Jasai Miles Giving Indiana Basketball 'Big Moments' in Well-Timed Emergence

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Moments after sending the already-rabid fans in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall into full-blown euphoria, Indiana basketball junior guard Jasai Miles raised three fingers on his right hand and locked eyes with Lamar Wilkerson, who matched his celebratory motion.

Miles' right-wing 3-pointer gave the Hoosiers a 34-25 lead, their largest of the night to that point, over No. 12 Purdue and capped a 13-0 run late in the first half of Indiana's 72-67 win Jan. 27.

But the moment was more than an emphatic end to a game-changing, momentum-seizing run, more than a snapshot to relish with Wilkerson, more than the play that created the loudest crowd explosion inside Assembly Hall in recent memory.

For Miles, it was a notice of arrival.

The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Miles hadn't scored since Nov. 29 vs. Bethune-Cookman, when he made one free throw. He hadn't made a field goal, let alone a 3-pointer, since Nov. 12 vs. Milwaukee.

Miles didn't play in the Hoosiers' first four Big Ten games after winter break, missing a win over Maryland due to an undisclosed reason, and he played only seven minutes combined in his first two trips back on the floor.

For a player who averaged 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds last season at North Florida and was expected to be a significant piece to the Hoosiers' rotation after transferring last season, such a role was not only a foreign concept to Miles, but a sobering illustration of his struggles.

Miles' season flipped Jan. 23 at Rutgers, when starting guard Tayton Conerway was limited due to an ankle injury. Miles played 11 minutes, and while he missed his lone attempt, he nabbed two rebounds and dished one assist.

It proved a sign of things to come.

Miles delivered his most impactful 15 minutes as a Hoosier in coach Darian DeVries' first signature win. He scored 5 points on 1-for-3 shooting from the floor and 2 of 2 at the foul stripe while pulling down two boards and recording one assist.

The Miami native was a physical and active rebounder, played quality defense and finished with a plus/minus of plus-10, the third-best mark on the team.

DeVries said Miles has given the Hoosiers "some big moments" over the past two games, a feat that speaks volumes about his character considering his frustrating, if not disappointing, first two-and-a-half months of the season.

"It would've been really easy for his number to be called and him not be ready because he hadn't been putting in the work," DeVries said Jan. 27. "But he's continued to work even though he hadn't been rewarded a lot for it in terms of playing time.

"And now when his number's called, he's able to go out there and go do the things he needs to do to continue to grow. I love the mindset he's had."

One day before Miles' best Big Ten performance to date, he made a play in practice that served as a microcosm of Indiana's collective progress.

Miles drove toward the rim and wanted to pass to the corner. He left his feet, and his pass was deflected, almost certainly headed out of bounds. Then, Miles lunged for the ball and tapped it to junior guard Nick Dorn to keep the possession alive.

"That was a big part of our film session," DeVries said. "(Miles) could have quit and given up on the play, but he didn't."

Indiana lost four consecutive games during Big Ten play, including three to top 10 teams, and three of its defeats were by 14-plus points. In those games, the Hoosiers endured lengthy stretches where different things went wrong. DeVries felt Indiana allowed its mistakes to compound, resulting in 10-0 runs instead of 6-0 runs.

Basketball, DeVries said, is an imperfect game. Mistakes happen. But the Hoosiers needed to accept that, fix their woes and move forward. Where others may quit, where others may struggle preventing games, or the season, to spiral, Indiana has proved resilient.

And perhaps nobody better embodies that than Miles.

"He's been doing a good job bringing it in practice every day," senior guard Conor Enright said after beating Purdue. "He's our most physical offensive rebounder, plays hard. And so, he played awesome. I think he's doing a good job of stepping up when his number's called, and I think we got a lot of guys on our team that can do that.

"But I'm super proud of him. He's been playing great."

DeVries acknowledged Miles may not get the minutes he wants, or certainly not the length of action he expected when he arrived in Bloomington over the summer, but as he's been thrust into action more recently, he's produced.

Miles won't be asked to carry a scoring burden on a team with plenty of shot-makers, but he's carved out a niche. He's athletic and lanky, both beneficial to grabbing rebounds and playing disruptive defense. Miles is energetic and a key piece to the engaged and enthused bench DeVries has tried to create.

And now, with Indiana finding its footing as the Big Ten calendar reaches the second half, Miles has earned the right for additional playing time.

He's capitalized on the opportunity thus far — and he'll try to do so once more at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, when the Hoosiers (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) face UCLA (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten) at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.