No. 2 Alabama escaped an upset scare on the road from South Carolina with a 78-76 win in overtime thanks to a career-high 41 points from star freshman Brandon Miller on Wednesday. It was a highly competitive game from the jump with nine ties and nine lead changes in regulation with no team leading by more than seven points, but despite the level of play, the story remains focused on Miller, who performed at an elite level under the highest levels of scrutiny.
Police testimony revealed Tuesday tied Miller to the scene of the crime when former teammate Darius Miles and another man, Michael Davis, were arrested after 23-year-old Jamea Harris died in a campus shooting in January. AL.com reported that the findings included Miller bringing the gun to the scene of the crime and receiving text messages from Miles referencing the weapon.
Authorities have indicated there's nothing Miller can be charged with in relation to the killing, and university representatives — along with his legal representatives — have continued to boast his full cooperation with the investigation. So with clearance from the law and his school, Miller took to the court on Wednesday and turned in the best performance of his young career.
Miller's 41 points came on 14-of-25 shooting with a 7-of-8 showing at the free-throw line and included both the game-tying shot in regulation and the game-winning shot in overtime. It was a spot where Alabama did not have its best form defensively, but Miller continued to get the buckets needed to keep the Crimson Tide in the game.
Alabama AD explains why Miller was active
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne joined ESPN's College Gameday Podcast with Rece Davis and Pete Thamel on Wednesday, just hours before the game. He stated at the time that he expected Miller to play and explained the university's position in response to the new information tying Miller to the killing.
Byrne plainly stated the position of the athletic department as not trying to "do the job of investigators" and taking the position of full cooperation with the process. That's led to situations like this week where Tuesday's revelations from the hearing were also followed by a statement from Miller's lawyer on Wednesday, discussing the fact that Miles had been texting Miller for "close to an hour" asking for a ride home and Miller "was not involved in the collection of the weapon."
"Although we are not investigators, we do have a duty to evaluate whether anyone involved has violated the rules, policies or standards of the university. We make that evaluation based on facts. We found some new facts yesterday, we found out some new facts today," Byrne said. "Here's what we know: Brandon Miller was not there for the verbal altercation. Brandon was already on his way to pick up Darius when Darius texted him. Brandon never left his vehicle and was not involved in the collection of the weapon. The shooting occurred just seconds after Brandon arrived. Brandon is a fully cooperating witness, and is not a suspect."
