Alabama Crimson Tide star freshman Brandon Miller has finally spoken about the incident that has detracted from his stellar SEC Player of the Year season.
Miller was accused by police of bringing a gun owned by former teammate Darius Miles to Miles shortly before a Jan. 15 shooting in which Michael "Buzz" Davis killed 23-year-old Jamea Harris near the University of Alabama campus. Despite Miller's perceived involvement, he hasn't been charged with a crime because "there's nothing we could charge him with," Tuscaloosa deputy D.A. Paula Whitley told AL.com.
Brandon Miller's First Comments on Bama Basketball Murder
Brandon Miller first comments since Feb. 21 pic.twitter.com/w3WqbqK0Az
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RELATED: Alabama Hoops Star Brandon Miller Brought Gun Used In Shooting, According to Police
Miller briefly talked about the incident with reporters on Wednesday.
"I never lose sight of the fact that a family has lost one of their loved ones that night," he said. "This whole situation is just really heartbreaking. Respectfully, that's all I'm going to be able to say on that."
Alabama head coach Nate Oats was originally asked about Miller and the incident, to which he gave controversial comments:
"It's sad," Oats said on Feb. 21. "We knew about that — can't control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, [Brandon Miller] hasn't been in any type of trouble or is in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time."
He then walked back those comments and apologized, the same night Miller scored a career-high 41 points against South Carolina.
Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images
"I'm not here to make excuses," Oats said. "But I want to make it clear that I didn't have the details from the hearing that morning since I was coming straight from practice and I used a poor choice of words, making it appear like I wasn't taking this tragic situation seriously, which we have throughout the course of it. I sincerely apologize for that. I know (athletic director) Greg (Byrne) shared some information earlier today on the situation and I don't really have anything more to add other than what he's already shared."
Miller and the Crimson Tide are currently in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, as they take on Mississippi State on Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Alabama will play in the NCAA Tournament next week, where I'm sure Brandon Miller will be asked more about what happened on Jan. 15.
