I apologized to Deyishon Miller today.
When I am wrong, I try own my mistakes. At the core of the Black Cager Sports mission is helping talented student-athletes transition to college. West Philadelphia HS senior guard, Deyishon Miller is one of the more talented basketball student-athletes in the Greater Philadelphia region. Until I walked in the St. Joseph’s Prep gym today, I never heard of him. That’s my fault…
I should’ve been aware of the young man’s presence on the Philadelphia basketball scene. I have to thank my good friend, Amauro Austin, for the tip. We were discussing West Philadelphia’s recent road victory over Bonner-Prendie and I asked Amauro, “Is Bonner bad or does West Philadelphia have some guys?”
Amouro replied, “It’s my understanding, West Philly has a couple of guys.”
Over the years, I have come to realize that Amauro is like a hungry Pit Bull looking for a bone in the park when it comes to talented, yet unheralded, basketball prospects. For example, he introduced me to Charlie Brown while he was toiling away in relative obscurity at George Washington HS. When he suggests that I take a peek, I always move the curtain to the side and take a hard look.
Based on his statement that West Philly has some dudes, I made my way down to see the Speedboys play a very young and talented St. Joseph’s Prep team.
One of West Philly’s dudes, Deyishon Miller, put on a magnificent display as the rapidly rising Public League team defeated it’s second consecutive Philadelphia Catholic League team on the road. Miller scored 36 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, shot 16-17 from the free throw line and drained 5 3-pointers.
Miller is a very fluid scorer who gets buckets in a variety of ways. Standing 6’4” and coming in at a solid 210 lbs, he is a very good athlete with excellent lift and explosiveness. He is able to pair his athleticism nicely with a quick first step to consistently blow by defenders and attack the basket off the dribble. His leaping ability also makes him a lethal cutter and transition scorer, taking very little time to load up and bounce.
Miller is a confident dribbler with a knack for creating space, especially when it comes to his step-back jumper. He’s a shot creator in every sense of the term. Miller can score from all three levels, he demonstrates an ability to operate as a pick-and-roll ball handler and an off-ball scorer. Miller also exhibits very good vision and playmaking ability.
The tallest player on West Philadelphia’s roster, defensively Miller was matched up against 6’9” 240 sophomore center Tristen Guillouette. He did an outstanding job defending the post. He was able to hold his position and keep Guillouette off the boards Offensively, Miller played point guard for the Speedboys. He did an excellent job controlling the pace of the game and keeping his teammates involved.
The West Philadelphia Boys Basketball Program has done an outstanding job developing Miller. He consistently makes the correct basketball play. Low-mid D1s, PSAC and CIAA schools need to make their way to West Philly’s gym as soon as possible.
Deyishon Miller is a solid college basketball prospect. Now that the Speedboys have started the season with 2 convincing wins against solid Catholic League teams and he’s posting “Oscar stats”, people will start to take notice.
Again… I apologize for not knowing Deyishon Miller until today… Now that I know him, so will every low to mid D1 and D2 coach in my rolodex.
Absolute scholarship level player!
The Black Cager 