Miller commits early to Dinos

By Lethbridge Herald on March 1, 2024.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward Mishynn Miller poses with U of C head coach Damian Jennings after signing her early letter of intent with the team on Thursday at LCI.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

LCI’s Mishynn Miller planned  her post-secondary athletic endeavours early.

The Grade 11 student inked a letter of intent on Thursday to commit to the University of Calgary Dinos women’s basketball team beginning in the fall of 2025.

“Last year at provincials in Grade 10, Damian (Jennings, U of C head coach) had come out to watch one of our games and he noticed me and he actually reached out and that’s what I love about it so much is that he notices,” said Miller.

“He’s the one who reaches out rather than the athlete reaching out to him. He was like very proactive with that which is awesome. Obviously, a great coach and knows what he’s doing.”

She visited the team through the summer.

 “I went up and practiced for a couple of days and they were amazing girls,” she said.

“I fit right in and they’re definitely a  group of girls that I can see myself making connections with and building strong relationships with .”

Her focus  will now shift to improving certain aspects of her game over the next couple of years.

Miller is leaning towards taking Education.

What struck Jennings attention at that provincials was Miller’s assertiveness, great hands with the basketball and the enjoyment of watching her around her teammates.

Jennings talked about the uniqueness of the signing through a story he told to attendees of the event.

“It’s just like where I come from, we have a club model, not an educational-based model,” said Jennings.

“So I’m always trying to find, not that we can always predict it, younger talent, that we can then  say come and join us for a few years beforehand in whatever intermittent ways that looks like, so that when you actually transition to the university level, you’re ready to go. And that serves everyone, right, because she’s now more sublimated into it and we get to know someone and we can help on the skills side of it, and sometimes the high school is a great experience but it’s a big jump to the next level.”

Jennings said she’s a wonderful athlete and she’s primed ready for that from an athletic point of view and now it’s about the basketball piece.

“So it’s just particularly exciting to be able to get a couple of summers doing some work with her and getting her ready to be a Calgary Dino come 2025,” said Jennings.

Jennings hopes to weave her in to more of guard than a forward.

“She has interior skills now, and a presence and a physicality that she’s not fearful of and yeah I think it just suits our basketball very well,” she said.

“It’s less position-orientated and more skills-orientated at this point.”

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