Mercy Miller comes to Houston to work hard this year

Mercy Miller has been preparing for his time to shine on a bigger stage. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound four-star shooting guard came to Houston knowing what kind of coaching Kelvin Sampson had to offer. He could have waited for others to start calling, but the Cougars stood out from the start.

Miller is ranked the 14th shooting guard in the class of 2024, the eighth overall player in the state of California and 85th nationally by 247Sports. While he will take his talents to Houston to play for Sampson, his development came early with his father, Percy Miller, a former NBA player turned entrepreneur.

Sampson saw potential in Miller early on, offering him a scholarship as a freshman while he was attending Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The same school produced some big names who went on to play in the NBA, including Chet Holmgreen (Oklahoma Thunder) and Jalen Suggs (Orlando Magic), who played alongside Miller in 2021. They won a state championship together in 2021, which brought attention to the Academy as a whole.

Miller, like his father better known as “Master P,” never shies away from the bright lights or the big moments, especially on the basketball court. He headlines this year’s Houston recruiting class with two other four-stars: Chase McCarty of the IMG Academy, who is also a top 100 prospect, along with Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan.

The trio will be a formidable addition to the Cougars men’s basketball team, which comes out of the gate as one of the favorites to make a Final Four run. The lead-up to this season has a similar feel to the early 1980s, when Houston was emerging as a powerhouse on the national stage. Sampson’s team will be looking to deliver a national championship to the program and move past last season’s Sweet 16 loss to Duke in the NCCA tournament.

Sampson’s ability to maintain a trait that many coaches have lost over the years is key. He knows how to create relationships with players by truly being a coach for the player.

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Miller was recruited by Duke, but he didn’t let any shade of blue in Carolina sway him. Because of his loyalty to Sampson, Miller will play for the Cougars this season. But it wasn’t just one of the best coaches in the game. He fell in love with the Houston community as a place where he could continue his career and eventually have a chance to be like his father in the NBA. Off the court, he’ll be looking to climb the NIL earning rankings. He signed a $1.4 million NIL deal with Greek yogurt company Sweetkiwi this year, which would put him in the top 10 college earners.

Miller’s love, passion and hunger for basketball is like breathing fresh air. He loves to compete and he does it at a high level, playing against athletes three years his senior. However, he never got caught up in the moment or was overwhelmed by who he was playing with. It was always about the love of basketball.

People often talk about Miller’s ability to have big scoring nights. It’s just part of his game. He set the Sherman Oaks Notre Dame scoring record with 68 points. It’s almost like a switch is flipped in his head, not unlike the late Kobe Bryant’s ability to score on demand. When Miller’s number is called, he’s going to play hard on both ends of the court. He’s a solid shooter at all three levels of the court and has the ability to drive to the bucket and score.

Miller wants to help the Cougars compete next year. Some of the goals he has ahead of him include being part of a Big 12 title bid and earning the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honor.