SANDY — Brighton’s Brandon Miller grew up understanding what Utah basketball can be, and he’s now anxious to help in the rebuilding process. Miller committed to Utah coaches Wednesday night — joining East’s Parker Van Dyke and Las Vegas’ Julian Jacobs in pledging to sign in 2013.
Miller is a 6-foot-2 combo guard who led Brighton to the 5A state finals last season. He had interest from multiple programs but narrowed his options down to Utah and Harvard in the later stages.
Miller’s brother Corbin plays for Harvard, which made the program very attractive among other factors.
“Harvard is obviously great for academics, and I would have had some time to play with Corbin, so deciding not to go there wasn’t easy,” said Miller. “The last few weeks I’ve gone back and forth on which school to commit to, but Utah eventually won out, and I couldn’t be more excited about my decision.”
Miller was able to partake of the excitement the Huntsman Center can generate when he was growing up. He had a friend with season tickets on the third row for Utah’s home games and attended them often.
“I have great memories about Utah basketball, and I’ve always been a big Utah fan,” said Miller. “It’s also exciting to play there with great players like Parker Van Dyke and Jordan Loveridge. I know those guys well, and they’re obviously great basketball players.”
Another big factor in his decision was his confidence in Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak. Through his conversations with his now future head coach, Miller said he could see Krystkowiak’s determination to bring Utah basketball back to where it once was.
“I can’t wait to get there and be part of the rebuilding process,” said Miller. “It’s going to be real exciting and something I don’t want to miss out on.”
Miller will serve an LDS mission, but isn’t sure when that will be. He’ll either leave straight out of high school or play a year before leaving.
Miller committed to Krystkowiak in person, and his decision was met with a lot of enthusiasm.
“Coach K. was pumping his fists and telling me how my decision was just firing him up,” said Miller. “It was great to be there and see that reaction, and it’s going to be great playing for him at the next level.”
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney