ASU’s Hurley: Adam Miller ‘lit up the gym’ after news of temporary eligibility

Amid the transfer portal changing the collegiate sports world, rules in place to somewhat contain the consistent roster swapping hit a snag for the Arizona State men’s basketball team this season.

LSU transfer Adam Miller, a four-star recruit that originally spent one season with Illinois before the last two years with the Tigers, was denied to play this season due to being a second-time undergraduate transfer. Miller had to apply for a waiver to play this year under the case of if an injury or a mental health condition caused him to transfer, a process the NCAA tightened up in January.

His eligibility was denied, but a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday that will have Miller eligible to play on Saturday against TCU.

Head coach Bobby Hurley confirmed to Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta that’s the plan, with Arizona State having one more game in that window on Dec. 20 versus Northwestern.

“We brought Adam Miller in because he’s a really good player, he’s a good person,” Hurley said. “He had numerous hardships over the last 18 months at LSU and we felt like he had a very strong case for his mental health. That was the reason (for the appeal).”

Hurley said Miller’s practice on Wednesday was his best of the season.

“He lit up the gym just because of the news when he heard about it,” Hurley said. “Just how he went about his business, you could finally see relief in that kid so it was really great to see that.”

Miller will be a welcome presence for an Arizona State team that needs shooting. Hurley focused on that as the main skill Miller brings, noting Miller was a player Arizona State projected to replace the likes of D.J. Horne and Desmond Cambridge, two perimeter scorers who could fill it up from deep.

In Miller’s two seasons played across two schools, he attempted 6.1 3-pointers a game and shot 32.6%. Arizona State as a team this year is shooting 30.6% from range, a number that ranks 279th in the country.

Miller’s future the rest of the season is unclear, as the ruling from the federal judge comes via “a lawsuit filed by West Virginia and six other states alleged the rule’s waiver process violated federal antitrust law.” A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 27, right after the exact 14-day window ends.

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