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Brandon Miller not named SEC Freshman of the Week: Fans, media react
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Brandon Miller was in the headlines all of last week, for wildly different reasons.
First, the Alabama star freshman was mentioned in court as having allegedly delivered a gun to former Alabama player Darius Miles, who then gave the gun to Michael Davis, who allegedly murdered Jamea Harris in a shooting in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 15.
Then, Miller went out and dropped 41 points in an overtime win at South Carolina.
On Saturday, Miller again led Alabama to a win, this time over Arkansas, but he was roundly criticized for his pregame celebration which featured a Crimson Tide teammate patting him down.
All in all, Miller scored 65 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 2 wins last week. Yet, when the SEC announced weekly awards on Monday, Miller didn’t win either the SEC Player of the Week or the SEC Freshman of the Week awards. Instead, those went to Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe and Arkansas freshman Nick Smith Jr., respectively.
Fans and media members took to Twitter to react to Miller not being honored for his big performances on the court:
Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr. earned SEC Freshman of the Week over Brandon Miller.
— Smith averaged 25.0 points and 3.5 rebounds against Georgia and Alabama.
— Miller averaged 32.5 points and 7.0 rebounds against South Carolina and Arkansas.
— Tony Tsoukalas (@Tony_Tsoukalas) February 27, 2023
Wow they didn't even give Brandon Miller Freshman of the Week.
SEC wildin https://t.co/AcIEsF8gTV
— T.J. Walker (@TJWalkerRadio) February 27, 2023
Already planting the seed for Brandon Miller not to win POTY. https://t.co/jROLsbg7jo
— Dave Shumate (@Mach10Sports) February 27, 2023
Brandon Miller was not among the SEC Player of the Week honorees after averaging 32.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this past week.
SEC Player of the Week: Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (23.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg)
SEC Freshman of the Week: Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas (25.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
— Charlie Potter (@Charlie_Potter) February 27, 2023
Hard to view Brandon Miller not winning SEC Freshman of the Week after scoring 65 with 14 rebounds over two games (winner produced 50-7 and lost to Alabama) as anything other than the league distancing itself.
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) February 27, 2023
Brandon Miller won’t win another award all year. Alabamas PR team working overtime again to make sure he’s not in the media https://t.co/NDDc6FRuEm
— David Marts (@DavidMarts13) February 27, 2023
Brandon Miller is the player of the week regardless what you think.
Brandon Miller is player of the year regardless what you think.
Brandon Miller is an All-American regardless what you think.
He has earned those titles.
— Nate Oats Burner (@nate_oatsb) February 27, 2023
Clearly, theories are flying on social media after this perceived snub.
What this means moving forward
Alabama is 1 win away (or 1 Texas A&M loss away) from locking up the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament. Miller has been a big part of that.
His on-the-court performance has been impeccable. The situation he finds himself in off the court, though, has not been a good look in any regard.
There’s no specific “character” or “morality” clause in how the SEC selects its weekly awards. In fact, the league has plenty of latitude to make whatever decision it sees fit.
The SEC may have indeed decided that Miller’s off-the-court headlines outweighed his dominant performances on the floor. That’s the league’s right.
Alabama is still trending toward a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tide will be tough to beat in the SEC basketball tournament or in March Madness. Just don’t expect Miller to rack up many more awards from the SEC this year.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
