Sandusky's DaShanti Miller closes in on scoring, rebounding milestones

SANDUSKY — DaShanti Miller went to the back of the bus, sat down and began pouting. It was her seventh-grade basketball season and she wasn't getting a lot of playing time. Sandusky varsity coach Richard Koonce, who attended the game to gauge the future of his program, saw some unmistakeable body language and figured it was time for a talk. "I went back there and asked her why she was mad," Koonce recalled. "I asked her some pointed questions. I said, 'Who are you outplaying here who played most of the game?' She said, 'nobody.' That's my point. When she could outplay them and have some skills, then she'd be in the game more. I told her, 'all you gotta do is work.' I think she took it to heart." Miller, now a star senior for the Blue Streaks, has come a long way since riding the bench five years ago. She's now an all-conference player and is on pace to finish her high school career with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds — a rare double-double that no other player at Sandusky High School has reached. The 5-foot-11 center, who admits she was bullied because of her weight when she was young, has grown into a strong, confident basketball player who hopes to continue her athletic career in college. It's safe to say she listened to a caring coach that pivotal day four years ago. "Ever since then, I've been working hard and Coach Koonce has been there every step of the way," Miller said. "Even in middle school he was helping me, and he's a high school coach." Miller has, in turn, helped the Streaks make positive strides. The four-year starter has seen her teams win six, eight and 14 games the past three seasons. Sandusky will take a 5-2 record into Saturday's matchup against rival Perkins, a team the Streaks haven't defeated since the 2013-14 season, Koonce's first as head coach. "Four years of playing them we've never beaten them, even in middle school," Miller said. "Discipline is the key to winning." Senior spotlight It will be Senior Day for the Blue Streaks when they host the Pirates. Miller will be joined by her mother and stepfather, Natasha and Keith Polk, for what will be an emotional ceremony. She'll also remember Christopher Clark, her mother's former boyfriend who died of sickle cell anemia on Feb. 4, 2015. Clark helped raise Miller and she honors him by writing his name on her shoes. She said she began playing because of Clark, who loved football and basketball. "I was scared to play football so my next step was basketball. I started playing basketball for him," Miller said. "Every day before a game I go out there (to the cemetery) and see him." Natasha still gets emotional when talking about the positive influence Clark and her husband have had on her children. DaShanti is the youngest of four. "She grew up without a father until Chris. It didn't stop her," Natasha said before pausing. "Just talking about her and the things we've been through the last six years … she said she was going to make something of herself and it's exactly what she did. "It's been a rollercoaster ride, especially when (Clark) died. It's still a hurtful thing, but he's always going to be watching over us." Two years ago, on the anniversary of Clark's death, DaShanti went to the free throw line in a win-or-lose situation. She missed a free throw and began crying. DaShanti has scored a lot of points since that day and is much more comfortable in pressure situations. "Now she'll look at my husband before free throws and give him a wink," Natasha said. 'I love rebounding' Miller has scored 928 points and grabbed 905 rebounds in her career, which means she should hit 1,000 in both statistical categories in early February. She's averaging 20.7 points and 15.1 rebounds per game this season and is a lock to make the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division first team for a second straight season. When asked what she enjoyed more — scoring or rebounding — Miller did not hesitate. "I love rebounding," she answered. "I can get more physical and box out. When I rebound it's easier for me to put it back up. I like scoring on putbacks. "We practice that a lot. We throw it off the backboard, get the rebound and someone steps up and we have to shoot it over them." Koonce points out that Miller generally grabs as many (or more) rebounds on the offensive end of the court. "She's kind of like the Dennis Rodman of our team," he said. "She's just working." Miller has added to her game through the years, helped by offseason workouts and a few years on the AAU circuit. She's a physical player, but she's also capable of bringing the ball up court against pressure defense. It's not something you might not expect. Same goes for her nickname. Bunny. Miller got the nickname from her seventh-grade coach, Nikki Scheel. "She gave it to me because when I was younger I didn't know what a jump shot was, so any time I shot the ball I would hop forward instead of jump up and down," Miller said. "So she started calling me Bunny." The name has grown on Miller. "Whenever I get introduced I get introduced as 'Bunny.' Everyone calls me Bunny," she said. "I was only going to use it for basketball, but now it's everywhere so I just stick with it." Standing out Miller might have a permanent nickname, but that's not the case when it comes to her hair. In early December she changed the color to a pink-purple mix because her older sister bought her a pink Nike hat for Christmas. She began experimenting with different colors in August 2019. "I got into hair dyeing and I'm in cosmetology and like to try different things," she said. "I tried to do a blue (the first time) but it came out green." Miller says it takes her about two hours to change her hair color and is considering going with blue for Senior Day. As in Blue Streak blue. "I feel when I have a different hair color it helps me stand out more," she said. "I like it when little kids walk past me and say, 'Mommy, look at her hair.' " Miller is easy to spot on the court because of her game. But she says what she'll miss the most next year when she's playing college ball — she's considering a few offers from small schools — is the camaraderie of her team. The Streaks like to reenact one of Koonce's animated lectures with junior guard Quincy Burchett playing a starring role. Allow Miller to explain: "One time we were in the weight room and we weren't going hard at all," she said. "Coach Koonce got mad. He was yelling at us, giving us a lecture. Nobody looked like they were paying attention so he went to the other side of the room and threw the clipboard down to get everybody's attention. Every year we reenact that. Quincy gets to throw the clipboard." It's all in good fun, of course. Miller has great respect for Koonce — "love him" — and her mother, Natasha, says the coach is "like family." Koonce said Miller has "made the most progress out of any girl I've coached in a short period of time." As her high school career winds down, Miller pauses to take inventory of where she was and where she is. And these days, the rides in Sandusky school buses are much more enjoyable. "I never thought about going to another school," she said. "The coaching staff here, the players, everybody makes me feel like I'm wanted. Everybody just gives me good vibes here. I love it." —— DaShanti Miller's numbers Season Pts/game Reb/game 2017-18 8.3 10.5 2018-19 11.0 11.2 2019-20 15.0 14.1 2020-21 20.7 15.1