Prior to the 2021-22 season, missing games was something foreign to Morgan State Bears senior guard Malik Miller.

In his first three seasons, Miller appeared in 81 of 83 games.

He played in every game his sophomore and junior seasons.

Throughout his college career, the 6-foot-4 Washington D.C. native gained a reputation of being a hard-working player.

Miller is frequently relied upon to do his team’s dirty work such as diving for loose balls and securing crucial rebounds.

In his junior season, he nearly averaged a double-double as he scored 12.1 points and grabbed eight rebounds per game in a starting role.

This season, Miller has missed 10 out of 18 games as he faced an ankle injury.

He initially injured his ankle in the first game of the season — a 118-55 win over St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Nov. 9.

After missing five games to nurse the injury, Miller returned on Nov. 28 in Morgan’s 74-59 loss against Grambling State.

Miller scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Grambling.

He played in five consecutive games before being shut down again to treat his ankle after his team’s 74-60 loss against Mount St. Mary’s on Dec. 18.

Miller’s rehab process, which involved receiving daily treatment and not participating in games, took a toll on him.

“Rehabbing it was tough,” Miller said. “Just not being able to be out there with my team. That was the most hurtful part of everything.”

Senior guard Sherwyn Devonish said that Miller’s presence on the court was missed.

“He does so much for this team that not too many people know about,” Devonish said. “[His] toughness, rebounding, grit, on-the-ball defense.”

Morgan is 4-4 this season when Miller plays and 3-7 when he doesn’t.

Head coach Kevin Broadus believes team injuries like Miller as well as Trevor Moore and Myles Douglas have contributed to the Bears’ 7-11 record this season.

“Injuries, that’s the biggest thing,” Broadus said in regard to what plagued the team. “We don’t want to feel sorry. We’ve just got to keep plugging and play as hard as we can with the guys we have.”

After missing over a month, Miller returned to action on Jan. 30 in the Bears’ 82-70 win over Delaware State.

He came off the bench and scored a team-high 15 points, grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, and played all but seven minutes in the win.

The next day, he scored eight points and secured seven rebounds in Morgan’s 79-72 loss against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

“To not play a game in over a month or practice in that long, I feel like I did okay for the first two games back,” Miller said.

Miller and the Bears will return to action on Saturday as they face the North Carolina Central Eagles at 2 p.m.