of confidence coming out of Lincoln High
in Dallas, Texas, it was very much unlike the season he had envisioned for
himself.
"Last year was more mental than anything. I took probably
two, three shots in the game and that wasn't even my role at the time. I really
wasn't as comfortable," he says.
Conversations with the people who had his back through it
all, like his father and WVU associate head coach Larry Harrison, told him to
continue fighting and refocus himself for what he could do to improve in year
two.
"We said, okay, we can reflect on that. Let's leave that in
the past. Don't forget that, but let's move on and progress," says Miles. "I
can't go back into that mindset and that mentality of being passive and not
being able to shoot the ball. I think I'll be more aggressive and try to be
aggressive for the better of the team."
Miles sees a far different level of athleticism for West
Virginia this year when he looks around the gym in practice and believes his
role, as with many others on the team, will change significantly from a season
ago.
Another change that is evident in seeing Miles these days is
the size he has put on in the offseason, making him a far more imposing
presence than he was as a freshman. Listed at 205 pounds on the team's website,
Miles says he doesn't want to share his weight until the season starts because
he has a goal in mind, but one he isn't willing to disclose just yet.
His experiences from a freshman year that fell short of
expectations are pushing him each day since that campaign ended back in March.
They push him to make the drive up to Pittsburgh each week and
they will continue to push him until he finally has the opportunity to get back
on the court and prove himself as a sophomore.
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