Maryland women’s basketball senior Diamond Miller recently talked with PressBox about learning hoops lessons from her father and sisters, her best friends on the team and more. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 13.1 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Terps last year, though she played through a right knee injury that required surgery after the season. Miller earned second-team All-Big Ten honors for her efforts.
Miller’s father, Lance, played hoops at Villanova from 1989-1993, scoring 1,560 points during four seasons as a Wildcat. Her sisters played in college as well — Adreana at La Salle and Ohio State and LaNiya at Stony Brook and Wagner.
Diamond Miller is a native of Somerset, N.J., and graduate of Franklin High School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in basketball?
Diamond Miller: I became interested because I saw my older sister, [Adreana], playing. I just followed her and I started playing basketball.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
DM: [My family] would be my biggest inspiration, both of my older sisters and definitely my dad. I’m the youngest girl … so my sisters were always better than me, taller, stronger. I guess that gave me the competitive edge to be like, “It doesn’t matter. I can still do these great things.” My dad was just my rock. He’s the one that trained all three of us to get us to where we were. He was just the guidance that I had in my life.
PB: What did your dad instill in you and your sisters?
DM: Just being hard-working. He always tells me, “Go out there and work hard.” He always tells me, even to this day, “Know who you are.” I think that sits with me through my life, just knowing who you are and knowing that no one else could replace what you could do, so you’re really special. We’re all unique and we all have special gifts. He really made sure that I knew how special and unique I was. He did that with all my sisters because we were all special and unique.
PB: Did you ever get to play against one of your sisters in college?
DM: Actually, I did. My second-oldest sister, [LaNiya], went to Wagner, and we actually played Wagner my freshman year [in 2019-20]. But she got hurt, and we weren’t able to play against each other ever, but we were close. And then my sophomore year, [Wagner] had to win their conference in order to play us in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but they lost.
PB: Why did you choose to come to Maryland?
DM: I just felt like it was the best fit for me, the best place I thought could take me to the next level and it was close to home. I knew my family could drive to see me whenever they wanted to.
PB: What’s your favorite memory at Maryland so far?
DM: I think the favorite one was definitely winning the Big Ten [as a sophomore in 2020-21]. That was really special. It was a great group of girls and we had a lot of fun together.
PB: What was the knee injury you played through last year? What was the rehab process like after offseason surgery?
DM: It’s like my [right] kneecap basically had a stress fracture but in the patella area. Going through the process was a journey, to say the least. I think when I first got hurt, I was very devastated, like, “Why me?” type of attitude, but I kind of got better. We did some bone stimulation. The season ends, then I found out I needed to get surgery, so then I had to retrain my mind again and be mentally strong for the road that I was going to have to recovery. It was a process. It was just a journey. It was really hard at some points and a lot of ups and downs, but I’m OK.
PB: Fans will see a lot of new players this year. What can fans expect in terms of all the new faces they’re going to see?
DM: We’re just going to play fast, shoot a lot of threes, play hard, play as a team and play for one another. There’s a culture, so no matter who comes in, the culture stays the same. The culture’s going to be the same. We’re going to play hard. We’re going to defend, rebound and push the ball in transition.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about the University of Maryland?
DM: I guess the area. I can always go to D.C. when I want to. There’s a lot of fun things to do around this campus, which I like.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
DM: We have a lot of new faces, but I like hanging out with [Faith Masonius and Shyanne Sellers]. They’re like my road dogs I guess because I’ve known them the longest, so it’s just easiest to hang out with them. I feel like all our personalities mix in a good way. Shy is more the aggressive, loud one. Faith is more of the mom. I’m like the instigator. That’s a great combination, I feel like. We have a great time when we all hang out.
PB: Who did you look up to early in your college career at Maryland?
DM: I can definitely say as a freshman coming in I looked [up to] pretty much all the seniors — [Kaila Charles, Stephanie Jones and Blair Watson]. All those girls were extremely helpful during my freshman year and they helped me become who I am now as a senior.
PB: What advice would you give to younger players?
DM: Keep moving forward. Your journey is unique to you. Just because you fall doesn’t mean you can’t get back up, and it doesn’t matter how many times you fall. Continue to get back up because you don’t know what lies ahead. Always look forward, one step at a time.
PB: What are your goals for after basketball, whenever it ends?
DM: My goal is coaching. I want to be a coach and give back to the sport in a different way than what I’m doing now. I have a lot of dreams, but that is one of them that I really would like to do.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics