Pasadena Poly's Miller entering rare air

Lisa Leslie enjoyed one of the greatest high school careers to ever be played in the shadows of the Forum at Morningside High School in Inglewood. She started every game of her four year career for the Monarchs. Her career was probably most known for her 101 point performance in 1990 against South Torrance --in the first half. Her high school career concluded with 2,896 career points, trailing only Riverside Poly great Cheryl Miller's 3,446 career points. She's since been surpassed by other high school greats -- former El Toro star Guilliana Mendiola (3,069 career points) and former Don Lugo star Diana Taurasi (3,047 career points). Today another player is expected to enter the top four on the Southern Section's all-time scoring list. Pasadena Poly guard, Michelle Miller will enter Saturday's Prep League matchup against Webb with 2,883 points --just 14 shy of Leslie for fourth place on the list. "It's really exciting and it's pretty crazy," said Miller, who's been playing basketball since the second grade. "(She's) one of the greatest female basketball players ever. Just to be put in the same sentence as her really shouldn't be happening but it's pretty incredible. It's still pretty surreal." Kim Weber, who's in her sixth season as the Pasadena Poly head coach, has a different opinion. "I've followed her career throughout. She's always been an amazing athlete to me," Weber said. "She has a good work ethic and Michelle is more than worthy of sharing company with the likes of Lisa for sure." Miller spent a good portion of her early years playing in the post because she was taller than everybody else. She would later make the transition to guard, however, the 5'11" guard played in the post as recent as he sophomore season. Along with Coach Weber, Miller credits her coach and trainer Rey Diamond and shooting coach Nick Sanderson for helping her with her perimeter game. "They've really helped me a lot with developing outside moves and working on my shooting," said Miller, who admits she didn't have much of an outside game entering the 9th grade. Last season, Miller helped lead Pasadena Poly to their first CIF Southern Section title in 20 years and the second in school history. It was also that season she realized reaching Leslie on the career points list was attainable. At that point it not only became a goal for Miller but for the team as well. "When you start taking places of big name players like Lisa Leslie or Diana Taurasi," Weber says, "it's become a bigger deal, so it's always been in the back of our minds but just recently it's become something that we really thought about." "To have a positive student-athlete and role model break my high school scoring record is a testament to the achievements that are possible when an athlete is disciplined and works hard," said Leslie in a statement. Miller is also an excellent student. Last year, with a class schedule that consisted of five AP classes, she took home a 5.0 GPA. She also scored a 2290 on the SAT. Those are numbers worthy enough of Princeton where she'll be a pre-med student along with continuing her basketball career. While she puts the finishing touches on her high school career, she knows there's one record of Leslie's she probably won't touch. Miller can't remember the most points she ever scored in a half but knows "it's nowhere near the (101 points) Lisa Leslie scored." "That's one of the records that I look at and it's like 'how on earth did she possibly do that?'" said Miller. Future girls basketball players will be asking themselves the same question in regards to Miller once her career is buttoned up.