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Conestoga's Jerry Miller finds second home at Penn State Greater Allegheny

07/07/2021, 10:00am EDT
By Jeff Griffith

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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Jerry Miller and his family are a tight-knit group. 

Naturally, it was fitting that the 6-foot-3 guard and Conestoga grad and his family — for non-basketball reasons — were headed out to western Pennsylvania together when they decided to stop in at Penn State’s Greater Allegheny campus for a quick visit. 

A boy dribbles a basketball

Jerry Miller (above) will head out to Penn State Greater Allegheny to become the first collegiate student athlete in his family. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

The main impetus for their trek to the opposite side of the Keystone State surrounded Miller’s brother, Deshaun Evans, who’s been involved in dance “basically since he was born,” as Miller put it. Evans had a dance event that just happened to be in the nearby vicinity of Penn State’s Pittsburgh-area campus. 

“The ride up there was pretty nice,” Miller said. “It's next to Pittsburgh, so it was about three, four hours out. There's a lot of scenery.”

Miller had other options to play basketball at the collegiate level, but having one in-state and not too far from the most important people in his life made the decision much easier; not long after his family’s visit to the school, he officially committed to take the next step in his career at Penn State Greater Allegheny. 

“I'm the first person in my family to be going as a student athlete for college,” he said. “So, it was kind of exciting for everybody. There was just a lot of love and support. And once they heard that I was going to be staying closer to home, I think they loved that decision a lot.”

That said, as much as they may have preferred it, Miller’s family made sure to avoid pressuring him to stay close to home.

Miller said the decision to do so was made on his own accord, and while he’s thankful for the independence and unconditional support he received throughout the process, he’s glad to be staying put in his home state.

“They gave me a lot of freedom and were very supportive throughout the whole thing,” Miller said. “My dad said, ‘Go to where you feel is right, no matter how far, how close, just go to where you feel is best.’ And my mom, of course she wanted me close to home, but she also said the same thing — just wanted me to do the best thing.”

"Family's very important to Jerry,” said Mike Troy, head coach at Conestoga. “I know that a big priority of his is not only school and basketball, but making sure everybody in his family was really important to him.”

Beyond Penn State Greater Allegheny being his option nearest to home — Miller said his other top choice was Vermont Tech in Randolph, Vermont — it was also where he felt most at home and most comfortable. 

His visit hit all of the major points — academics, housing, athletic facilities and more. He was able to speak with coaches and counselors alike, all of which gave him confidence in Penn State Greater Allegheny as his best choice prior to his commitment to attend. 

“I really thought that PSU Allegheny would be my best choice,” Miller said. “It’s a smaller campus than most, so when I got there, I felt like, ‘Okay, this could be somewhere I could relax.’ Big campuses don’t scare me, but I like the cozy feeling of a smaller one. And the people I met were very nice.

“I met a few campus police as well as some guidance counselors there,” he added. “And my tour guide was really cool… I really just liked everything about it.”

Just like Miller, Penn State Greater Allegheny head coach Daryn Freedman is, in a sense, brand new to the program. 

His hiring was announced on October 6, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Penn State University Athletic Conference’s decision to cancel fall and winter sports for the 2020-21 school year, he’s yet to coach his first game at his new institution. He’s taking over a program that, in its most recent season, went 21-10 and reached the USCAA Men’s Division 2 championship game.

So, as Miller noted, the player-coach relationship between the two will take some extra getting used to on both sides. But from what he’s seen so far, Miller has taken a liking to Freedman as his next head coach.

“I liked the coach,” he said. “We were talking for a little while during the season, he was telling me how much he liked my game, where I could improve, and I always like being challenged by my coach, so I kind of took a liking to him right away.”

Having seen him grow during his four years of high school, Miller’s former coach had high praise for his work ethic and attitude, traits one would expect to serve Miller well as a student-athlete.

"With Jerry, you could see, if anybody was down, he'd be the first guy to try and go pick them up,” Troy said. “He'd do whatever the team needs to do to win, but he also did a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff as well, which was key to our success.”

Miller plans to major in communications, with hopes to one day parlay that degree into a career in sports media. On his campus visit, he had the opportunity to check out the student radio station, and hopes to get involved “as soon as possible.” 

Wherever Miller’s college career and beyond take him, his family will surely be at the forefront of that experience. 

“I love these guys with all my heart,” he said. “I wouldn't trade them for anybody else.”


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