Miller relishing moments as college career winds down
With her college basketball career nearing its end and a professional career in her plans, Quay Miller has taken some time to contemplate what life would be like without the game.
“It’s just exciting to see what my future could look like,” she said. “I’d probably be a principal or go to culinary school. Something for sure helping people. Or cooking of some sort.”
It’s a fitting response for a young woman who, in addition to being a great player for the Colorado women’s basketball team, has built a reputation for helping others and being a great human off the court.
“She’s just meant so much (to the program),” CU head coach JR Payne said. “She’s one of the most unselfish, loving human beings I’ve ever known and she’s just been a huge part of our success.”
On Saturday, the 13thranked Buffaloes will honor Miller and five others during the annual Senior Day celebration ahead of their matchup with Washington State.
Jaylyn Sherrod, an alltime great point guard for the Buffs, headlines the list of seniors, while guards Maddie Nolan and Tameiya Sadler, center Charlotte Whittaker and walkon guard Sophie Gerber will also be honored.
Each of the six has a unique story, including Miller, a 6-foot-3 forward who didn’t start her career at CU but couldn’t be happier to end it here.
“I like the Buff nation,” she said. “They’re very welcoming and I’m happy to be a part of them.
“I love our fans, and I love my fans. I like to see them when I’m playing and I like to see them when I’m out and about.”
Coming out of Kentridge High School in Renton, Wash., in 2019, Miller was recruited by Payne and assistant coach Alex Earl, but chose to stay close to home and play for Washington.
A key reserve as a freshman, Miller started every game for the Huskies as a sophomore, averaging 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. In the 2021 Pac-12 tournament, she and Sadler were pivotal in the 11th-seeded Huskies’ surprising 68-54 upset of No. 6-seeded CU, ending the Buffs’ hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament.
About six weeks later, Miller and Sadler made the decision to transfer to CU. Miller has never regretted her choice.
“I think that was just very critical, especially understanding what I wanted,” she said of transferring. “I think that when I transferred, I still didn’t really understand what I wanted but I knew that I was coming to a space where I’d be comfortable, knowing JR and coach Alex; knowing them since high school, knowing that they still had love for me the same way when they recruited me, even when I didn’t choose to come here to start my career.”
Miller knew something else about the Buffs, too. Although she helped orchestrate an upset of the Buffs, Miller had two losing seasons in Seattle and the Huskies were about to start over with a new coach. CU, meanwhile, had upset No. 1 Stanford in that 2020-21 season and then made a run to the WNIT quarterfinals.
“They were one of the teams that knew how to compete,” Miller said. “I came here with the thought in my mind being like, ‘This is literally one of the only Pac-12 teams that has beaten Stanford,’ and to me that just spoke volumes to the culture and the mindset of Colorado,” she said.
“So, yeah, I definitely don’t regret this decision.”
In her three seasons with the Buffs, Miller has been an integral part of a growing program that snapped a nine-year NCAA Tournament drought in 2022, reached the Sweet 16 in 2023 and has spent most of this year ranked among the top 10 nationally.