Hannah Miller has been an impact player on the hardwood since she first walked through the doors at North Greene High School, and on Friday she had the opportunity to continue her basketball career by signing to join the Wasps of Emory & Henry University.
“I’m excited to sign today, but it will be bittersweet to leave all these people, they are my family,” Miller said. “I’m so honored to have this chance. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point. Seeing my hard work payoff is really special.”
Since joining the Lady Huskies Miller has been a double-double machine and last year she averaged 12.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. In her time at North Greene the Lady Huskies have advanced to the state tournament three times, and they will be looking to do it again this year under Miller’s leadership.
“I obviously want to score a lot of points and grab a lot of rebounds, but playing with these girls is so special,” Miller said. “We’ve always been like a family, but this year we’ve grown really close and I’m excited for my last year.”
So far the Lady Huskies are 8-0 on the young season.
Emory & Henry is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the South Atlantic Conference. A year ago the Wasps went 10-18 and 5-15 in conference play. They have started this season with a 3-6 mark. Coach Jaclyn Dickens is a 1999 graduate of E&H and has been leading the Wasps since 2019.
Dickens began recruiting Miller as a sophomore and she feels good about the relationship the two have developed over the years. Miller also likes that Emory and Henry is only an hour away up I-81 north in Emory, Virginia.
“Emory & Henry started recruiting me during my sophomore year and I’ve had the chance to build that relationship with the coaches,” Miller said. “They buy into their players and want to build that relationship with you as a person. I knew however far away my family would still be right there, but it is nice that its not too far away. I can come home on weekends, and I’m really glad I chose somewhere close to home.”
Before she heads to college Miller does have a few parts of her game she want to develop, particularly her strength around the basket and her speed.
Miller plans to study exercise science and she wants to be an athletic trainer when her playing days are done.
“The plan is to major in exercise science and then go to school to be an athletic trainer,” Miller said. “I love being around sports and want to do something that allows me stay around sports. Then the last two years we haven’t had an athletic trainer, and I was taping ankles and doing a lot of that stuff. I think that made me realize that that is what I want to do.”
