Miller leads Kentucky to SEC title, named MVP

Often in the background behind Kentucky's parade of first-round draft picks, Miller accumulated 40 points and 17 rebounds in Kentucky's three wins, including 15 and six on Sunday.

"We've been waiting on him to play like this all year," said Tony Delk, Kentucky staff assistant and former Hawk.

Miller, a junior, put his signature on the game in a 2 1/2-minute stretch in the second half. Down by as many as 12 early in the second half, Florida cut the lead to eight with 11:09 to go. On the next possession, Miller took a pass from Knight to drop a 3-pointer. Two Kentucky possessions later, he hit a 3-pointer over Florida forward Chandler Parsons to push the lead to 14.

Shortly thereafter, he hustled back on defense to force guard Kenny Boynton to miss a layup. The extra cushion helped the Wildcats withstand a final charge from Florida, which returned the lead to eight with 6:06 to play but never got closer.

Miller also limited Parsons, the SEC player of the year, to nine points on 4-of-12 shooting. Parsons, who has played against Miller seven times, called him a mismatch because of his guard skills in his 6-foot-7 body.

"And they run some stuff that really lets him do his thing out there," Parsons said. "And I think he's gotten a lot better."

The latter observation is an apt summation. Florida and Tennessee were among Miller's suitors coming out of Mason County High in Kentucky, about 60 miles from Lexington. But Miller, whose childhood possessions included a photo with Delk and a Delk-signed basketball, wanted to be a Wildcat.

Playing with eventual NBA players Jodie Meeks, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton, all first-round picks except Meeks, Miller averaged fewer than seven points per game in his first two seasons. He flashed ability -- he grabbed 10 rebounds in his second career start and scored 20 in his second NCAA tournament game --  but was not consistent.

"He's all about winning," said Miller's father, Brian. "But when you need him to perform, he'll come through. The thing is, he's just waiting his turn."

This season, he scored in double figures in five SEC games in a row, then disappeared in a loss to Ole Miss but is closing with a fury. He has scored in double figures in the Wildcats' last nine games, averaging 15.4 points and grabbing four-plus rebounds in seven of them. Kentucky is 8-1 in those games.

"I'm just playing more aggressively," Miller said. "I know I'm a part of this team, a big part of this team, so I just try to come out, do whatever I can to help the team win."

This week, that was to play like a star.

Said coach John Calipari, "I said all along, I think Darius has the talent and ability and skill to be the best player in our league. And this week, obviously, he was."

Notes: The all-tournament team had guard Kenny Boynton and Parsons from Florida, and forward Josh Harrellson, Knight and tournament MVP Miller from Kentucky. … Hawks center and former Florida star Al Horford, general manager Rick Sund and former Hawks coach Mike Woodson all attended the game, though not together. … Sunday's attendance was 21,409 for a total attendance of 197,385, the highest since 2005. The tournament will return to the dome in 2014; Philips Arena will host the ACC tournament in 2012. … Derrick Floyd, a co-captain of Georgia's 1983 Final Four team, was the official scorer for multiple games this week; Floyd is now the director of operations for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Athens. … Kentucky won its 27th SEC tournament, which is three more than all of the other SEC teams combined. The Wildcats have won five of the 10 tournaments played at the dome.