Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Basketball Inks Eddie Miller in Early Signing Period
11/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - First-year Fresno State men's basketball head coach Steve Cleveland has signed his first Bulldog recruit in highly touted junior college player Eddie Miller (Pocomoke, Md.).
Out of Pocomoke High School, Miller is a 6-2 1/2 and 170-pound two guard who is currently playing for No. 1 preseason ranked Cecil Community College in North East, Md.
Red shirting last season, Miller comes into his sophomore year ranked 41st among the top 65 junior college players in 2006 by JucoJunction.com. While CCC has produced 23 NCAA Division I players in the last eight years, Miller has helped the Seahawks to a 2-0 start this season.
Scoring a combined 41 points, including a 25 point performance to open the year, Miller helped Cecil Community College capture the 2005 Region XX Hall of Fame Tip Off Tournament the first weekend of November.
As a freshman in 2003-04 for the Seahawks, he averaged 18.3 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 28-4 season. Leading Cecil to the Maryland JUCO State Championship title his rookie year, Miller also garnered all-tournament honors as the Seahawks defeated Allegany College (Md.) for the second time on the season. A pair of Allegany's sophomore guards that year would go on to sign with NCAA Division I schools in Dwayne Shackleford (USC) and Sterling Ledbetter (Maryland).
In his first season, Miller shot 46.0% (208-452) from the field and 40.5% (104-257) beyond the arc. The 104 three-pointers made already have Miller ranked among the school's top five career leaders. Averaging 27 minutes of play, he also converted 47 of 63 free throw attempts for a 74.6 free throw percentage and finished his rookie season with 567 points in 31 games played.
While CCC never fell out of the top five in the NJCAA national poll during his first season, Miller was part of a record-setting squad as the Seahawks led the nation in scoring by averaging 104.9 points while holding opponents to 76 points. This was the second time that Cecil led the nation in scoring average as the Seahawks averaged 101.7 points during the 1997-98 campaign.
As a high school prepster, Miller played two full years on the varsity squad and directed PHS to a state title his junior year and a state runner-up finish his senior season. In his two years as a varsity starter for the Warriors, Pocomoke went 51-3. The two-time Bayside All-Conference pick wrapped up his prep career by totaling more than 1,200 points to finish among the school's all-time top 10 scoring leaders.
Miller, who is described as a prolific shooting guard, was recruited out of high school by Florida, Indiana, Providence, Rutgers, Texas, USC, UAB and St. Bonaventure, among others.
"I'm impressed with his work ethic," Fresno State basketball head coach Steve Cleveland said. "He can score in a variety of ways. He's proven to be an outstanding three-point shooter. He's a respectful young man. He is someone who you want to represent the program and the community."
