Nate Oats: Brandon Miller was in ‘wrong spot at wrong time’ night of Jamea Harris killing

Alabama coach Nate Oats said Tuesday that star Tide freshman Brandon Miller is “not in any trouble” after prosecutors revealed details of his contact with teammate Darius Miles the night of Jamea Harris’ killing in Tuscaloosa last month.

At a hearing for Miles’ capital murder charge Tuesday, law enforcement officers testified that Miller brought Miles the gun that another defendant, Michael Davis, allegedly used to murder Harris.

“We’ve known the situation since [it happened],” Oats said. “We’ve been fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time. The whole situation is sad. The team closed practice with a prayer for the situation today, knowing that we had this trial today. We think of Jamea and her family, Kaine. Really think about her son, Kaine, that was left behind. So it’s sad.

“We knew about that. Can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time.”

Asked by AL.com’s Carol Robinson why Miller was not charged, Tuscaloosa chief deputy D.A. Paula Whitley said, “That’s not a question I can answer. There’s nothing we could charge with him according to the law.”

In addition to Miller, prosecutors said Tuesday in court that Alabama freshman guard Jaden Bradley was also present at the scene of the Jan. 15 shooting. Bradley has started 18 games for Alabama this season and ranks fourth on the team in scoring 7.9 points per game.

A day after Miles was arrested and charged with capital murder, and later dismissed from the team, Oats held a news conference during which he was asked if any other players were involved.

“All of us got together last night. It’s an ongoing investigation,” Oats responded Jan. 16. “Our entire remaining team is traveling to Nashville and will be available to play in the game [against Vanderbilt] tomorrow.”

Miller, who has started all 27 games for Alabama this season, is widely predicted to turn professional this summer after one season at Alabama. The former five-star recruit and McDonald’s high school All-American from the Nashville area was projected by ESPN earlier this month to be taken No. 4 overall in the 2023 draft this June.

“I’m sure NBA scouts will ask,” Oats said. “They do their homework. I think the article that it came out in also stated that Brandon has been interviewed and they’re comfortable with everything that happened there.”

Miller leads the SEC in scoring at 18.7 points per game. He is a finalist for the Julius Erving award as the best small forward in college basketball.

AL.com’s Carol Robinson contributed to this report.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.