‘Miracle’ helps North build on solid start
Miller leads Blue Devils team that’s on the rise
Jermaine Miller received the inbounds pass in the final seconds of Milwaukee North’s basketball game at Milwaukee Madison on Tuesday night, took two dribbles and let it fly.
The senior guard was just a couple of steps past Madison’s three-point line, some 60 feet away from the basket. He had as good of a look at the flight of the ball as anyone and, during the split seconds it flew toward the hoop, he didn’t like its chances.
“I thought I was going to miss,” he said.
The only thing Miller missed, however, was the rim. From three-quarters of a court away Miller splashed a buzzerbeating three-pointer that lifted North to a 64-61 win on the road.
In a game where players dream of coming through in the clutch with lastsecond shots, Miller forever has a story to tell.
“I was so far back, it didn’t look like it was going to go in,” he said. “It was a miracle. … It felt great. It was my firstever game-winner. It was amazing.”
Consider the moment symbolic of what has been a breakthrough campaign for Miller, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer, and a nice beginning to the season for North, which is off to its best start of Kalombo Kadima’s five years as head coach.
“It’s a good feeling,” Kadima said. “It’s something that is building some excitement in the school amongst the student body and the staff and the administration. We just want to keep building as a program.”
Solid start for the Blue Devils
North, which doesn’t play again until next Tuesday, owns a modest 6-4 mark, but it’s a step up from 2018-19, when the Blue Devils won two games, and 201920, when they had five wins.
And in another couple of weeks the team has the potential to surpass the eight wins North had in Kadima’s first season, 2017-18.
Sparking this season’s success has been a guard-heavy team that pushes the tempo on offense and turns up the heat on defense with relentless fullcourt pressure.
The Blue Devils started 1-4 but own a five-game winning streak, another best of Kadima’s tenure.
Miller has led the surge. The 5-foot-10 guard is averaging a team-high 15.6 points with four rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. During the winning streak, his averages have increased slightly to 16.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
“He’s a quiet leader because he sometimes he won’t be as vocal in certain situations, but his presence is almost like Kawahi Leonard,” Kadima said. “He’s not extremely vocal, but it’s vocal enough.”
Add the size in the post provided by 6-foot-5 sophomore John Adams (14.6 ppg,15.1 rpg) and 6-3 senior Troy Donald (9.4 ppg, 6 rpg), and Kadima believes he has some pieces that could make the team competitive throughout City Conference play.
Miller and senior guard Kenyon Jones (11.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg) are the only seniors who have played every year. Kadima credits both for their work in the classroom, a trait that has filtered through most of the team..
“For these guys to buckle down academically and take care of business in the classroom, I thought was huge for our program,” Kadima said. “I think it’s a testament to how bad they really wanted to get out there and play.”
Miller elevates his game
The COVID-19 pandemic sacked inperson learning and athletics for Milwaukee Public Schools students last season. Miller, however, worked on his game and after averaging 5.6 points as a sophomore has been a go-to player from the start as a senior.
He opened the season with his two best scoring performances, a careerhigh 25 points in a loss to HOPE Christian and 23 in a loss to Dr. Fuller Academy.
“I bring all the energy to the team,” he said. “I bring positivity. I don’t yell at anybody I bring a lot of energy. I bring everybody up. I don’t bring anybody down.”
Tuesday, he finished with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Blue Devils started strong, but Madison climbed back into the game and tied it with about 2 seconds remaining.
With the game apparently headed to overtime, North was on the ropes. One more shot, however, was all it needed.
Few in the crowd knew that the North players play around after practice shooting half court shots all the time.
“They called ‘breaker,’ one of our plays. We didn’t run it right, (but) I was open,” Miller said. “I got the ball, split the double and I had an open shot.”
After the shot fell there there was a split second when it appeared the players had to grasp what happened and then a celebration worthy of a near-full court heave..
North’s players rushed the court. Miller took off, but it was only a matter of time before his teammates caught him and gave him some love.
“I could move. They all ran up on me. I couldn’t do nothing. They all got me,” he said. “I tried to run but they caught me. They grabbed me, put in the air, yelled good shot and all that. It was a great moment.”