After entering the transfer portal, Adam Miller drew interest from several high-profile programs—but only one school got a visit. In April, five months after his Arizona State squad lost to Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Miller traveled to Spokane.
That visit didn’t start on a high note. He had a rough shooting night and committed a costly turnover that led to a thunderous Khalif Battle dunk in Gonzaga’s 88–80 win.
“It was loud,” Miller recalled. “When Khalif dunked that ball, I was like, ‘Hell no.’ And they fouled me, too. Somebody hit my arm when I threw the ball, but in the Kennel, you’re not getting that call.”
Fortunately for Miller, his decision to join the Zags went far more smoothly.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard began his college career as a starter at Illinois, helping the Illini earn a No. 1 seed alongside Gonzaga, Baylor, and Michigan in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. But he hasn’t returned to March Madness since. A torn ACL sidelined him for LSU’s tournament appearance the following year, and despite returning as a starter, LSU stumbled to a 2–16 SEC record. Two losing seasons at Arizona State followed, one in the Pac-12 and one in the Big 12.
This offseason, Miller was focused on joining a winning program with a track record for player development and a need in the backcourt—criteria that aligned perfectly with Gonzaga, which lost Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, and Battle.
“I was kind of sold before I got there,” Miller said from Miami, where he’s training. “They have a great coaching staff, really connected, and clear on their vision. There was mutual need and opportunity. That’s why we found each other.”
He was also drawn by Gonzaga’s strong track record with transfers and its winning culture.
Miller had a connection on staff in assistant coach Stephen Gentry, who coached him during his freshman season at Illinois.
“He was fired up,” said Miller, a native of Peoria, Illinois. “He knows how hard I work. He’s a junkie for the game—lives and breathes basketball.”
He also sought input from former Zag Chet Holmgren, his teammate on Team USA’s gold-medal-winning U19 squad in Latvia. Holmgren’s advice was simple: “Yeah, go there.”
Last season at ASU, Miller posted a career-best 42.9% from three-point range—a number that was even higher before a late-season injury. Though his overall numbers dipped slightly, he called it his “most mature season.”
“I wasn’t putting up 15 or 16 a game, but I played the right way,” he said. “My team needed that. I didn’t force things even though my usage wasn’t as high as it could’ve been.”
Gonzaga’s staff showed Miller video clips during his visit to highlight how he fits their system.
“As a true combo guard, they want me in ball screens, getting out in transition, being that three-level scorer,” Miller said. “They want me to be a dog—set the tone, score the ball. I think I’ll be the best version of myself there.”
“They compared me to a mix of Khalif and Nolan. I can shoot, I’m athletic, I can run, and I can control the pace with my experience—knowing when to push and when to be patient.”
Before last season, Miller had never shot above 34% from deep. The improvement came from freeing his mind and putting in massive amounts of work.
“I didn’t overthink it—just trusted my work,” he said. “I doubled my shot volume last summer compared to any other. It wasn’t about scoring more; it was about shooting more efficiently.”
Miller emphasized that his impact goes beyond shooting. He’s working on becoming more well-rounded, especially on defense and as a playmaker.
With 117 college games under his belt—115 of them as a starter—he brings valuable experience. His career scoring average is 10.3 points in nearly 30 minutes per game. He’ll be Gonzaga’s oldest player by about four months (over Steele Venters) and its most experienced by two games and seven starts (over Graham Ike).
“My goal is to go from a good defender to an elite one,” he said. “That’s about effort and teamwork. I think I can show more as a playmaker too, especially with better spacing and a higher usage rate.”
He also wants to get to the free-throw line more and attack the rim with greater frequency.
“I don’t think finishing is a weakness, I just need to do it more. Sometimes I settle too much,” he admitted.
Miller returned to Peoria recently to host his eighth annual free youth basketball camp, named after his two nicknames—‘Ace’ from childhood and ‘Wolf’ from AAU ball. “That’s my handle on social media,” he said.
He plans to arrive in Spokane in early June and already has one game circled on his calendar: Gonzaga’s return trip to Arizona State.
“I already told one of the ASU assistants I’m coming in talking smack,” he said. “Every time I score, I’m looking at the bench. But it’s going to be real good competition.”
As he enters his fifth and final college season—granted through a COVID eligibility waiver—Miller feels re-energized. He recalled one moment from his Gonzaga visit that stuck with him.
“As soon as I walked into the Kennel, I saw all the pictures of the former Zags on the walls. There’s a lot of greats. I’ve been at places with legends—Ayo Dosunmu, Dee Brown, Shaq, James Harden. But here, the only thing that separates me from those guys is winning a national championship.”
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