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Connecticut Huskies Land Graduate Transfer Shonn Miller

By Chris Godfrey

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The Connecticut Huskies went from the National Championship in 2014 to the National Invitation Tournament in 2015. It was a dramatic and humbling drop-off for the Huskies, but it has spurred a flurry of activity as they look to rebuild their roster around their returning talents. The next piece to the puzzle comes in the form of graduate transfer Shonn Miller, who comes with an Ivy League degree in tow after finishing his undergraduate classes at Cornell.

Miller did a fine job of balancing the books and his hoops while with the Big Red. On the court, he was one of the Ivy’s best, scoring close to 17 points and pulling down more than eight rebounds per game en route to All-Ivy honors. While he was more of an inside presence at Cornell, he likely projects to play a bit of small forward with UConn as well as featuring inside. He’ll bring his scoring ability, but also a sense of toughness to the position. It will be interesting to see if improving his three-point shooting becomes a priority during the off-season. Though he made 28 long balls last year, he shot an unacceptable 26% from deep. Developing consistency with his shot would make him an even more dangerous weapon for his new head coach, Kevin Ollie.

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Interestingly, Miller’s decision to transfer was not up to him. The Ivy League, which often plays by a different set of rules when it comes to its athletes, does not allow graduate students to participate in varsity athletics. Therefore, Miller was actually required to seek a transfer in order to use his final year of eligibility. A shoulder injury robbed Miller of his 2013-2014 season (Cornell went 2-26 without him). To complete his career at Cornell, Miller would have been forced to withdraw from school in order to maintain his undergraduate status for the next season. According to this New York Times piece, it’s a measure that has been taken in the past. Miller continued classes while injured, keeping him on track for graduation and creating this current situation of free agency that has led him to Connecticut.

With Miller now in the fold, he fills out a lineup that will include highly touted incoming freshman Jalen Adams (ESPN #24) at point guard. Daniel Hamilton, a potential lottery pick, will play on the wing along with the emerging Rodney Purvis. The frontcourt will be anchored by an extremely talented player in Amida Brimah. Miller will either be slotted next to Brimah in the starting lineup as an undersized power forward, or coming off the bench as a sixth man backing up both forward positions. Either way, his impact will be the versatility and depth that he brings to the front line.

Miller has been hailed as one of the best players available in this year’s transfer market, which means heightened expectations come with his arrival. Next year’s team now has clear expectations. Anything less than the NCAA Tournament will be an unacceptable result. Regular season and postseason tournament titles in the American will also be on that list of expectations.

After a disappointing national title defense, UConn is now fully reloaded with the addition of Miller, and they’ll be hoping he’s a key component that leads to a return to national prominence next season.

Next: Where are the Top Unsigned Prospects Going? (Part 2)

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