Justin Milch Heading to the Midwest

Justin (Terra Nova High/College of San Mateo) Milch heads out real soon for college (try a couple of days), his recently announced choice being Holy Cross College in Indiana, and he'll be playing basketball this winter for Coach Mike McBride's NAIA-affiliated Saints. According to Milch, Holy Cross led pretty much all along (after reaching out in the beginning of summer) but he made his mind up recently. "I took a virtual visit, talked with my family and coaches and eventually decided to make it official."

The Milch family has participated in collegiate athletics over the decades so he was well-served by holding these familial discussions surrounding his recruitment. His grandfather played football at UCLA, his father played basketball at Humboldt State and his older brother Jared played baseball at D1 Stony Brook University (New York).

Family, Plus One

As for influences, Milch cited "my Dad who has been my coach my whole life, a role model in sports, academics and life for me. Plus, my Mom and my brothers. (College of San Mateo Coach) Mike Marcial gives off such great energy on and off the court."

What will Saints fans witness when Milch takes to the court? As Coach Marcial explained, “Justin is going to provide instant scoring to the Saints this upcoming season. His basketball intelligence and skill will give him a great opportunity to make an immediate impact. He has an incredible ability to get his shot off the dribble and catch."

Marcial added, "Justin is also a pesky defender on the ball and will sacrifice his body defensively to help his team win. The Saints are getting one heck of a guard!”

"I'll most likely be playing mostly as an off-the-ball guard," Milch explained. Forsaking the term leadership, Milch said, "I have the ability to become one with my teammates, I'm a team guy. Everyone has a role and it needs to be followed to a T to have the best chance of being successful."

He averaged 8.8 points per game in 30 contests this season, shooting 40%, 35% and 80% respectively.

Milch focused on kinesiology at San Mateo but that's not officially on the books as a major by Holy Cross so he'll decide on his major once a determination is made on which of his classes transfer over. One plus is Holy Cross College has an academic connection with University of Notre Dame, a fellow in-town school, allowing Holy Cross students to enroll in certain Notre Dame class offerings. Possessing a 3.62 grade point average, Milch is ready for any level of academic rigor.

Regarding his best basketball moments, Milch offered, "winning a high school championship at Terra Nova in my senior COVID year. It took four years but I finally got it." He added, "taking down some of the top-seeded state title contenders" while at College of San Mateo." That included a 69-64 victory over high-ranked San Jose City College this season.

To the question of why basketball for him and not some other sports, he said, "basketball has been part of my life since I was three and now I'm 20. That's 17 years. When I'm on the court, nothing else matters. I just love the sound of the ball bouncing."

Now he'll be hearing that sweet sound in the middle of this country.