Top 5 Brandon Miller Moments

On Thursday, Alabama forward, Brandon Miller decided to leave college early and declared for the 2023 NBA Draft. The five-star recruit from Antioch, Tenn., committed to the Crimson Tide in the Class of 2022 and became the greatest player in the history of the Alabama basketball program. Here are the Top 5 moments of Miller's Alabama career.

No. 5- Michigan State in the Phil Knight Invitational

Before Miller became the talk of college basketball, he was just a highly touted recruit that committed to Alabama. Besides people in Tuscaloosa, the rest of the college basketball world had no idea what to think of Miller or the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide. Luckily for Alabama, the team was selected for the Phil Knight Invitational to play Michigan State.

The Spartans led by head coach Tom Izzo, have been national title contenders for years and have produced multiple NBA stars which includes Draymond Green and Jaren Jackson Jr. In a top 25 matchup, Miller dropped 24 points (the most by any player), nine rebounds, and led the Crimson Tide to an 81-70 upset against the 12th-ranked Spartans.

No. 4- Putting up 36 points against the Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have been one of the most dominant programs of the last decade. Since 2012, head coach Mark Few and the Bulldogs have won nine out of the last ten West Coast (WCC) Conference Titles, gone to five Elite Eights and two Final Fours. Even though the Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide 100-90 in Birmingham, Ala., Brandon Miller put on a show. On national television against a top 15 program, Miller put up 36 points, six rebounds, and shot 54% from the 3-point line.

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No. 3- The Dunk Against Auburn

The Iron Bowl is one of the most famous rivalries in all sports. The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers are two sworn enemies that split the state of Ala. in two. Even though the football rivalry is the famous version, the IBOB (Iron Bowl of Basketball) is rising in importance. With the hires of Nate Oats (Alabama) and Bruce Pearl (Auburn), the basketball meetings between the two schools have become just as important as football. Last year, Auburn swept Alabama in the season series and even brought out brooms to put salt in the wound. Coming into the first matchup of the 2022 season, the No. 3 ranked Crimson Tide was the favorite but Neville Arena (Auburn's basketball arena) has become one of the hardest places to play in the country. Down by one, Miller set the tone for the rest game with a monster dunk that gave Alabama all the momentum. After the dunk, Alabama brought out the brooms and swept Auburn in the 2022 season series.

No. 2 Winning SEC Tournament MVP

The greatest basketball players play best under the brightest lights and this is exactly what Miller did during the SEC Tournament.

The Crimson Tide before the tournament in Nashville was rewarded with the No.1 overall seed in the SEC tournament for having the best in-conference record of 16-2. After earning a bye for the first round, Alabama was slated to play a Mississippi State team that gave the Crimson Tide trouble earlier in the year. Against the Bulldogs, Miller put up 18 points, 9 rebounds, five assists, and led Alabama to the 72-49 win. In the semifinals against the Missouri Tigers, Miller put on another show with a performance of 20 points and 4 rebounds.

Finally, Alabama was slated to play the Texas A&M Aggies for a chance at a second SEC title in three years. Earlier in the year, the Aggies shut down Miller and the Tide by only allowing 61 total points. In the rematch, Miller had his best game of the tournament by scoring 23 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. With this impressive tournament, Alabama won the SEC Tournament, Miller won the SEC tournament MVP and solidified himself as a Top 5 NBA prospect.

No. 1- His performance against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

You may be wondering why Miller's 41-point game against South Carolina would be ahead of his SEC Tournament performances. Not only is this Miller's career-high but during this game, he was under the most pressure of any college basketball player this year.

Days before the South Carolina game, it was revealed that Miller was involved in the Darius Miles shooting and murder of 23- year old Jamea Haris. According to Tuscaloosa Police, Miles contacted Miller to bring him his gun, and being his friend he brought the gun to The Strip. This revelation made many college basketball fans campaign for Miller to be arrested or at least suspended for a period of time. Even though a suspension never came, everyone was intrigued about how Miller would respond.

In Columbia, SC., with students chanting "lock him up" every time he touched the ball, Miller scored a career-high 41 points and eight rebounds. Not only did Miller score a career-high, but he also hit two buzzer-beaters. The first one happened when Alabama was down by two, with 10 seconds left in the game, Miller drove to the paint and made a heavily contested layup to send the game to overtime. The second happened when Miller silenced the crowd and won the game for the Crimson Tide. Tied at 76, with five seconds left in the game, Miller yet again drove to the paint and hit a game-winning layup. Even with the entire arena against him, Miller put on a performance that will be talked about for decades to come.