Senior Macy Miller

by Michele Schmidt, Assistant Sports Information Director

When you ask South Dakota State senior Macy Miller if she's changed since her freshman season in 2014-15, she laughs and says, "Yes, most definitely."

As one of the most decorated student-athletes to wear the Yellow and Blue, you might think she's talking about her basketball game. You'd be right, but she's here to tell you she has also changed into a young lady.

"When I was in high school, I always wore sweats and my hair in a ponytail," she said. "I never wore makeup. Now, I love putting on mascara, and I wear it during games, too."

Miller, who thinks she's turning into her mom, is a fan of all things dealing with running a household.

"I've done a total 180 from high school. I never dressed up in high school. I didn't do a lot of cooking or a lot of laundry. Now that I'm in college, I love dressing up. I love cooking and I love doing laundry. That stuff doesn't bother me anymore. I love it. I laugh all the time that I'm turning into a girl. I get my nails done all the time. It's a total 180. It's crazy," she laughed.

While you won't find Miller starring on "America's Next Top Chef" anytime soon, Miller has found time to develop her cooking gene.

"I love cooking. I'm a one-pot cook. I love looking at Pinterest and finding meals. Making pasta is my favorite; casseroles, too," she said. "I've started following Clean Simple Eats. The website has healthy recipes, and it tells you what to make each day. It gives you a healthier version. I'm in love with it. It's so easy to make the recipes.

"I'm slow with cutting; I'm probably using the wrong utensils. I use what I think is beneficial. A lot of times my food is for myself, but sometimes I will cook for my roommates or friends. I think it's good, but others might not."

Such significant changes for South Dakota State's, and hopefully The Summit League's, all-time scoring leader. But what about on the basketball court? What's left?

"I pulled up my freshman year on Synergy a few weeks ago … I just wanted to watch it. It's crazy to see how different I was. I was smaller and thinner," she recalled. "I was driving to the basket with my head down with people on me, just like in high school. I've just developed from that. I'm smarter. I have my head up, knowing that if I have two or three people around me, someone has to be open. I am a smarter player when I drive to the basket. I have my head up. I think my passing has even developed, too.

"Also, in high school, I barely lifted. Mike (Jewett) would call me the human skeleton. I have muscle now. I've worked on my agility and my strength and that has helped a lot," she continued. "I improved in my power clean, and something shocking, my bench. When I had the knee injury, I worked on my arms and my arm strength and that helped."

The 3-point shot was also missing from Miller's game as a rookie. But now as a senior, she is one of the most accurate shooters this season, sinking 44.4 percent of her shots.

"I was in eighth grade and I was playing varsity. My first ever 3 was a set shot. I caught it, set it and shot it. It was high. My dad and sister would make fun of me, 'Gee, you just about shot it into the rafters.' They always make fun of me about that. I didn't shoot it much," she recalled. 'When my dad and I were working on my form, we'd joke that I didn't shoot many three's, but he wanted perfect form rather than how far I could shoot it. When I came to college, that's when I needed to add it to my game.

"Freshman year it was Carissa (Thielbar). She came in freshman year and laughed at my shot. She's back for my senior year and it's the same. I'm still doing individual workouts with her and still working on the same thing, the 3-point shot. We talk about how it has added to my game."

As accomplished as Miller's game is, she admitted that her biggest weakness is defense.

"I know from my freshman to sophomore year it was my defense. It was a big transition coming from high school. You are learning all these different defensive sets. You have to get up and deny, and everyone is faster," she said. "I'd say taking charges, too. He (Aaron Johnston) always jokes about that. I've taken two charges in my whole career. Whenever I take one, I start smiling because I haven't taken many at all. I never feel like I'm in the right place or I try to go for the block, which is what he doesn't want us to do."

With Miller's season winding down, she reflected on the upcoming changes after SDSU and basketball.

"It's so hard to think about it. My life has been about basketball, basketball. It's coming to an end," she said. "I've talked about job opportunities with my brother. He works with Tri-State Ambush Basketball, a basketball program in Sioux Falls, and he wants me to help him with that. Being a strength coach, being a graduate assistant here at South Dakota State. It's all these ideas I have up in my head, but I've never really sat down and thought about it all. I'm going to have to someday."

Miller has also thought and talked about playing in the WNBA or overseas.

"We've (AJ) talked about both. It's hard to plan anything with the WNBA or overseas because you can't do it until the end of the season. I don't know if people are looking at me. I've gotten invited to a couple of pro camps so people can look at me. It would be fun to play in the WNBA or overseas.

"Minnesota Lynx are my favorite team. They are good every year and they are close to home. I'm a homebody. That's why going overseas scares me, but it would be fun to experience it. You have to experience it once in your life, so why not now? Something different," she said.

Just like her fellow seniors Madison Guebert and Sydney Palmer, Miller is a little nervous about what comes next.

"It's time to move on. You're in your fifth year; I'm 23. I feel like I'm ready to move on, but there's also a sad part. You're done with college. You're done representing the Yellow and Blue. It's been so fun here, and the fans have been great. It's scary. You have to go out in the real world on your own," she said with a smile.

This story ran in the March 2 version of The Bum, South Dakota State's official Jackrabbit basketball program.

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