Mark Miller, '25

Gaining confidence in yourself as an athlete is extremely vital to the success of your game. Miller spoke about how he found that confidence in his freshman year at Ascension Episcopal School, when there was a match against district competitor, Westminster, where multiple starting seniors were out and he was called upon to fill their role and compete on the court. This was his first-ever appearance on the court at the high school level, but that did not seem to bother him much, as he racked up 15 points against boys who were 3 and 4 years older than him. Even though he got to play in that game, as soon as the seniors were healthy, they easily replaced his position in the starting lineup. This upset Miller because he knew that he was better than his older teammates, but was too small and inexperienced at the high school level to make a bigger impact. His sophomore year was one to forget, as the same issues occurred: having good basketball IQ and skills, but too physically small to play against the bigger guys. He said he continued to push every day in training and working out in the gym to assess the issue with size, going to his local gym “every morning before school hitting the weights, shooting free throws, practicing short cone drills, stretching, cold plunging, and doing everything I needed to do to keep my body in shape.”

Going into the summer of his junior year, Miller decided to branch out in an attempt to find people who were on the same path as he was, and he found friends at the Episcopal School of Acadiana. He emphasized that academics were big and that he knew he would find future career success if he came to ESA because of the rigor and standards that students were held up to. The decision was easy for Miller in deciding to switch to ESA the following year.

Finding a groove at a new school is difficult for most students because they are leaving friends behind at the other school, some of whom they have been friends with for their entire lives. But for Miller, it was a relief. “I hadn’t even started my first day at ESA and I was already invited to social events outside of school by my ESA friends,” he said. “I did not realize how much of a difference this would make for my future happiness in life.” Although he was finding his place socially, he was still determined to become a better basketball player. Unfortunately, since he was switching to a school outside of his house district, he would be ineligible to play for the entirety of his junior year. Miller knew this before switching schools, but decided to switch anyway because it gave him the perfect opportunity to focus on his academics and build team chemistry from the sideline. “I decided to look at it in a positive light. I would get to spend more time on my academics, and then just put more time into myself. Sometimes I wouldn't have to go to faraway games, and I could do extra studying for a test or get extra work in with basketball, like personal work, because that's a big thing,” Miller said when asked how he felt about not being able to play immediately upon arrival at ESA. 

The Falcon’s basketball team lost to JS Clark Leadership Academy in the State Semi-Finals last year, a heartbreaking loss for the previous seniors. Miller knew from the moment that the final whistle blew, that it was now his moment to shine and lead the team because he would be eligible to play the following year. “Honestly, I was sitting in that locker room, and as much as I was going to miss {Seniors} Jacob, Javion, and Miles, I was thinking to myself, wow, now I am going to step up. I want to make this my team. I want to be that guy. I want to take over.” From the final blow of the whistle in the semi-final game until the summer, Miller was set on being the best basketball player and leader he could be. Week in and week out, he could be seen shooting and dribbling, working on performing his craft. As this might sound similar to his previous years, his work ethic and his standard to get better were obvious. But heading into his senior year was slightly different; he had to work on his craft, but also make sure the rest of the team worked hard as well as he was assuming captain duties for the following season. It was the perfect setup for a great season, but it seemed too good to be true. It was. Halfway through June, during practice, he went up to rebound a layup and landed wrong on his left knee. He would later figure out that he had torn his ACL and would be out for the rest of the calendar year. 

When the news broke, he was heartbroken knowing that he had put in so much effort to be the best athlete he could be for it to be temporarily thrown away, but possibly for good. “And, man, I just broke down. It was so heartbreaking to come off not playing a year and then just finding out that this happens to me,” Miller said. He knew that rehabilitation was going to require patience and determination to get through it, as ACL recovery is not a walk in the park. Knowing that this would be a long and difficult process to get through, he set a goal for himself to be fully healthy in 4.5 months, with 6 months being the usual recovery timeline. He beat this goal and got back on the court training after only 4 months of rehab. When asked about what this meant to him, Miller stated, “I think what that shows is hard work does pay off. If I wasn't going to be there and present, I wanted to show my team that if you put in the effort, then you can achieve what you want to do.”

Miller spoke about how he would not have been able to get through recovery as fast as he did if it weren’t for the help and guidance of his father, Tim Miller, and the moral support of his friends. He emphasizes that his dad would never let him quit regardless of how he felt or acted. For example, during Miller’s sophomore year, he was not getting a lot of playing time due to older players who were more experienced and physically larger combined with the poor coaching staff at Ascension. But his father made him go to every single home and away game no matter if he knew he was going to play or not. “I'm really happy about that, even if it felt like a waste of time because it taught me how to stick with things, and I think that's important in life in general,” Miller stated.

Looking into and preparing for the future as the season has already begun, Miller puts it plainly, “I’m ready. I'm ready to go hoop. Man, it's been way too long. Way too long indeed.” As we speak, he is getting cleared to participate in all athletic activities. This is a huge step for Miller because of the long-awaited journey to recovery. He says that he “will bring immediate success to this team and get them on a winning streak,” as the Falcons have a 4-6 record currently without him on the court. He assures everyone that he will bring the energy to the lineup and create the spark to a burning flame. With leadership and integrity in mind, his goal for the team is to go positive in games, alternatively meaning a winning record. On the other hand, his personal goal is to break the school record for most three-point shots made in a game, 9. “I've had my eyes on that since I got here,” Miller says. “That's ultimately what I want.” He plans to continue his exceptional work ethic and exhibit his enthusiastic personality to his friends and teammates.