WSU vs. Cleveland State Women’s Basketball | Photo by Jessica Fugett | The Wright State Guardian
Michal Miller, a returning starter and senior on Wright State’s Women’s Basketball team, has faced many challenges throughout her basketball career.
Mental toughness
From the public eye, it’s easy to see the effects of her multiple broken noses, foot condition, and pulled hamstrings. However many are not aware of the long, lonely visits in the hospital and having to learn how to navigate the real world after moving away from her family.
“Whatever happened, I had to deal with it,” said Miller. “It was the stuff I had to take on myself. I feel like just having the mental toughness to stay strong and not let that mess me up completely was the biggest thing for me.”
For Miller, the need for mental toughness started at a young age.
Growing up with five older brothers and seven older sisters, she had to hold her own.
“This isn’t for girls. Go play with your Barbie dolls,” her brothers would tell her when she tried to play basketball with them.
This only encouraged Miller and filled her with the desire to prove her older brothers wrong.
“Them thinking that they could tough me out of the game made me not want to play,” said Miller. “But I didn’t stop playing and it gave me a dog mentality and made me want to play more.”
Eventually, her brothers realized that she was talented and began to support her, and even encouraged her to play alongside and against them.
“That toughness alone is why I feel like I’m still playing now, just dealing with it,” said Miller. “Especially with all of the injuries I’ve had. It just made me who I am today.”
Injuries
After playing aggressively with her brothers for her entire childhood, Miller took to the court at Michigan City High School where she prepared to play in college-level ball.
Her freshman year of college, Miller played at the University of Arizona. She then transferred to Trinity Valley Community College in Texas where she played for her sophomore year.
Along the way, Miller discovered she had a foot condition that made it difficult for her to play and practice for extended periods of time.
Miller suffered through the pain while at Arizona, and discovered the reason shortly after transferring to Trinity Valley.
“I was very distraught and kind of frustrated because I didn’t know if my career was going to end,” said Miller. “I kind of felt like I was just getting started.”
Finally, Miller came to her final stop at WSU where she is playing her second consecutive year as one of the leading scorers.
Miller also deals with recurring problems due to re-breaking her nose multiple times.
Miller explained how she has to repeatedly get painful injections in her nose and how she may need a procedure in the near future in order to fix it.
Just recently, Miller was able to return to the court after sitting out for three games due to a third-degree strain in her hamstring, which happened during the IUPUI game on Jan. 11.
Staying positive
Despite the many obstacles and struggles to overcome, Miller continues to stay positive.
An important part of this has been the role that her faith plays in her life.
“I had to stay by my faith,” said Miller. “I’m a big believer in God and it was very significant for me to rely on my faith in God and make sure that I stay true to myself and to just let nobody take me away from it.”
In light of the devastating news about the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Miller has taken time to reflect on how fortunate she is.
“You know I was always a big fan of Kobe Bryant,” said Miller. “Obviously it’s unfortunate and its a sad occasion, but it made me realize how fortunate I am to still be able to play this game.”
Miller takes every opportunity to be thankful for her life and what she has to offer.
“I just try to stay positive every day, no matter if I can touch a ball, walk on the floor or tie my shoes,” said Miller. “I just try to keep the negative thoughts away and just keep smiling and keep my head up.”
Miller has continued to stay focused on and off the court and even managed to earn a 4.0 for the very first time in her college career, a major accomplishment for her.
“I’ve been trying my hardest to get one [4.0] since I’ve been in college,” said Miller. “When things don’t go well, I try not to let everything go bad. When I was injured I was able to take care of school and be solid there.”
Basketball continues to be a strong motivator in Miller’s life and is something she takes extreme pride in.
“I just try to let basketball use me in a way to be a leader for other people,” said Miller. “When I have people looking up to me I’m like, ‘dang I can’t fall off.’ Overall it has just helped me be a better me.”
Being a leader to others is one of the biggest reasons Miller is still where she is today.
“My coach always says, ‘know your why.’ Whatever your ‘why’ is, have one,” said Miller. “And I feel like my ‘why’ is people.”
