Senior point guard Chakecia Miller has played in the shadows of her teammates for most of her career.
But the key departures of Megan Nipe and Danni Jackson in the backcourt have created the need for confident, experienced direction and an opportunity for Miller to step into the vacant limelight.
“I think losing Danni and Meg definitely took away a lot of vocal leadership that we had, but they left a legacy behind them,” Miller said. “It is my job and my duty to help fill that leadership position because that’s what I have to do as a senior and as a point guard.”
Miller has big shoes to fill both offensively and vocally on the floor.
Jackson was a visible player on the court who had a dual purpose: to excel offensively and have a rambunctious presence.
Nipe was the team’s voice when facing adversity. In the later parts of the season, she inspired teammates by secretly playing on a torn ACL. Nipe imposed an offensive threat, averaging 14.5 points and ranking second on the roster in scoring, and Jackson averaged 13.1 points in a team-high 29.3 minutes per game.
Tsipis said the team is still waiting to see who will serve as the voice in the face of challenges this year, but that he hopes Miller will step up and prove herself as a leader.
The senior said Tsipis has both “nurtured” and “helped” her in understanding what being a leader means. While Tsipis expects to see a change in Miller vocally, he said her strength lies more in her play, specifically her ability to play lockdown defense.
“Kecia is a very unselfish kid and ultimately wants the team to be successful and knows that her role will change this year,” Tsipis said. “Still, her strength is her ability to guard the other team’s best player, and really from an offensive standpoint, to make sure that our players are in the right spots.”
Miller demonstrated her defensive prowess on numerous occasions during the 2013-14 campaign, ending the season as the first Colonial since 2008 to be named to the conference All-Defensive Team. Miller was recently selected for the preseason All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row.
In addition to being one of only three players in the nation to record 10 steals in a game during both the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, Miller currently ranks 14th all-time at GW in steals and 18th in assists.
While she has continued to hone her defensive game this offseason, Miller said she also is working to become more of an offensive threat by finding ways to get open off the ball.
During her junior season, Miller averaged 8.3 points in a team-high 29.4 minutes per game.
Where Miller excels is in her ability to drive the lane and get to the free throw line. Miller led the team last year after getting to the free throw line 119 times and making the basket a team-high 82 times.
Tsipis said in addition to polishing her defense, Miller has developed a better jump shot, which she gained from hours in the gym.
“[Miller] has improved tremendously from her fundamentals. She really worked hard to become a more consistent jump shooter,” Tsipis said. “We have put her in a lot of situations where we had to extenuate her strength of getting to the rim and getting to the free throw line.”
Like a leader, Miller puts her teammates’ needs at the forefront and said she recognizes that her seniority can play a role in the development of the freshmen. Miller has taken it upon herself to serve as a mentor to freshman guards Mia Farmer and Camila Tapias, helping them acclimate to the college game and sharing whatever she can to smooth their transition.
“I believe that is one of my jobs, is not only to mentor [the freshmen] on the court, but to be there for them off the court to show them that that’s going to be something, us being close,” Miller said. “Having that close-like, sisterly feeling between us is going to be something that’s very critical to how we perform on the court.”
The Colonials demonstrated skill and tenacity during the 2013-14 season as they competed in the Atlantic 10 conference semifinals and advanced to the third round of the WNIT. Still, entering her final season as a Colonial, Miller wants to hang a banner, and believes this could be the team to do it.
“This is a very different group. We are very athletic from all positions, one through five on the floor, and so I am really excited about this season and the potential that we have as a team,” Miller said. “We have goals this year and we really want to be the best, so we are trying to win an A-10 championship and be the regular season champions.”
