Taylor Miller could deliver Palo Verde basketball back to state tournament

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Palo Verde’s opener on Tuesday night painted an accurate portrait of how the season is likely to play out.

The Panthers beat up on a game Chaparral team behind senior guard and Southern Utah commit Taylor Miller pouring in 37 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists.

“We know everyone is going to be looking out for him, trying to stop him,” coach Paul Sanchez said.

Good luck to them, because it looks like a thankless undertaking. Miller averaged more than 14 points per game last year for the Panthers, which reached the state championship after he memorably hit a game-winning shot in the semifinals against Canyon Springs.

“That experience was incredible, unbelievable,” senior guard Ryan Vogelei said. “Just the feeling and the way we played together was outstanding. Hopefully the way we played last year, we play the same this year.”

If Miller is the heart of the team’s offense, then Vogelei provides the defensive pulse. He regularly matches up against opponents’ top players, and takes pride in holding them below their averages.

It’s a role he’s filled ever since he was young child playing basketball.

“I had problems scoring so defense was the thing to make up for it,” Vogelei said. “This year is going to be different. It’s going to be good.”

The Panthers are confident they have enough talent around Miller to succeed even if he has a rare off night. Pressure falls on Vogelei and fellow senior Christian Bryant to emerge after Palo Verde lost the rest of its starters from last season.

“Once the defense is keyed in on (Miller), we can get the ball moving and we’ll get people open,” Bryant said. “Other people will be looking for shots.”

Perhaps even more frustrating than containing Miller for opponents will be fighting through Palo Verde’s defense. Sanchez plans to run the full-court press more frequently.

It’s another wrinkle that has his players excited for their prospects coming off of a monumental season.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of new young players, but once we start to play together again and we start to build up the chemistry, we can get back to state,” Bryant said.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.