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4 Dusty Mills

Name
Dusty Mills
Position
Guard
Class
FR
Hometown (Last School)
Noblesville, IN (High)
Ht
5'6"
Wt
165
Seasons
2007-08
Birthday
October 21, 1988

Dusty Mills was born Dustin Brock Mills on October 21, 1988, to Bryan and Cathie Mills.  He has three brothers, Brandon, Jake and Nick.

Mills was a two-year letterwinner at Noblesville High School in Indiana.  His team posted a 20-3 record as a senior as he averaged 2.2 points and 2.0 assists per game.

After averaging just two points as a senior at Noblesville, Mills became of the most improbable stories in college basketball. He came to the University of Kentucky as an accounting student and made it through a tryout with 23 others to become a walk-on for the nation’s winningest program. 

“I’m living a dream,” he said. “I came here with no intention to play basketball. I didn’t even start for my high school team. But I gave it a try, and they asked me to come back. I’m on a day-to-day contract, but it’s really a dream come true.”

UK coach Billy Gillispie liked having several walk-ons and said players such as Mills are vital. Mark Krebs, Dwight Perry, Matt Scherbenske, Mark Coury and former Pleasure Ridge Park star Kerry Benson are the other nonscholarship players on the roster.  “Everyone on a team should be able to help you win,” Gillispie said. “You have to bring something to the table that gives yourself an opportunity to help your team win. I do think that Dusty has something. I don’t know exactly what it is yet. It’s not height, I can promise you that. But he plays at a high intensity.”

Noblesville coach Dave McCollough called Mills a “spark plug” and the Millers’ defensive stopper, but he said no college teams were interested in him.  Mills, who grew up a Florida fan, wanted to go to school in Gainesville but wasn’t accepted. He came to UK because of his family’s ties to Kentucky. His grandfather, Bobby, is a Maysville native and played baseball at Eastern Kentucky University. His brother, Brandon, is a student at UK. 

“He’s living a dream that every male in the family has always wanted, including his grandpa,” Bobby Mills told “The Indianapolis Star.  Dusty Mills told McCollough last spring that he wanted to walk on, but the player thought it was a pipe dream.  Mills said he called UK’s basketball office to inquire about walking on but never got a return call.  Then Mills saw an advertisement in the student newspaper for an open walk-on tryout. He ended up being the only player out of 24 to be invited back for a second practice. After that one, he was sent to the compliance office to fill out the paperwork to become a member of the squad.

“My dad told me I had nothing to lose,” Mills said. “I guess I stood out. I knew it wasn’t my ability. I guess more my hustle. Always as a little kid, everyone says they want to play Division I basketball. I never thought I would, but I’m here now.”

The news of Mills’ achievement spread quickly to Noblesville, which is just north of Indianapolis. He had two newspaper articles written about him back home, and he said, “My entire city has fallen in love with me.”

On February 13, 2008, Gillispie dismissed Mills from the team in part for laughing at inopportune times.  The TV broadcast of UK’s win at Georgia showed Mills laughing during a timeout when Ramel Bradley was injured after a hard fall. He also appeared to be laughing at one point during the Wildcats’ 41-point loss the previous week at Vanderbilt.

Mills made four appearances for UK and handed out two assists.

College Statistics:

NCAA

SeasonTeamMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Kentucky50100000022000041.30.00000.00.50.00.00.0
Total-50100000022000041.30.00000.00.50.00.00.0

Career Totals

SeasonMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2007-0850100000022000041.30.00000.00.50.00.00.0
Total50100000022000041.30.00000.00.50.00.00.0

 

dusty mills

dusty mills

dusty mills

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 27, 1951, UK wins its third NCAA title, defeating Kansas State, 68-58, in the finals in Minneapolis.

 

On March 27, 1978, Jack “Goose” Givens scores 41 points as UK wins its fifth NCAA Championship, 94-88, over Duke in St. Louis.  Givens scored the last 16 points of the first half for Kentucky, bringing his first-half total up to 23 points. Givens poured in another 18 points in the second half.  Givens' helped lead the Wildcats to their first title in over 20 years.  More than 10,000 fans greet the team at Blue Grass Airport and 15,000 more celebrate at Memorial Coliseum

 

On March 27, 1993, Kentucky beat Florida State to advance to the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. The victory completed a string of four games in which the Wildcats blitzed their Southeast Region opponents by an average of 31.0 points - the largest margin of victory by a team through four games en route to the Final Four.

 

On March 27, 2009, Billy Gillispie is fired as the Kentucky head basketball coach.

 

On March 27, 2011, freshman Brandon Knight scored 22 points and fourth-seeded Kentucky advanced to the Final Four for the first time since the 1998 title with a 76-69 win over second-seeded North Carolina in the East Regional final of the NCAA Tournament.  The last minute of the game became the DeAndre Liggins show, as he blocked a shot on defense, hit a game-winning three-pointer on offense, then blocked another shot on defense to seal the victory. He finished with 12 points..

 

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