Miller Time: Summit League sharpshooter chooses UNM
Tajavis Miller reacts to a shot during a North Dakota State basketball game during the 2023-24 season. Photo courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics
The UNM men’s basketball team has added another experienced Division-I transfer guard to its 2025-26 roster.
Tajavis Miller, a 6-foot-4 junior who played his previous three seasons at Summit League North Dakota State, announced his commitment to UNM via Instagram on Wednesday.
Miller was born in Anaheim, Calif., where he starred for two seasons at Servite High School.
He averaged 18.8 points per game as a sophomore and shot 38% from 3 and six rebounds. After his sophomore season, he was rated a three-star recruit by 247 Sports.
Miller moved to Frenship, Texas for his junior year. Frenship High School plays in the largest high school classification in Texas.
In 2021, he averaged 13.1 points, six rebounds and two assists per game en route to being named District 2- 6A Newcomer of the Year as a junior.
He was named All-District 2-6A as a senior and led Frenship High School to league championships in both his junior and senior seasons.
After his senior year, InForum reported that Miller was ranked No. 38 combo guard in the country according to 247Sports.
Miller chose North Dakota State over offers from Washington State, SMU, the University of San Diego and Pepperdine.
After committing to NDSU, Miller had three productive seasons for the Bison.
His freshman year, he played in 30 of 33 games, making 20 starts as a true freshman. He averaged 7.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and shot 36% from the 3-point line.
During his sophomore season, he took a step back in shooting the basketball during league play.
He hit just 26.8% of his 3-pointers in conference play. However, he shot 40% from three for the entire year. Miller still averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game per year, making 19 starts.
Miller transitioned into a different role in his junior year, coming off the bench for North Dakota State and playing significant minutes.
“I didn’t have a problem with it. I completely understood where [NDSU Head Coach Dave Richman] was coming from. The versatility off the bench and the different ways I could help the team coming off the bench. I completely understood it,” Miller told Hot Mic with Dom Izzo on March 5.
Miller was named the Summit League Conference Sixth Man of the Year for NDSU last season. He played in 30 games and averaged 11.3 points per game in conference play, scoring in double figures eleven times. Miller also pulled down 4.5 rebounds per game, was second in the team in offensive rebounding, and shot 37% from the 3-point line on 90 attempts.
Miller had his best game of the year in NDSU’s Summit League Quarterfinal loss to South Dakota. He put up 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
Miller adds versatility as a two-way player who can score at the rim, shoot from behind the arc, rebound and play defense.
“His freshman year, he played some point. You saw him at times against South Dakota State battle the five. He’s played every position and it’s a great luxury to have,” Richman said.
Miller was a last-minute addition to the transfer portal. According to a report from InForum, Miller announced on April 17 that he would return to NDSU for his senior season. Five days later, Miller entered the transfer portal on the last day of it on April 22.
With Miller, UNM men’s basketball coach Eric Olen adds another versatile guard with length and athleticism, which allows UNM to play with different non-traditional lineups.
“We’ve tried to add a lot of positional length and size. Outside of JT, we don’t have a lot of traditional size in the center position. But we’re trying to add length, athleticism. We value perimeter players and guards that rebound the ball, so that gives us a path to play a little smaller at times,” Olen told Will Webber and James Barron of the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Miller becomes the eleventh player to commit to Olen and UNM.
He currently has one year of eligibility remaining.
