How TCU basketball’s Emanuel Miller transformed his game to become one of Big 12’s best

When Emanuel Miller arrived at TCU in 2021 from Texas A&M, he had been a productive but undersized big man for the Aggies.

Fast forward three years later and not only has Miller become a legit wing scorer, he’s playing at a near All-America level. On Tuesday, he helped keep TCU off the NCAA tournament bubble with a 21-point, 11-rebound performance in a road win at Oklahoma State.

TCU coach Jamie Dixon says Miller’s improvement has been a sight to see over the last few years.

“He was a 5 at A&M, we gradually got him to a 4 last year,” Dixon said. “Now he’s a 3, both decision-making which is hard to do and a 3 defensively which is hard to do. When I say 3, I mean wing, I consider him a wing now.

“We played him there at the wing some last year, but I don’t know if he was defensively what you needed to be from the wing. Now he is and his assist-to-turnover ratio is the easiest way to explain that.”

A 5 is considered a center and it’s extremely rare for a 6-foot-7 player to make the NBA playing the position. 6’7 is big enough to be a four, a power forward, in college basketball, but still on the small end professionally.

For Miller to live out his dream he had to become a 3, a small forward, like a Paul George, Kawhi Leonard or Jayson Tatum.

He took on the challenge and now Miller is averaging a career-high in points, assists and steals while still shooting nearly 40 percent from 3 on 2.5 attempts per game, also a career-high. He’s also the team’s leading rebounder with six.

The continued maturation of Miller may not have happened if Miller didn’t opt to return to school after a solid 2022-23 season. Miller was honorable mention All-Big 12 season, but knew there was more he could do in the best conference in America.

“That’s one of the main reasons I came here,” Miller said. “At A&M that’s how I was used a little bit, but transferring here to this system, we play a lot of four out, one in. Not only has (Dixon) been able to teach me a lot of things that I’ve been doing on the court, he’s also helped my teammates in that same aspect.”

Miller has made it a point to show love to his teammates whenever he’s asked about any individual success or accolade. It’s helped him continue to earn the respect of his teammates and those around the program along with what he does on the court.

Against Oklahoma State, the Horned Frogs trailed by as many as 17 in the first half. And while Avery Anderson kept the team afloat with 12 first-half points, it was Miller that delivered the final blow with 14 points and seven rebounds while playing all of the 20 minutes.

Perhaps the most underrated thing about Miller’s game is his relentless motor and the effort he plays with every night.

“We lost back-to-back games, it’s hard losing at home,” Miller said about losses to Iowa State and Cincinnati. “You want to secure those wins and we needed to get our first road win, road wins are huge in this league and we just wanted to get the job done.”

The intangibles are what sets apart talented players from productive ones and one of Miller’s strengths is his coachability.

Dixon isn’t afraid to coach his players hard and Miller is the type of player that understands that it comes from a place of love and that it’s also a sign of how much Dixon believes in him.

That’s just one more reason the star player and veteran head coach have such a strong bond. Dixon says there are many players that try to make the same transition Miller did with much different results.

“It’s usually not done, there’s usually a failure rate waiting to happen,” Dixon said. “He’s worked at it, he’s played hard. I don’t know how much he played in high school, but he completely changed his game. The biggest thing for me is those guys guarding on the perimeter.

“Even last year while he was shooting the ball 40 percent from 3, defensively on the perimeter he was not great. He’s good now, he guards the dribble and the shooters better on the perimeter.”

Another challenge that Miller faced was having to take a bigger leadership stake in the team. Last year, Mike Miles Jr., Damion Baugh played those roles, but it’s Miller’s turn now.

While the Horned Frogs returned virtually their entire roster in 2022, the program had to implement five new transfers into the mix this season with three (Ernest Udeh, Avery Anderson and Trevian Tennyson) all earning starting roles.

Somebody needed to be the one to bring all the pieces together and Miller had through his actions on and off the court.

“His leadership has grown, he has this want to win,” Micah Peavy said. “You can just see his poise and it’s like he’s been here before, you can just tell how much he’s worked in the off-season and continues to work right now.”

Expectations were high for Miller entering the season as he became just the fourth player in TCU history to earn preseason All-Big 12 honors. Would he be able to live up to the standards set by Miles and Kendrich Williams?

Having scored the fourth-most points in the conference so far, the answer to the question is an emphatic yes. He scored 27 points in a win over a top-10 Oklahoma team and a few days later hit a game-winner to sink previously ranked No. 2 Houston.

He outscored Big 12 leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr. on the road at Kansas and scored 29 with another buzzer beater in a win over Georgetown in December.

His desire to join his brother Leonard in the NBA is part of his motivation, but another that fuels the Canadian forward is his love for TCU.

“I’m blessed to be present in this moment,” Miller said. “Ever since I came here my heart turned purple and I’m just beyond thankful to be there.”

As Miller continues to put together an all-conference season, the TCU community is surely thankful he decided to stick around one more season.

The Horned Frogs play at Baylor on Saturday at 3 p.m.