Story by Blake Sandlin, Assistant Sports Editor
Two years of historic shots, remarkable heroics and unrivaled competitiveness inside the CFSB Center by seniors Terrell Miller and Jonathan Stark will come to an end on Saturday.
Saturday night’s game versus Tennessee Tech will mark the final time the two seniors will lace-up their Nikes in the Racers’ home arena. And while they certainly believe their post-season story is still being written, they’ll have just one final evanescent opportunity to showcase their respective skill sets in front of the hometown crowd.
Despite the significance of this milestone for the senior duo, Stark said his main concern is ending his final season on the right note.
“[The season has] blown by,” Stark said. “It felt like the season just started actually. Now we’ve got our last two home games of the year. It’s been a great year, but we’re not done yet. I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.”
Stark and Miller’s families will be on-hand on senior night to watch them be commemorated for their illustrious careers at Murray State. Both players transferred into the program – Miller from Southwest Mississippi Junior College and Stark from Tulane University.
Stark has scored a combined 1,098 in two seasons at Murray State, which is third all-time for two year players behind Cameron Payne and DT Mayes. He recently eclipsed 2,000 career points against UT Martin on Feb. 3. He’s averaging 20.6 PPG this year.
Miller has recorded 906 points in his two years with the Racers. He is just 94 points shy of Murray State’s 1,000-point club with four regular season games remaining as well as the OVC tournament. Miller is averaging 15.1 PPG.
For all of their individual success, the two have combined to form one of the most electric one-two punches in the country. They averaged a combined 37.9 PPG, which was among the highest two-player average in the nation last season.
But Stark and Miller aren’t content with statistics or accolades. They said they’re focused on extending their senior campaign into the month of March.
“I don’t feel like it has been a successful year for me, knowing it’s my last year,” Stark said. “I’ve never been to the NCAA tournament, and that’s my goal. I’ll never be satisfied until I’m able to achieve that goal.”
Part of developing as a team and as individual players involves learning from the mistakes of the past. Stark said the biggest problem with last year’s team, which finished 16-17, was their lack of consistent leadership. He and Miller have made it a goal to serve as willing leaders for their team.
“I felt like last year we had inconsistent leadership on the team and I just felt like we needed leaders to just be consistent every day and to have someone for the young guys to look up to or someone to talk to if they have any questions,” Stark said. “I feel like with this team, the younger guys have those guys that they can come to and ask questions if they need it. It’s good to know that, when you can be able to go to somebody to ask questions if you have questions about things whether it’s on or off the court.”
Miller said the biggest difference he has noticed since assuming the primary leadership
