SMU Basketball: Why Kevin Miller is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

The last year has been quite the development at SMU, and things will look far different this upcoming year. After a 20-win campaign in which the Mustangs showed great growth, the program showed little patience by showing Rob Lanier the door, landing former USC coach Andy Enfield back in the offseason. He’s tasked not only with turning this program back into a postseason contender, but leading SMU into much tougher competition as they join the ACC.

With all of those aforementioned changes, it’s not shocking to know that this roster will look pretty different this season. The most prominent returning face is Chuck Harris, a senior guard who averaged more than 13 points a game as last year’s second-leading scorer. Keon Ambrose-Hylton also returns for one final rodeo, though it’ll be a new cast around them, as Zhuric Phelps, Samuell Williamson, and much of that depth has left town.

Enfield and his staff quickly utilized the Transfer Portal to fill all those holes, landing considerable talent from across the country. The frontcourt was strengthened with players like Yohan Traore, a bright young power forward from UC Santa Barbara, and Matt Cross, who recently starred at UMass. Former Oregon shooting guard Kario Oquendo should have decent run in the backcourt while San Jose State forward Tibet Gorener has a chance to shine at the 3. There are a few other offseason additions, though one really stood out among the others.

That standout figure is Kevin Miller, a point guard originally from Chicago who has three years of college basketball already under his belt. He opened his career at Central Michigan, but played just four games in his sophomore season with the Chippewas. Last offseason saw him transfer to Wake Forest, becoming a full-time starter and impressive play maker while averaging 15.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for the Demon Deacons.

Miller enters his redshirt junior year as the new face of another ACC program. His 3-point shooting has been solid, hitting just under 37% of those shots in his career, with the potential to affect the game at every level. He was among the Top 10 in both points and steals in the ACC last season, continuing to grow his potential on both sides of the ball.

There will certainly be a lot of questions as SMU’s coaching staff pieces this lineup together, but there’s no doubt that Miller is at the top of that chart. Despite being their shortest player, he should run the offense and is likely the leading scorer and most prominent presence. We’ll have to see how another offseason of development aids Miller, especially with all these new pieces around him in the Mustangs’ offense, but he has the potential to be an All-ACC guard in the years ahead.

Success will come for SMU this season if Miller is on his game, and that’s not just scoring 20 points a night, but setting up the players around him for success as well. This program quite possibly improved their league and their coaching staff, but do they have the pieces on this roster to make waves right away in the ACC? Does Miller take that next step and become one of the ACC’s top players as a junior?