Standout transfer’s journey takes him to USD

For the first time in over a year, Juevol Myles is playing on a Division-I basketball court. The USD senior point guard made it clear how much it means to him.

“It’s one of the greatest feeling in the world. Basketball is basically my life. I love basketball,” Myles said.

A gifted scorer with tremendous shooting range and solid ball handling abilities, Myles certainly has talent.

Through the first 10 games, he’s averaged 13.7 points per game and an additional 4.2 assists. But even as he has helped the Coyotes get out to a 4-6 start, Myles relishes the opportunity to play.

For Myles, reaching this point in his athletic career has been somewhat of a struggle, a path not without its fair share of adversity and unfortunate circumstances.

Born in Ajax, Canada, the 23-year-old grew up playing basketball from a young age.

“I finished up at Pickering High School where we won back-to-back championships,” Myles said. “I played with a bunch of good players, a couple current D-I and pro players. Coming out of high school, I was recruited by Hawaii, Central Florida and Louisiana Tech.”

Myles eventually committed to Louisiana Tech but never stepped foot on campus because of issues with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

“In Canada, we could stay for five years (to finish high school). There was an NCAA rule that came out the year before I finished high school that made me ineligible (to play Division I),” Myles said.

Determined make the best of the situation, Myles settled to play at Tallahassee Community College in Florida until he became eligible for Division I competition.

“I was in a unique situation; I went there in January and (started) school and then started playing the following year, my freshman season.,” Myles said. “Then I graduated after that season.”

In his first-year campaign, Myles had an outstanding year for the Tallahassee Eagles, averaging 21 points per game in 19 contests. His breakout season led to scholarship offers from several Division-I programs in major conferences, including Oklahoma, Nebraska, Baylor and Florida.

Ultimately, Myles opted to play for Kansas State University, a Big 12 team coached by Frank Martin. During his sophomore season in 2010, Myles spent most of his time on the bench, playing in only 19 of the team’s 34 games. He mostly backed up star point guard Jacob Pullen, who led the Wildcats to a NCAA tournament bid.

After he finished his sophomore season, several circumstances left Myles contemplating his future. Myles went to his father figure in his AAU coach Chris Mueller for advice.

“I’m a big person on loyalty and trust. Both my AAU coaches, Russell and Kassin(?) told me that they thought it’d be best for me to leave (Kansas State). There were also some health issues going on with my grandma that made me lean towards going home,” Myles said.

He went back home to Canada over the summer after officially parting ways with the Wildcats. At the time of his departure, Myles said about 10 to 12 Division I schools were interested in him.

However, his scholarship offers dwindled after it became clear that Myles would have to forfeit a year of eligibility in order to transfer to another program.

If a school were to offer Myles a scholarship, it would essentially only get a year’s worth of play for a two-year scholarship.

“A bunch of the bigger schools didn’t want to take that chance when they could go get a junior college player for two years or (offer a scholarship) to a high school player for four years.”

Myles describes that time as a personal all-time low.

His dream to play Division I basketball looked as if it was in jeopardy.

“I think that’s when I hit rock-bottom. I was down. I had twelve (schools) and slowly over the summer they went away. I actually visited a D-II school because I was going to say ‘forget it, let me just finish up my college,’” Myles said.

At perhaps the bleakest point in his life, a glimmer of hope reached Myles amidst the darkness: an offer to play for the University of South Dakota.

“Coach Russell told me I had three schools left (on the list) and then USD called. Next thing you know, I was told I had two days to get down here. I didn’t know where it was. After my conversations with USD assistant coach Chris Kassin, I looked them up on the Internet and that was about it. I told my mom I was coming here and I left.”

After sitting out last season, Myles was cleared for eligibility in the fall. Since then, he has stood out as a key contributor for the team. Head coach Dave Boots said Myles has spent the early regular season games getting back into the flow of the game.

“He’s just learning,” Boots said. “He’s really only played basketball competitively for one year at the junior college. The year he played at Kansas State, he played very few minutes and sat out last year so he’s one of our new guys as far as our system.”

Boots said Myles still has room to improve even as a senior.

“We’re asking him to be our point guard and as a point guard, we ask him to initiate our offense,” Boots said. “He’s still trying to find his way into what we really want him to do. We’ve only played ten games so he’s still got adjustments to make.”

Myles admitted he still isn’t playing at the level he would like to be.

“I think it’s been a good adjustment so far early in the season but I’m a ways away from where I want to be,” Myles said. “That’s me pushing myself and the coaches pushing me. I feel like one thing I do need to get better at is my defense. Like the coaches say, I’m the person who starts the defense so if I bring energy and toughness, it will help the team.”

With the bulk of conference play still ahead, the pursuit of excellence is just another step in a journey.