The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FRANCO Miller’s Crestwood Prep debut was just as good as advertised.

The highly sought after recruit for the class of 2018 is spending this season at the prep school in Toronto, Canada, before he makes the leap to the collegiate ranks and was a high scoring team leader in their first preseason tournament.

Miller averaged over 20 points per game and led Crestwood to a 3-1 finish at the Father Henry Carr Early Bird Classic.

He opened with 22 points in a win over Thornlea Prep and followed with 21 points in another win over the Central Tech Blues.

The 6’2” guard spent much of the summer playing under coach Ro Russell for the Grass Roots Elite Club where his performance on the AAU circuit garnered offers from several Division I programmes.

Russell was hired to head the programme at Crestwood in 2016 and Miller followed suit.

Crestwood will make its transition this year into the National Preparatory Association for the 2017-18 season.

The programme will be tested right away as Crestwood will compete in the Southeast Division against powerhouse programmes such as St Michael’s College, Toronto Basketball Academy, and Central Tech Prep.

Miller’s play on the AAU circuit has attracted official offers from Montana State University, the University of Wyoming, St Bonaventure University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. There are also several other programmes that have expressed interest.

His most noteworthy performance came at the Fab 48 Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July where he averaged over 20 points per game with Russell’s Grass Roots Elite Club. In a 77-71 loss to BTI Select he scored 23 points, added five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

He also had 22 points, five assists, four rebounds in a 74-70 win over the Simply Fundamental Basketball Club.

At the local level with the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons, Miller had a season filled with accolades highlighted when he was named as the Most Valuable Player of the 34th Annual Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic. His 27 points led the Falcons to a 58-52 win over the CI Gibson Rattlers. He also led the Falcons to a Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Sports Association senior boys’ title and finished as runners-up in the second annual Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships.