For the last year and a half I wanted to post this but because my private nature I have been very hesitant to do so. I am also not Confrontational by nature. But I think I need to share some information here.

Anybody that does not understand or think that Brock Miller Is a elite defender at the college level simply does not understand college Defenses.

Let me explain. First of all I’ve been around college sports as an official a player and coach. And for various reasons I have spent an inordinate amount of time watching the Aggies in particular play. I have watched every minute of every game that Brock has played in his career. So I do feel At least a high-level of understanding of not only the college basketball game but of Brock‘s game in particular. And everybody must understand that the college game is nothing like the NBA game. And cannot be judged the same way.

First of all there is no such thing as a shut down defender or individual defender at the college level. It simply does not exist. All college defense are judged and based off of team defense and how you work with in the scheme of the team. The amount of time that someone defends someone strictly one on one is so limited in the college game that there is no reason to even discuss it.

So with that understanding here are a few of the reasons why brocks defense is considered elite at this level.

1. Length brock is 6’5 almost 6’6 with proportional arm length. This means he has great size for his position. And he uses it well With his arms constantly extended and fairly quick Hands that are always active.

2. Positioning he has obviously been Well coached on positioning. He clearly understands the game plan of where to be when and how. This is a skill not an accident.

3. Toughness, determination, and effort. Brock has all of these skills in spades.

4.Taking proper shots is a defensive skill. In the last year and a half Brock simply has not taken a shot out of the context of the offense. And yes I know for a fact that even when Brock was shooting poorly coach wanted him to take all of the shots that he took.

These are just a few of the reasons Brock Miller is an elite defender at the college level. There are more. But I don’t have the energy or the inclination to explain them. I have simply grown weary of reading that Brock is either a poor average or simply adequate defender. This simply Is not true.

I have not been involved in high level organized basketball other than as a fan and do not claim to have any special expertise in determining who is a good defender and who is not other than the obvious things I see out on the court. But I was thinking about posting about Brock's defense even before this topic was posted. I have always noted that Brock hustles on the court and always seems to be in the right position. His first couple of years there was never any problem with his defensive effort. Lately though I think he has gotten a lot better on defense.
I just rewatched the second half of the Saturday game against SDSU and paid particular attention to Brock's defense. I was thoroughly impressed. He was hounding Shakel the entire time and he seemed to be giving him fits. Every shot that Shakel took was a fade-away jump shot with a hand in his face. There were some times it was clear he was looking to shoot but couldn't get a shot off. Even when he made shots he was well defended.
I was also impressed by Brock's decision making in terms of aggressively doubling the SDSU player in the post. There were a couple of times when he deflected the ball or helped to force a turnover. And of course there was the huge steal that he had with about a minute left in the game.
Based on what I have seen of Brock's defense this year I would call him at least an above average defender, if not an elite defender.

That was a huge play and a critical point in the game.

Great insights! The team defense concept is something Brock uses well. He overplays an unwanted direction to get his guy to go the direction the the team wants a guy to go. The Nemi block on the video responding to the Show is a good example of this. Brock forced his guy a direction that led him to the jaws of Nemi.

Look, I agree with some of what has been said here. Miller's effort and hustle is of the charts and cannot be criticized. But he is in no way an elite defender.

Yes he followed Shakel around and kept up with him, but Shakel is not an athlete either. What did Shakel do? He backed Miller into the paint, created a little space and shot little jumpers. Miller gave to much space and not enough hops to infleunce the shot. Miller doesn't have good lateral movement and most guys cant get past him easy. He plays torero defense at times.

Having said that, he has been playing lots better, he earning his playing time and playing winning ball. Keep it up Miller!

Miller does a good job of tracking his guy through traffic, hedging in the right direction. He has good defensive body posture. His weakness is staying in front of an athletic player with a good handle. In fairness, all but the most elite defenders have that weakness.
Miller does everything he can.

Athleticism is only a part of contributing to a team's defense. A lot of times defenses break down not because of talent, but because of mental mistakes and effort. Miller has his deficiencies in the athletic aspect, but his understanding of the team defense and effort mask his limitations to fit into the team defensive philosophy. If every team had a primary scoring option like Shakel who isn't lightening quick and super aggressive, then that's a good matchup for Miller in our scheme. Let Marco and other's handle the twitchy guys.

Cuchelain wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 3:14 am

Based on what I have seen of Brock's defense this year I would call him at least an above average defender, if not an elite defender.

I wouldn't yet call him an above average defender or an elite defender, but I agree that the way that he played against SDSU was outstanding. He's been fantastic almost all year long. He's really improved his game especially on the offensive side of the ball. I hope he doesn't regress.

Game to game he will regress. Just like every other player in the rotation. He will have his 1-7ish games from 3, just like Bean will have his game with few boards, Queta will have his games with foul trouble, and on and on. We can't expect the "A" game out of every player every night.

i think that as millers shooting goes, his defense "critiques" follows. He was shooting terrible at times last year and he was also a "bad" defender. this year he is shooting better and all of a sudden his defense is "elite". I'm not sure if the critiques last year were more about why should he be playing because he is shooting terrible and his defense sucks. or now because he is shooting better he should be playing more, and oh by the way his defense is much improved!!

personal opinion. i love his effort and i feel like he is a better defender that he has been givin credit for, and i'm not saying that just this year, i thought he was good last year!

GameFAQSAggie wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 7:18 am

Awesome play by Brock. The thing I love about this team is 3-4 times a game you will see effort plays like this from the Aggies. My favorite steal was Bean from Thursday that was just flat out awesome.

tipitup wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 10:02 am

i think that as millers shooting goes, his defense "critiques" follows. He was shooting terrible at times last year and he was also a "bad" defender. this year he is shooting better and all of a sudden his defense is "elite". I'm not sure if the critiques last year were more about why should he be playing because he is shooting terrible and his defense sucks. or now because he is shooting better he should be playing more, and oh by the way his defense is much improved!!

personal opinion. i love his effort and i feel like he is a better defender that he has been givin credit for, and i'm not saying that just this year, i thought he was good last year!

If you are right then the critics you have been listening to are wrong. Miller last year was a really good defender. Before that he was a good defender. Now he is considered an Elite defender by some, including me. All that means is that he is working very hard on his game, offense and defense. We all should hope that every teammate of Broc is doing the same....improving their game on both ends of the floor. And some of them do it better, Miller being one.

mcaggie1 wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 10:56 am

tipitup wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 10:02 am

i think that as millers shooting goes, his defense "critiques" follows. He was shooting terrible at times last year and he was also a "bad" defender. this year he is shooting better and all of a sudden his defense is "elite". I'm not sure if the critiques last year were more about why should he be playing because he is shooting terrible and his defense sucks. or now because he is shooting better he should be playing more, and oh by the way his defense is much improved!!

personal opinion. i love his effort and i feel like he is a better defender that he has been givin credit for, and i'm not saying that just this year, i thought he was good last year!

If you are right then the critics you have been listening to are wrong. Miller last year was a really good defender. Before that he was a good defender. Now he is considered an Elite defender by some, including me. All that means is that he is working very hard on his game, offense and defense. We all should hope that every teammate of Broc is doing the same....improving their game on both ends of the floor. And some of them do it better, Miller being one.

I'm liking the effort, which is dialed up considerably from last season. What better example for the young guards than that?

USU78 wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 11:19 am

I'm liking the effort, which is dialed up considerably from last season. What better example for the young guards than that?

I know I don't have the basketball eye, so I could be wrong, but I don't think his effort is up from last year. As a very firm member of the "stop Brock from shooting" bandwagon last year, I always gave him props for his effort and hustle. He gave it his all. Offensively, things are clicking better for him this season, but it seems like he's upped his defensive capabilities. Maybe he's executing better while maintaining the high effort. Maybe he got quicker, is watching film better, is actively trying to step into a bigger role with more active hands, I don't know. But I think he gave it his all last year, just like this year.

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 11:28 am

USU78 wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 11:19 am

I'm liking the effort, which is dialed up considerably from last season. What better example for the young guards than that?

I know I don't have the basketball eye, so I could be wrong, but I don't think his effort is up from last year. As a very firm member of the "stop Brock from shooting" bandwagon last year, I always gave him props for his effort and hustle. He gave it his all. Offensively, things are clicking better for him this season, but it seems like he's upped his defensive capabilities. Maybe he's executing better while maintaining the high effort. Maybe he got quicker, is watching film better, is actively trying to step into a bigger role with more active hands, I don't know. But I think he gave it his all last year, just like this year.

Well ... it looks dialed up to me, but maybe I'm just paying closer attention.

GameFAQSAggie wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 7:18 am

Great play. To my untrained eye, Brock seems to be embracing physical contact on the defensive end in a way that he hadn't in prior years.

I think that Miller is a good defender, one of the best on the team. Probably why we haven't seen any of the Euros playing. Defense is instinct and hustle. He has both. He's growing a player. He get's his 3-point percentage around 45%, I really like our chances of competing in the tournament.

IBleedAggieBlue wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 3:12 pm

I think that Miller is a good defender, one of the best on the team. Probably why we haven't seen any of the Euros playing. Defense is instinct and hustle. He has both. He's growing a player. He get's his 3-point percentage around 45%, I really like our chances of competing in the tournament.

I have never had an issue with Miller as a defender although his work this year is making me realize he's always been very good. I'm sure that's one of the reasons he continued to get minutes last year when his shot wasn't falling. Of course we had Brito who was also a very underrated defender at that spot too. He works hard, is always in great position, and has uncoachable length for a wing which of course is the reason why the sky is the limit for his shooting. He has a great stroke that's really tough to subtantially affect if given any space at all.

He has been the x factor in my opinion on both sides of the ball because I was really worried after the first 3-4 games if we had anybody that could really extend a defense or break a zone and the Aggies were really struggling guarding the 3 pt line. He has really stepped it up on both ends.

IBleedAggieBlue wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 3:12 pm

I think that Miller is a good defender, one of the best on the team. Probably why we haven't seen any of the Euros playing. Defense is instinct and hustle. He has both. He's growing a player. He get's his 3-point percentage around 45%, I really like our chances of competing in the tournament.

I’ll take 40% every day of the week. If he hits 45%
we’ll be going to the Final Four!

aggieguy13 wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 11:59 am

GameFAQSAggie wrote: ↑

January 18th, 2021, 7:18 am

Great play. To my untrained eye, Brock seems to be embracing physical contact on the defensive end in a way that he hadn't in prior years.

That's fair. I'd noticed it more on offense, but hadn't noticed on defense.

And Bean goes and gives me a heaping pile of my own words to eat. Logansdad was spot on and Bean was AWESOME tonight.