Darius Miller ended the season a winner.
The former Mason County and University of Kentucky standout led the Brose Baskets to a three-game sweep of the Ratiopharm Ulm in the German finals. Miller averaged 18 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists and was named Most Valuable Player of the series. Miller also made 16 of 19 shots from long range.
Miller guided Mason County to a state championship in 2008 and ended his collegiate career with an NCAA championship in 2012.
“If I’m in the NBA, I want Darius Miller on my team,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said via a tweet on twitter. “(He) won (a championship) in high school, college and back-to-back as a pro in Germany.”
Miller signed a two-year extension with the Baskets last week and is looking forward to next season.
“I feel more than good in the organization,” Miller said on the team’s web site. “I can continue developing at the highest European level. I am looking forward to two more years.”
Lee lands at Cal
Former Kentucky forward Marcus Lee officially signed a financial aid agreement this week and has transferred to California, where he will play for former Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin.
Lee will sit out next season before becoming eligible for the 2017-18 campaign. Lee visited Washington and toured the Cal campus twice before making a final decision.
“We’re very excited to have Marcus Lee be a part of our basketball family,” Martin said in a university news release. “Marcus brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program. He’s contributed and won at a high level in high school as well as in college.”
Lee withdrew his name from the NBA Draft last month and opted to transfer instead of playing for the Wildcats next season. Lee averaged 6.4 points, six rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game last season.
Calipari named to committee
The NCAA Ad-Hoc committee, formed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches added Calipari to its lineup this week. The committee will give input into NCAA Tournament selection, seeding and bracket placement. Calipari will represent the SEC as a member of the committee.
“I appreciate this opportunity to be on the ad hoc committee, whose mission is to give suggestions to the selection committee,” Calipari said. “We all understand it’s an inexact science and our suggestions won’t make it perfect, we just want it to be better and more transparent for the players so that they know what they’re playing for. I look forward to working with all the other coaches and administrators.”
Additional members of the committee include Bill Cohen (Northeastern University), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Steve Fisher (San Diego State), Mark Gottfried (N.C. State), Bob Huggins (West Virginia), Ron Hunter (Georgia State), James Jones (Yale), Jeff Jones (Old Dominion), Phil Martelli (Saint Joe’s), John Thompson III (Georgetown), Mark Turgeon (Maryland) and Gary Waters (Cleveland State).
Willis arrested
Kentucky senior Derek Willis was arrested last Saturday for public intoxication and spent eight hours in the Boone County jail in Northern Kentucky before being released on a $50 bond Sunday.
According to an arrest citation, Willis was found passed out in the street outside a vehicle on Mountain Laurel Way in Union. Willis is underage and won’t turn 21 until Tuesday. He was charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place. Kentucky officials are reviewing the incident and haven’t released a comment on Willis’ arrest.
Willis averaged 7.7 points and four rebounds a game last season. He blossomed into one of the team’s top performers and started 11 games for the Wildcats. He made 44 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter