Sports and Rants with Brett and Pants : Miles, Hot or Cold

At the start of the season, St. Joseph’s Hawks were lacking a player that can carry the team and Isaiah Miles has had moments leaving fans questioning why he is part of the starting five. Recently, the starting forward has had moments having fans standing up and cheering.

Last season, Isaiah only averaged 9.3 minutes on the court. Miles did not receive enough playing time last year for him to grow. He was playing behind solid starters such as Halil Kanacevic and Ronald Roberts Jr. This year, Isaiah Miles is starting and averaging 29 minutes a game. His confidence has grown from this valuable playing time. He is no longer timid to shoot a three. At the start of the season, it appeared as if hesitation made his shot slow. Now, there is no hesitation and he is a better three point shooter because of it.

The Hawks last five match-ups were against Denver, Marist, Loyola, Villanova, and Temple. The six foot seven forward scored 24, 23, 9, 0, and 20 respectively. When Isaiah is hot, he is the most impactful player on the team. However, when he is not the team struggles. When St. Joe’s played Temple, Hawk fans first saw Miles’ true potential and why Coach Martelli recruited him. Miles led the team in scoring with 20 points and rebounding with 9. Miles’ presence was never felt against Villanova because in the first four minutes he had 2 fouls, which brought him to the bench early. Against Loyola, Miles had an average game statistically while the team played tremendously.

Miles dominated against Marist and Denver with his three point shooting. He went 4-7 behind the arc against Marist and 4-6 against Denver, combining to a 62% three point percentage. The first nine games of the season, he was shooting only shooting 23% behind the arc. Before Marist he never scored four threes before, now he has done in back to back games. He has accounted for almost a third of the team’s points during the past two games.

Isaiah Miles has shown that he can carry the team. The junior out of Baltimore has grown throughout the non-conference play and first 11 games of the season. Miles has likely become the shooter that the Hawks can rely upon to take a game deciding shot. It seems as if Isaiah Miles has grown into the three point shooter that the team needs for conference play, which starts January 3^rd at 2 against George Washington. St. Joe’s fans are hoping that Miles is not just on a hot streak, but this is the player he truly is.

- Pants