6’7” Starkville wing makhi myles commits to blazers
MAY 1, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
By Steve Irvine
Makhi Myles wasn’t certain that Birmingham was destined to be his new home when he arrived at UAB for his official recruiting visit with Andy Kennedy’s basketball program. By the time his official visit ended on Tuesday, however, the 6-foot-7 Starkville, Mississippi native knew he wanted to be a Blazer.
“It was a possibility of me committing or not committing,” Myles said. “I really just wanted to see the campus, meet the coaches, meet the staff and meet some of the players. I wanted to see everything before I made a final decision on where I wanted to go.”
What pushed him toward committing and then signing with the program before he headed back to Starkville?
“I like the culture of winning around the program,” Myles said. “(Two) of the coaches (Kennedy and assistant coach Rob Williams) are Mississippi guys. I’m a Mississippi person myself and (Birmingham) is right up the road from my house. On top of that, I felt like everything fit perfectly for me.”
UAB is getting a versatile player, who was one of the top high school players in Mississippi while playing at Starkville High. Myles averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks as a junior and followed that by producing 22 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.7 blocks per game as a senior in 2022-23.
His college recruitment began picking up steam during his sophomore season and interested schools, he said, included Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Missouri, Creighton and South Florida. He signed with Wichita State but, following his senior season, head coach Isaac Brown was fired. Myles chose to attend Sunrise Christian Academy in the Wichita suburb of Bel Aire, to play for one of the top post-grad programs in the country.
“It was a good situation, coming out of Starkville High School,” Myles said of Wichita State. “It wasn’t like I decommitted because of any particular reason. It was just the coaching staff did get fired. They kind of wiped the slate clean with everybody and they hired new people. I didn’t really know the people that were coming in. I didn’t want to be part of something I was uncomfortable with. I stepped back, evaluated everything and kept my options open.”
The best option, at least for Myles, was to take the prep school route to play for one of the nation’s top post-grad programs. He had a season-high 35 points in a win over a Putnam (Connecticut) Science Academy team that was No. 1 in the country at that time.
“My grandparents raised me to be able to take care of myself,” Myles said. “I just went out there and it was a learning experience. We said from the beginning that we’re doing this to learn and to mature a little bit. I was playing basketball away from home, so I could already know what that’s like. It did seem like a good option for us.”
Now, he’s preparing to find his spot on a team that returns a strong core from a NCAA Tournament participant and has added some key pieces.
“There is always room to learn, even if I don’t play my first year, don’t play a lot or even if I start,” Myles said. “It’s always going to be a learning process because it’s a new environment, new players. The older guys, they already know the system, so they’ll be able to help me.”
Myles does bring a variety of skills that could be helpful quickly.
“I just want to do what it takes to win,” Myles said. “If that means I have to shoot the ball or if that means I have to dunk it, rebound it, play defense, I do it all. I play a little bit of the 5 if I need to but my main thing is the 2, 3 and 4. I’m definitely a hustle player. I like to make hustle plays, like blocking shots, rebounding and stuff like that. I am a 3-point shooter. I like to shoot the ball. I like to be a playmaker.”