Miles Oliver of Etiwanda shows maturity beyond his years

Miles Oliver talks about being the youngster on a veteran team.

The Etiwanda Eagles came up short in the Southern Section Open Division championship, falling to Bishop Montgomery 56-50 on Saturday at the Honda Center.

The Eagles had issues tonight that hadn’t plagued them all season. Poor shooting (29.1% from the field), ill-timed turnovers, foul trouble to a key player. All played a role. Despite those woes they still almost won.

Coach Dave Kleckner said earlier in the week sophomore point guard Miles Oliver was the team leader. That’s a little surprising given his youth and the fact that he has more seasoned varsity players in some of his seniors.

But when Oliver went to the bench in foul trouble early in the third quarter the Eagles were a different team. By the time he came back it was too late.

He had perhaps the biggest moment of the game when he knocked down a 3-pointer to make to cut the deficit to 53-50 with 14 seconds left. A not so great moment soon followed when he air-balled the free throw that owuld have completed a 4-point play.

After the game Oliver, Kameron Edwards and Delewis Johnson accompanied Kleckner to the post-game interview podium. That’s tough for professionals, let alone youngsters that are still reeling from the disappointment. But all handled it well.

You learn lessons win you win but probably learn more when you lose.

Oliver publicly apologized for the fouls he picked up that proved costly. His poise and demeanor were an example of what Kleckner described earlier in the week.

This kid is going to be fun to watch over the next two years and the shining moments are sure to far outnumber the sub-par ones.

And he gets bonus point for the unique hair!

Share this
Plusone Twitter Facebook Tumblr Reddit Stumbleupon Email