#51 Eddie Miller |
6'8" | 225 lbs | Center |
HS: New Rochelle | New Rochelle, NY |
Born: 6/18/1931 | New Rochelle, NY |
Season | Cl | Pos | G | GS | FG | FGA | % | FT | FTA | % | Reb | Fls | DQ | Pts | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1949-50 | So | C/F | 25 | 16 | 88 | 207 | 42.5% | 56 | 110 | 50.9% |
- | 63 | - | 232 | 9.3 |
1950-51 | Jr | C | 27 | 26 | 111 | - | 99 | 140 | 70.7% |
- | 90 | - | 321 | 11.9 |
|
1951-52 | Sr | C | 19 |
19 |
93 |
- |
94 |
134 |
70.1% |
- |
72 |
3 |
280 |
14.7
|
|
Career | 71 |
61 |
292 |
+207 |
--- |
249 |
384 |
64.8% |
- |
225 |
+3 |
833 |
11.7 |
Big Ed Miller was a center for Syracuse basketball for three seasons. Miller came to Syracuse as a very awkward teenage basketball player and was described by Lew Andreas as one of the most improved players he ever had at Syracuse.
Miller started his sophomore year as a reserve off the bench, playing at both forward and center. He would help spell center Bob Savage and forward Tom Huggins. By mid season Miller had earned his way into the starting rotation at the forward position, and eventually he and Savage swapped places with Miller taking the center position. Miller was foul prone, often finding it difficult to maintain time on the court, and he was a terrible free throw shooter his first year. However, his presence helped the Orangemen get to the NIT Tournament for the second time in school history, and he was still the third leading scorer on the Orangemen.
Miller was well entrenched his junior year at the center position. He was still foul prone, but had improved his free throw shooting dramatically, now hitting a respectable 70%, a level he would maintain the rest of this career. He was now an offensive threat for the team, often leading the team in scoring, including a season high 25 in a victory over Colgate late in the year.
Miller was co-captain of the team his senior season with Tom Huggins. Miller would start out his senior season with a bang, becoming the first Orangemen to ever score 40 points in a game, when he scored forty against Canisius on December 1st, 1951. He scored 20+ points in five of the first six games that year. Defenses started to focus on him, and would foul and hassle his shooting; as a result his scoring would drop considerably the second half of the year. He would lead the team in scoring with 14.7 points a game.
Miller was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1952 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Hawks. The Hawks would trade him to the Baltimore Bullets for George Ratkovicz. Miller would play for Baltimore for two seasons.
Season | Team | Pos | G | Min | FG | FGA | % | FT | FTA | % | Asst | Reb | Fls | DQ | Pts | PPG | APG | RPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952-53 | Milwaukee/Balt. | C/F | 70 |
2,018 |
273 |
781 |
35.0% |
187 |
287 |
65.2% |
115 |
669 |
250 |
- |
733 |
10.5 |
1.6 |
9.6 |
1953-54 | Baltimore |
C/F | 72 |
1,657 |
244 |
600 |
40.7% |
231 |
317 |
72.9% |
95 |
537 |
194 |
- |
719 |
10.0 |
1.3 |
7.5 |
Total |
C/F | 142 |
3,675 |
517 |
1381 |
37.4% |
418 |
604 |
69.2% |
210 |
1,206 |
1,334 |
- |
1,452 |
10.2 |
1.5 |
8.5 |
The Bullets would disband after the 1954 season, and Miller would be drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 'dispersal draft'. He, however, would not play again in the NBA.
Miller would have a successful 40 year career in the toy business. [1]
Miller passed away in April, 2014.
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