When Brandon Miller chose to play basketball at Alabama coming out of Cane Ridge High School in Antioch, Tennessee, it was clear the Crimson Tide felt like home. He grew up nearly 250 miles away from Tuscaloosa, just outside of Nashville, but bled crimson and white his whole life.
That's because his dad, Darrell Miller, briefly played football at Alabama back in the day. It isn't the reason Miller, a five-star recruit, ultimately landed in the hands of coach Nate Oats. It certainly didn't hurt.
Now that he's wrapping up a storybook yet controversial season for No. 4 Alabama — one that includes an SEC Player of the Year award, and police saying he supplied a murder weapon to a former teammate, an incident that Oats downplayed as "wrong spot at the wrong time" — it's time to meet the man who first introduced him to the Crimson Tide. You'll likely be seeing a lot of him as Alabama makes a run in the NCAA Tournament.
Brandon Miller's Dad's Brief Alabama Football Career
Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images
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Google his name, and you won't find much on Darrell Miller. He was only on the Alabama football roster in 1991, when the team went 11-1 and finished fifth in the AP Poll under Gene Stallings. Miller didn't see much time, as he redshirted.
Darrell had a son at the time, Darrell Jr., and he decided to stop playing football and dedicate his time to being a father. He moved to Nashville in 1991. Brandon was born in 2002. Darrell Jr., by the way, wound up playing basketball professionally in Hungary and Vietnam.
Their family — which includes sister Britany Miller and mom Yolanda Miller — grew up watching Crimson Tide games in Tennessee. And while Brandon fashioned his entire room in Alabama colors and logos, it was Oats who was the reason he came to Alabama.
"From the jump, it was never, 'I want to go here because of my dad or anything,'" Brandon told TuscaloosaNews.com. "A talk with the coaches really brought me in here. I don't really know why my dad came here, but I know the reason I came here. The reason I came here was really because Coach Oats took the time out of his life to contact me every day of the week."
Added his father: "I didn't talk him into going to the University of Alabama. I wanted to give him a choice. But in a way, I kind of instilled it in him when he was born."
Miller has an entire support system rooting for him at Alabama. The 6-foot-9 potential NBA Draft lottery pick also has all the talent in the world, and he is a driving force behind Alabama's incredible season.
It's safe to say Brandon Miller will forever be remembered in Crimson Tide lore, regardless of what happens come March Madness.
