Senior Night truly special for Hillcrest's Noah Miller

Knee injury ended senior's season in December

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 2/10/22

When Noah Miller heard his name called and he walked to the center of Dwight Gingerich Court in HIllcrest Union on February 3, the moment was unforgettable.

Most Senior Nights are.

But this …

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Senior Night truly special for Hillcrest's Noah Miller

Knee injury ended senior's season in December

Posted

When Noah Miller heard his name called and he walked to the center of Dwight Gingerich Court in HIllcrest Union on February 3, the moment was unforgettable.

Most Senior Nights are.

But this one was even more special.

While his senior teammates proudly wore their game jerseys and shorts, Noah was in a coat and tie. It has been that way since the 17th of December, when Miller went down with a knee injury in a game against Pekin. He didn’t painfully learn until over the Christmas break that the injury was a torn anterior-cruciate ligament.

Season over.

“He’s our floor leader, he’s our team leader, he’s our captain, he’s aware of everything we’re doing,” said Dwight Gingerich, the Ravens’ longtime boys basketball coach. “He’s been through the program, he’s like a coach on the floor holding things together.”

And on the historic night in December when Gingerich won his 700th game, Miller helped deliver the victory with 8 points and 8 assists against Rivermont Collegiate.

Less than a week later, in a Friday night game against Pekin, it was over.

“It’s been rough,” Miller said.

But it wasn’t over. Not at all. Every game, Noah is there in his coat and tie, sitting by the coaches, talking to the players and taking down stats.

“I like to look at the good in things. I have a great support system around me. My coaches, my teammates, they’ve always been there for me,” Miller said. “I love being there for them. That’s what I tried to do when I was on the court and I’m still trying to do what I can off court. It’s tough, but I do what I can.”

He doesn’t miss a practice.

And when Noah talks, Dwight listens.

“I’ll sometimes ask him what he would do, like what do you think?” Gingerich said. “So it’s been kind of fun to get his take on some decisions. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be coaching someday.”

The thing is, he already is. At Hillcrest, they call it a player assistant coach.

“It’s kind of interesting,” Miller said. “I get to see things from a different perspective. He [Gingerich] runs coaching things by me that’ll help me out if I decide to coach in the future.”

As the season has gone on without him on the court and junior guards Luke Schrock and Jace Rempel have helped fill his absence, Miller has had a front-row seat to a year that has included a seven-game win streak and the team’s first 14-win season since 2018.

“They’re doing a great job,” Miller said. “Obviously they would still love to have me out there, I’d still love to be out there. But everyone’s producing, they’ve come together, they’re doing a great job.”

And when Oscar Flores-Calix, a senior playing on the JV squad, hit a 3-pointer for his first varsity points in the final seconds of last week’s win against Lone Tree in a scene resembling “Rudy,” Miller jumped from his seat to celebrate with every other Raven.

“That was amazing for everyone to see. Probably the highlight of the season right there,” Miller said.

It was a perfect finish to a perfect night. A senior in a coat and a tie being called to the center of the court named in honor of the basketball coach he has had for four years. Senior night.

“He’s one of us,” Gingerich said. “It’s been fun to have him on the bench with us. I would hate it if he couldn’t be a part of this because he’s been a part of us his whole time here.”

Later that night, Noah smiled about that.

“It was amazing,” he said. “These are the guys that I’ve been around, some of them four years. …  I love them all. They’re great guys. I love being around them.”

 

News columnist Paul Bowker can be reached at bowkerpaul1@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: a@bowkerpaul.

Hillcrest Academy, basketball, Noah Miller, Dwight Gingerich