Arizona State guard Adam Miller expected to make debut for the Sun Devils against TCU

Adam Miller will be making his Arizona State debut sooner than expected. And the Sun Devils could really use the boost.

Last week the transfer from LSU had his waiver for immediate eligibility denied by the NCAA. The 6-foot-3 guard needed one to be able to play without sitting out a year because he is a two-time Division I transfer who had yet to earn an undergraduate degree.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge John Bailey issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA rule requiring multi-time transfers to sit out a season. The ruling, which came in the Northern District of West Virginia, clears the way for transfers out for that reason to become eligible immediately.

The catch is that temporary restraining order only holds though Dec. 27. No one knows what will happen after that.

The Sun Devils (6-3) are bracing for their two most difficult nonconference games of the season, starting with a Saturday matchup at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth against TCU (7-1), the team to whom it lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.

The second game for ASU in that 14-day window will be Dec. 20 against No. 25 Northwestern at the Footprint Center as part of the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Series.

ASU coach Bobby Hurley met with the media Thursday afternoon in a session that was scheduled before the NCAA injunction news came out. He confirmed that he would let Miller play. There has been speculation as to whether or not playing in the games would burn a year of eligibility.

Hurley said Miller wants to play even if it means doing so will burn a year of eligibility. He has three years of eligibility left. There really is no reason for him not to play because he already used a redshirt year.

"I spoke with Adam about every possible scenario. It's his desire and will to want to play," Hurley said.

"His teammates know what he has been through and how stressful this has been for him considering he's already got some mental health factors that were part of his waiver anyway. The denial was a real setback to him. You could see what that took out of him but to have this decision now, you could just see his teammates embracing him and they could tell what a weight was lifted off his shoulders. I would say relief was the best word I could describe. Yesterday and today, you could just see he was a different guy. You could see he looks happy. He's full of life. It was a real positive thing for Adam and I'm happy for him."

The ultimate fate of the NCAA's transfer restrictions has yet to be hashed out.

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The NCAA is expected to appeal, with the next hearing set for Dec. 27. But for now, the NCAA is standing down on the issue.

"As a result of that decision impacting Division I student-athletes, the Association will not enforce the year in residency requirement for multiple-time transfers and will begin notifying member schools," the NCAA said in a statement.

Miller began his college career at Illinois where he started all 31 games, ranking fifth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg) and leading all freshmen in 3-pointers with 52. He went on to LSU to play for coach Will Wade in 2021, only to miss the 2021-22 season with a torn ACL suffered in preseason practice. He hit the transfer portal again after Wade’s firing but opted to rejoin the Tigers under his successor Matt McMahon.

Miller averaged 11.5 points per game with the Tigers in 33 starts last year.

In October the NCAA Division I Board of Directors requested the NCAA staff and committees consider potential modifications to the current rules, which allow second-time undergraduate transfers immediate eligibility only if an athlete had a physical injury or mental health condition that led to a transfer or under other extreme circumstances that could force a player to leave a school such as sexual assault or abuse.

Last week Hurley hinted that the "mental health" aspect was the grounds under which ASU lobbied for Miller's eligibility.

Players that are not eligible due to the rule can practice with the team, even sit on the bench during games. But Miller was not present when ASU defeated SMU at Desert Financial Arena last week.

After the game Hurley said Miller was having trouble dealing with the delay in his case.

"There were a couple of texts that we exchanged (Dec. 6) that were very upsetting to me. I said to him, `I know this is really tough for you so if you need to not be here today then let's do that. That's in your best interest.' That's all I care about," Hurley said after that game.

ASU currently ranks 338th out of 351 teams in rebounding margin, 278th in field goal percentage (42.2) and tied for 274th in scoring offense (70.1 ppg). The Sun Devils have also been shorthanded, not just playing without Miller but without big men Shawn Phillips and Zane Meeks out injured.

"He brings not just the shooting which we need, free-throw shooting, things like that," Hurley said. "But he's got experience and toughness. Like mental toughness. We need to get tougher. We were not that way the second half vs. San Diego (in Saturday night loss). You add another guy into the equation that brings that and that is desperately needed, particularly with the opponent we have coming up. It doesn't solve everything in terms of the interior presence with Shawn (Phillips) being out and the rebounding but getting him back will be a shot in the arm for our team."

Teammates are happy to have Miller back on the game floor too.

"He always brings great energy into the gym," point guard Frankie Collins said. "That didn't change. Just knowing that he can go out there and play with us on the floor that really helps us and will make us that much better. I think he spaces the floor out. He understands the game of basketball, plays hard and he can guard on the defensive end so I think he makes us 10 times better."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU G Adam Miller expected to make debut for Sun Devils against TCU