By Jamie Plunkett
Frogs Today staff writer
FORT WORTH — Mike Miles Jr. has made his decision. TCU’s star point guard is declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Miles committed to TCU on Dec. 22, 2019, deciding to stay home rather than accept an offer from Auburn, Butler, Houston or LSU. Now, he leaves TCU after helping the Frogs win their first NCAA Tournament game in 35 years.
Whatever comes next, Frog fans should appreciate how Miles helped transformed the program.
Miles finishes his TCU career averaging 14.6 points and 3.5 assists per game. Beyond the statistics, though, Miles brought more eyeballs to the Frogs while helping create a product that was fun to watch. TCU set multiple single-game attendance and student attendance records this season.
The leadership and talent Miles provided the Frogs led them to their second NCAA Tournament appearance in 24 seasons, back-to-back wins over ranked teams for the first time, and of course, the tournament win.
Miles, alongside Eddie Lampkin Jr., Emanuel Miller, Damion Baugh, and Chuck O’Bannon Jr., put together one of the most successful runs in program history, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since head coach Jamie Dixon was a player.
Picking up the reins from Desmond Bane was going to be a difficult endeavor for anyone, but Miles took on as much, if not more, responsibility than even Bane was asked to do. Bane set the expectation that the Frogs would compete, regardless of who they faced. Miles took that one step further, setting the expectation that the Frogs could win, regardless of who they faced.
Now, Miles is off on his next big adventure.
NBA Draft Room lists Miles as the No. 6 point guard and a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. His size will work against him, as he’s just 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, but Miles also has undeniable scoring ability at all three levels, and is a more-than-capable distributor.
While Miles will still have the opportunity to come back to TCU if he goes undrafted, the feeling is that his time at TCU is finished. He’s committed to making the NBA work.
Of course, it was just a handful of years ago that TCU didn’t have a single player in the NBA. Now, Miles has the opportunity to join Bane, Kenrich Williams and R.J. Nembhard in the pro ranks.
With the departure of Miles and Francisco Farabello on Tuesday, TCU has now lost two point guards in two days. The Frogs have one commitment for the 2022 recruiting class, three-star combo guard P.J. Haggerty from Crosby. There’s no doubt that the transfer portal will play a major role in filling the hole left by Miles.
Jamie Dixon showed he was capable of building a team through the transfer portal last year, but now he must replace the biggest piece to leave TCU since Bane.
