Hardwood Spotlight: 2015 G Tyler Miller

6'5" 2015 Harlan County guard Tyler Miller is one of the better athletes in his class. Miller won the dunk contest at Rick Bolus' Blue Chip camp and was one of more impressive performers at the camp as well.

Miller averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds per game last season for a Harlan County team that went 25-8. He plays for the Hoop Dreams 16U team for AAU. He's currently not receiving any college interest, although hopefully that will change after the July evaluation period.

I've only seen Miller play briefly at a Hoop Dreams practice. Luckily though Illinois Bears 16U Head Coach Steve Quattrocchi got the chance to watch Miller at Rick Bolus' Blue Chip Camp and he came away very impressed.

"I had the opportunity to coach at Rick Bolus' 34th Annual Blue Chip and left very impressed by 2015 Wing player Tyler Miller. I had never heard of him before Sunday night, but he certainly left his mark at camp. He started the weekend by winning the dunk contest. He showed off his 36" vertical leap and creativity and beat out some really impressive dunkers to take the title.

I was more impressed by my first direct interactions with him on Monday morning during our first set of station drills. Tyler always wanted to be the first to do the drill and helped correct a younger camper who needed some help. For a young man who just finished his sophomore year of high school, you don't see this type of leadership often.

I watched a handful of Miller's games as well as coached one against him and I never saw him take a play off over the course of the week. He was always doing whatever his team needed to help them win. He never complained about questionable officiating and always tried to do what his coach asked of him.

Tyler is a gym rat. I've been told that if they would let him, he would just put a mattress in the locker room and live there year round. You can't teach work ethic like that.

The biggest strengths in Miller's game are his work ethic, a high basketball IQ where he seems to be in the right place all the time, his ability to attack the rim, and his leadership.

He needs to continue to be a gym rat and keep working to get stronger. He projects as a wing player in college and will need to improve his lateral quickness to be able to guard 2s and 3s at the next level. He also needs to start making jump shots more consistently to be able to thrive in college.

In my opinion, some college coach is going to get a steal with Tyler Miller. He is a really good athlete with a work ethic you can't teach and the intangibles to be a very good college player. In my opinion, as long as he keeps getting in the weight room and working on his game, he's going to be the recruiting steal of the 2015 class in KY."

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I also have a nice Q&A that I did with Tyler Miller recently. Check it out:

Q (Donald Yaste) What's your current height and weight?

A: (Tyler Miller) I'm 6'6 180lbs.

Q: (DY) What's your current GPA?

A: (TM) I have a 3.2 GPA.

Q: (DY) What would you say are the biggest strengths and weaknesses in your game?

A: (TM) My strengths are attacking the basket, rebounding, and being aggressive all around. I need to work on my jumper and ball handling.

Q: (DY) What are you working on the most right now to improve your game?

A: (TM) I'm in the gym and weight room every day. I'm working a lot on my handles and shooting.

Q: (DY) How has AAU season gone so far? What tournaments have you won?

A: (TM) I played with Hoop dreams 16U AAU team. We didn't win any of the tournaments I attended.

Q: (DY) How do you think AAU has helped you get better?

A: (TM) Exposure for sure!

Q: (DY) How did Summer ball go?

A: (TM) At the state tournament we made it to the elite 8, where we Lost to Lexington Christian. However, We made a big statement by beating the defending 15th region champs the game before.

Q: (DY) What do you plan to work on to make you and your high school team better?

A: (TM) Just being in the weight room, working everyday to better myself and my team. I can improve my game all around.

Q: (DY) What are your expectations for next years high school season?

A: (TM) Win the 13th region championship! That's my goal for this year. We were runners up this past season. Although we lost 4 starters, I think and our coaching staff thinks we have an even better team than we did the past season.

Q: (DY) What colleges have you heard from?

A: (TM) None. Im hoping to start getting some interest soon!

Q: (DY) What type of music do you listen to to get ready for a game?

A: (TM) Rap/Hip hop. My favorite artists are Wale, Chief Keef, Lil Wayne, Drake, J-cole, ASAP Rocky, Kendrick Lemar, and Mac Miller.

Q: (DY) What's your dream school?

A: (TM) I don't really have one at the moment. I just want to be able to play D1 basketball.

Q: (DY) Who's your dream coach?

A: (TM) I would love to play for Coach Cal or Coach K.

Q: (DY) Who is the best player you've faced

A: (TM) I've played some pretty good competition. Some I've played on a regular basis are Omar Prewitt, Justin Johnson and Shane Hall.

Q: (DY) Who do you model your game after?

A: (TM) I model my game after Kevin Durant.