Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Meet the Former K-State Athletics Intern on USA Basketball’s Tokyo Journey
Jul 28, 2021 | General, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
When he leaves his hotel room, Trenton Miller is pretty sure he's going to bump into one of the greatest basketball players in the world.
That's part of the routine for USA Basketball's Digital Communications Manager at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
"You get to know them a little bit because you're around them so much, you're at airports, on buses, picking up luggage, going to get meals," Miller, a 2016 Kansas State graduate, said. "They're basketball players, but they're also good people."
At the Tokyo Hilton, Miller is staying with the United States men's and women's national basketball teams, along with the women's 3x3 team that will compete in Tokyo for the first time.
That means three-time NBA champion Draymond Green is staying down the hall.
And in the workout room, Miller has figured out that the winningest coach in NBA history, Gregg Popovich, is a morning guy but NCAA champion Jay Wright and Dawn Staley usually hit the treadmill before dinner. That's all starting to become normal.
But a hug and a "Hiii Trent" from soccer star Megan Rapinoe, a familiar face as the fiancée of USA Basketball's Sue Bird, is enough to make Miller realize his job is never going to feel ordinary.
"When Sue was the flag bearer, [Megan] was here saying what's up and helping everybody with their outfits," he said. "Whenever somebody's like, 'Who's the craziest person you meet in this job,' that's the craziest person. I'm a soccer guy. It's definitely 'Pinoe."
For Miller, the road to Tokyo began in Manhattan as a student assistant with the K-State Athletics Communications department.
As a high school senior, Miller shadowed K-State Executive Associate AD Kenny Lannou before he even got to campus. Once he was a freshman, Miller started volunteering for everything.
"You're putting in hours on a Saturday when you could be in the student section, but you're learning and gaining experience alongside guys who are funny as hell and just good people," he said. "That's why I kept coming back."
It was one of those people, K-State Soccer and Women's Basketball Communications Director Randy Peterson, who sent Miller an application for an internship with USA Basketball in Colorado Springs.
"It was only eight hours from home, and it felt like a great opportunity," Miller said. "Even when [the 2020 Olympics] were postponed, there wasn't any hesitation once I found out my job was secure."
Fresh off a pair of gold medals at the Rio Olympics, USA Basketball was beginning another four-year cycle when Miller arrived in 2016.
As the federation looked to grow their social media presence, they turned to Miller, then an intern with the PR department, as the team's Manager of Digital Communications in 2017.
During his four-year run with USA Basketball, Miller has traveled to tournaments in China, Serbia and Australia, along with trips across the country to cover the USA women's national team in matchups against different college teams.
The American women have brought back the same core group of players year-after-year, future Hall of Famers like Bird and Diana Taurasi. Those relationships have carried over to Tokyo.
"They've been really good to me and really kind to me over the past couple of years. I eat with them in their meal room. It's nothing against the men, honestly, the women's team is just closer to the food," he said. "But you get to know them as people, and I've been grateful to develop friendships with the women's national team."
The Summer Olympics through Miller's eyes are both a marathon and a sprint. All told, he will be on the road for more than a month, between the pre-Olympic exhibition games in Las Vegas and the two-week tournament in Tokyo.
That's the grind of staging a basketball tournament on the other side of the world in a pandemic.
But since each member of USA Basketball plays professionally, the time Miller has to stage photoshoots, create social content or work with each athlete is extremely limited.
When the players arrived in Las Vegas before the Olympics, Miller had two weeks to prepare for an event four years in the making.
"That whole time in Las Vegas, you're building steam," he said. "I feel like it's everything you see from a college basketball program from June to October, but we do it in like two weeks."
But the strangest limitation he's facing in Tokyo? Miller won't be able to attend any of the Olympic basketball events at the Games due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Olympic broadcast rights are some of the most exclusive in the world, so Miller would have been limited in what he could share on social media even if he was in the arena.
As USA Basketball competes in Tokyo, Miller will be down the street at the Tokyo Hilton, bringing the country a little closer to an Olympics unlike any other and representing K-State Athletics at the greatest sporting event in all the world.
Plus, Miller can still attend practice and spend time with USA Basketball at the team hotel, where a recent "bonding moment" with Kevin Durant took place.
Miller and the former NBA MVP chatted about Durant's recent purchase of an ownership stake in the Philadelphia Union, the MLS team where Miller interned in college.
"It was just a funny moment and it's cool to share those with the guys," he said. "It's stuff I'll never forget no matter how big or small it is."
When he leaves his hotel room, Trenton Miller is pretty sure he's going to bump into one of the greatest basketball players in the world.
That's part of the routine for USA Basketball's Digital Communications Manager at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
"You get to know them a little bit because you're around them so much, you're at airports, on buses, picking up luggage, going to get meals," Miller, a 2016 Kansas State graduate, said. "They're basketball players, but they're also good people."
At the Tokyo Hilton, Miller is staying with the United States men's and women's national basketball teams, along with the women's 3x3 team that will compete in Tokyo for the first time.
That means three-time NBA champion Draymond Green is staying down the hall.
And in the workout room, Miller has figured out that the winningest coach in NBA history, Gregg Popovich, is a morning guy but NCAA champion Jay Wright and Dawn Staley usually hit the treadmill before dinner. That's all starting to become normal.
But a hug and a "Hiii Trent" from soccer star Megan Rapinoe, a familiar face as the fiancée of USA Basketball's Sue Bird, is enough to make Miller realize his job is never going to feel ordinary.
"When Sue was the flag bearer, [Megan] was here saying what's up and helping everybody with their outfits," he said. "Whenever somebody's like, 'Who's the craziest person you meet in this job,' that's the craziest person. I'm a soccer guy. It's definitely 'Pinoe."
hey what's up everyone Megan says hi from Tokyo ✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/uI0HImFWKw
— Trenton Miller (@TRNTNMLLR) July 23, 2021
For Miller, the road to Tokyo began in Manhattan as a student assistant with the K-State Athletics Communications department.
As a high school senior, Miller shadowed K-State Executive Associate AD Kenny Lannou before he even got to campus. Once he was a freshman, Miller started volunteering for everything.
"You're putting in hours on a Saturday when you could be in the student section, but you're learning and gaining experience alongside guys who are funny as hell and just good people," he said. "That's why I kept coming back."
It was one of those people, K-State Soccer and Women's Basketball Communications Director Randy Peterson, who sent Miller an application for an internship with USA Basketball in Colorado Springs.
"It was only eight hours from home, and it felt like a great opportunity," Miller said. "Even when [the 2020 Olympics] were postponed, there wasn't any hesitation once I found out my job was secure."
Fresh off a pair of gold medals at the Rio Olympics, USA Basketball was beginning another four-year cycle when Miller arrived in 2016.
As the federation looked to grow their social media presence, they turned to Miller, then an intern with the PR department, as the team's Manager of Digital Communications in 2017.
During his four-year run with USA Basketball, Miller has traveled to tournaments in China, Serbia and Australia, along with trips across the country to cover the USA women's national team in matchups against different college teams.
The American women have brought back the same core group of players year-after-year, future Hall of Famers like Bird and Diana Taurasi. Those relationships have carried over to Tokyo.
Moments before @S10Bird & I attempted to get Dee on a TikTok... and totally failed. pic.twitter.com/7cOz5fBbEN
— Trenton Miller (@TRNTNMLLR) April 2, 2021
"They've been really good to me and really kind to me over the past couple of years. I eat with them in their meal room. It's nothing against the men, honestly, the women's team is just closer to the food," he said. "But you get to know them as people, and I've been grateful to develop friendships with the women's national team."
The Summer Olympics through Miller's eyes are both a marathon and a sprint. All told, he will be on the road for more than a month, between the pre-Olympic exhibition games in Las Vegas and the two-week tournament in Tokyo.
That's the grind of staging a basketball tournament on the other side of the world in a pandemic.
But since each member of USA Basketball plays professionally, the time Miller has to stage photoshoots, create social content or work with each athlete is extremely limited.
📸 photo day tekkers pic.twitter.com/MLwLfvh5tx
— Trenton Miller (@TRNTNMLLR) July 18, 2021
When the players arrived in Las Vegas before the Olympics, Miller had two weeks to prepare for an event four years in the making.
"That whole time in Las Vegas, you're building steam," he said. "I feel like it's everything you see from a college basketball program from June to October, but we do it in like two weeks."
But the strangest limitation he's facing in Tokyo? Miller won't be able to attend any of the Olympic basketball events at the Games due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Olympic broadcast rights are some of the most exclusive in the world, so Miller would have been limited in what he could share on social media even if he was in the arena.
As USA Basketball competes in Tokyo, Miller will be down the street at the Tokyo Hilton, bringing the country a little closer to an Olympics unlike any other and representing K-State Athletics at the greatest sporting event in all the world.
Plus, Miller can still attend practice and spend time with USA Basketball at the team hotel, where a recent "bonding moment" with Kevin Durant took place.
Miller and the former NBA MVP chatted about Durant's recent purchase of an ownership stake in the Philadelphia Union, the MLS team where Miller interned in college.
"It was just a funny moment and it's cool to share those with the guys," he said. "It's stuff I'll never forget no matter how big or small it is."
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