April 24, 2006
OregonPreps.com Staff
OregonPreps.com
Rivals.com
Will it be D-II or D-III for Jeff Miner?
Jeff Miner is close to making one of the biggest decisions in his young life. The all-around 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard from Barlow High School in Gresham has narrowed his list of prospective colleges to two and having made visits to both, all he needs to do now is select one. For Miner, it all boils down to a few factors and he could be making things final this week.
Miner just came back from a visit to Division II power Montana State-Billings, where everything he saw and heard was pretty much to his liking. "It was a good trip," Miner said. "I met a lot of the guys, and played a little with them too - and I thought I held my own. I also came away with a scholarship offer. I haven't made a final decision right now, but they're my number one choice."
Miner has boiled down his choices to a pair, and along with Montana State-Billings is Pacific University in Forest Grove. "Pacific had shown me a lot of interest during the season and I took a visit there and it's a good school," Miner said. "It's good academically, and the guys there all get along well and have fun playing together. The coaches are doing something special there too - they doubled their wins their first year there."
Now that he knows who his finalists are, Miner is breaking down the pros and cons of each school and basketball program, trying to figure out what will be the path he takes. He elaborated what he likes about each.
"With MSU-Billings, I like the school size better and they have a great program," Miner said. "The coach there has been to the big time before - he recruited Shaq to LSU when he was an associate coach there. It feels like a big-time college, and they travel everywhere - Kansas, Texas, New Mexico."
"With Pacific, they've been recruiting me since the beginning and they are building something special there as well," Miner said. "It'd be neat to be one of the first recruiting classes to turn things around."
Miner also indicated that MSU-Billings' scholarship offer definitely plays a role in his decision, as it's always been his dream to get his college education fully paid for. But Pacific has always been there for him, and he likes everything the school can offer him as well. What it all comes down to is a tough decision, but Miner isn't going to dwell on it too long.
"I'd like to decide sooner rather than later," Miner said. "I'm not going to rush into anything though and will think everything through because it's an important thing. It'll come down to how much I want to push myself in basketball and where I feel I fit in the best."