At a university where nearly every athletic program is nationally relevant, there’s never a shortage of options. There are always electric playmakers to be found.
The Reveille Athlete of the Week is LSU men’s basketball’s Vyctorius Miller.
In 2023, LSU struggled throughout the first half of the season. The Tigers’ springtime surge wasn’t enough to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, and seven players left before the 2024 campaign. The purple and gold needed a boost to start this season off fast, and they’ve gotten it through their recruiting.
The Bayou Bengals brought in three first-year players this season for what was the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation according to 247Sports. Part of that class is Vyctorius Miller, who’s become a lethal scorer in the early going of LSU’s season. 
Miller rose to the occasion on Tuesday against Charleston Southern. Headlined by his 19 points on 9-14 shooting (64.3%) and two steals, the purple and gold moved to 4-0 for the first time in two years when they beat the Buccaneers 77-68.
“I mean, it’s really just you got to stay down till you come up, and I feel like when the moment was there, that’s when I rise above all, and that’s what I did tonight,” Miller said.
“Just credit to VJ, he come into work every day, early mornings,” LSU guard Jordan Sears said. “He come in and do that every day, and I feel like its really starting to show.”
Miller put together another double-digit performance in a 74-63 loss to Pittsburgh in the opening round of the Greenbrier Tip-Off in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. His 14 points were tied for a team-high.
“My teammates put confidence in me out the gate, and they know what I can do,” Miller said. “It’s been easy.”
Miller also came up big in LSU’s thrilling triple overtime win over UCF in the third-place game at Greenbrier. He had 16 points, including four to help LSU pull away in the third overtime period.
Most significant is the fact that Miller has taken a spot in LSU’s closing lineup, as the team trusts him in crunch time.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard from Los Angeles, California, attended Arizona Compass Prep. Miller led Compass Prep to a 27-6 record in 2023 and a spot in the Chipotle National High School Championships. He averaged 11.5 points, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, shooting 46.7% overall and 41.4% from three-point range. Miller was the No. 42 player in ESPN’s high school rankings.