Rutgers freshman star Kiyomi McMiller missed Sunday's game against No. 4 USC because of a "coach's decision," the Maryland native shared in an Instagram story over the weekend.
The guard has been averaging a team best 19.9 points per contest and has a total of 45 assists. McMiller has registered eight 20+ point games this season, which is second in the nation only to USC's JuJu Watkins. Without McMiller, the Scarlet Knights suffered a 92-42 loss to the Trojans, their worst loss in program history.
"I would like to apologize to my fans. I will not be playing in today's game vs. USC, which is #4 in the country," McMiller wrote on Sunday. "This decision was made by my Head Coach Coquese Washington. Thank you for your continued support."
McMiller, the first high school player to sign an NIL deal with Jordan Brand, also shared several posts from fans expressing disappointment about her not playing. She was not on the bench during Sunday's game.
McMiller's advisor, Leonard Ellerbe -- the former CEO of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather's promotional company -- told NJ Advance Media Rutgers did not handle the situation properly.
"It was shocking," Ellerbe said. "In my opinion, this should have been handled in an entirely different matter, and I think this is embarrassing to the entire program."
Rutgers coach Coquese Washington did not give any details on what led to McMiller getting benched, but she explained she saw this as a teaching moment.
"The thing with Kiyomi, we are going to keep it internal," Washington said. "Somebody sent me a post from the Kansas State men's basketball coach from one of of his recent press conferences. He talked about his faith and how he sees coaching as a ministry. What he does leading and connecting with the young men on his team springs from his perception and his understatement that what he does is a ministry.
"For me, coaching is not just about what happens on the court on game day; it's about how we impact these young women who are in our program in all aspects from their character, to their growth and to womanhood and to their decision making. I see my role as a coach as being more than Xs and Os, and wins and losses."