You would have to search far and wide to find a prospect who’s stock soared higher or faster than that of Dallas Skyline’s C.J. Miles over the past 12 months. A year ago at this time he was considered to be somewhat of an unknown, but after a very good high school season and an extremely productive summer playing with Team Texas(a high profile Nike organization), his name shot up the charts, and he eventually landed on virtually everyone’s top 25 national lists. After sorting through literally dozens of offers from elite programs from around the nation, this talented wing player chose to stay close to home, and announced that he would be signing with the Texas Longhorns as part of their 2005 class.

Elite Preps spoke with C.J.’s father, Calvin Miles, sr., on Tuesday afternoon, and got the inside scoop on their decision to select UT as the right program for them.

“In the end, we talked about Kansas, Georgia Tech, and Texas,” Mr. Miles said.

Although he did state that it was close between those three schools, there were a few things that ultimately tipped the balance in favor of the Longhorns.

“The main points were that we had a great visit there last weekend. We got along great with the players and the coaches, and we liked what they had to offer with their academics. We met with the dean of the business school, since C.J. is looking at majoring in business, and they had a lot of impressive things to show us,” he added.

Texas had several things to offer the 6’6, 205 pound C.J. Miles on the court, also. “The coaches told us that C.J. was their number one recruit all the way. They never brought anyone else in to take our spot,” Mr. Miles said. “Coach Barnes told us that there are 30 minutes of playing time a game to be had for C.J. coming in—mostly at shooting guard, but some at the three spot, also.”

What makes Miles special on the court is his exceptionally strong all around ability. Although he began his high school career as a point guard, an eight inch growth spurt caused him to shoot up to 6’6” by his junior season last year. That extra size resulted in him actually becoming the starting center on his high school team, where he led his squad to a perfect sweep in district play, and also a run into the regional round of the Texas playoffs.

Despite the increased height, Miles never lost the court awareness or ball handling skills that he mastered earlier in his prep career. Not only does play all five positions on the floor for Skyline, he actually plays them all very well. His inside out game is very tough to defend. The sweet shooting lefty can step outside and knock down the three, and his size and footwork also allow him to go down low and effectively post up other guards and even some forwards. Miles can dribble the ball with either hand, and has a natural crossover dribble that he uses to create his own shot and get to the basket.(His behind the back crossover is particularly nasty.) He is a deft passer for a player of his size, and is an especially flashy passer in traffic down on the low blocks.

This entire package makes Miles particularly devastating to other teams in the transition game. Because of his height and slender frame, he is able to get his own rebound and immediately push the ball up the floor in the full court. Using his tremendous all around arsenal, he can either pull up and knock down an outside shot, create his own look and get to the rim for a dunk, or drop off one of his sweet no look dishes to a teammate for an open layup underneath the basket.

Mr. Miles said that the commitment to Texas was extremely solid at this point. “This is it,” he said. “This is the end of the road.”