GASTON COLLEGE RECORD BOOK: School's last leading scorer - Julian Miller

By Richard Walker

When Julian Miller joined the Gaston College basketball program, he opened a recruiting area that had previously been untapped by the school - New York City.

A graduate of James Monroe High School in the Bronx, Miller became the first New York product to play for Gaston College; Two more New Yorkers were added in his 1971-72 sophomore year that ended up being the school's final year of athletics before the 2021-22 school year when two more New Yorkers for Gaston College in the restart year.

Miller made an immediate impact, averaging 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds on the 1970-71 team led by all-time Gaston College leading career scorer Barry Faith.

Miller tallied 15 points in his debut, an 80-71 victory at Southeastern Community College in Whiteville on Dec. 3, 1970, and reached double figures in 19 of the next 33 games.

That season would end with Gaston College losing 85-81 at Ferrum, Va., in the 1971 Region 10 championship game; A win would've sent the Warriors to the prestigious National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

With Faith and 15.1 scorer Jimmy Crume gone the next season and new coach Charlie Warren taking over for Pete Brooks, Miller led the Warriors to a 20-6 record and a N.C. Community College Conference co-title.

Miller averaged 19.3 points per game highlighted by three 30-point games; Miller's season- and career-high 35 points came in an 82-75 loss to the freshman team of the University of South Carolina in a game played at Belmont Abbey College's Wheeler Center. It was the last year in which NCAA rules prevented freshman from playing on varsity teams.

When the Warriors finished the 1971-72 season at 7-1 in league play, Miller and fellow New Yorker Joel Ranson were honored as the school's all-conference selections.

The next year, with Gaston College no longer offering athletics, Miller didn't have to far to go to continue his career as he joined Belmont Abbey College's program under head coach Bobby Hussey.

At the Abbey, Miller redshirted in the 1972-73 season, then averaged 8.1 points as a junior in the 1973-74 season and averaged 6.0 points as a senior in the 1974-75 season. He played alongside Crusaders' all-time leading scorer Carl Bell, future nationally-regarded administrator Clint Bryant (Augusta, Ga., University) and longtime Emmanuel, Ga., women's basketball head coach Mike Bona.

Miller would eventually remain in the area and his name became more famous because of his son Ian Miller.

Ian Miller played at Charlotte's South Mecklenburg High School and United Faith Christian Academy; He was an all-state performer when UFCA won the 2010 Class 1A N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association state title.

Ian Miller then harkened back to his father's background when he made his college choice. He signed with Florida State and head coach Leonard Hamilton; Hamilton, a Gastonia native, had played for Gaston College in the late 1960s and knew Julian Miller from his time playing at the school.

A member of Florida State's first ACC championship team in 2012, Ian Miller also was named ACC Sixth Man of the Year in 2014 before embarking on an overseas professional career that has lasted eight years entering the 2022-23 season.

Julian Miller died at 64 years of age on April 5, 2015 at Gastonia's CaroMont Regional Medical Center.