Senior guard Arty Sirleaf (above) is one of three returning starters for the Royals. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Miller, who was at Interboro from 1993-98 and is entering his 24th year at Upper Darby, returns starters 6-foot junior guard Tahli Murray, who Miller has high hopes for this season, 5-11 senior guard Jude Ennis and 6-2 senior guard Arty Sirleaf. The other two who played the most minutes for the Royals last season were 6-3 senior forwards Sileeh Armstrong and Musa Kamara. Joining them will be 6-4 junior forward Marlon Boreland, who is a tremendous athlete, and according to Miller, could have a breakout season, speedy 5-11 sophomore guard Tawhir Riley, 6-3 sophomore guard Yasir Prescia and 6-1 senior guard Joey Campbell.

With 15 wins, Miller would get to 400 in his career. This may be the deepest team Miller has had since 2014, including the 2022-23 squad that made it to the PIAA 6A second round.

“I do really like this group, and they are easy to like, because they listen, they work hard and they genuinely like each other,” Miller said. “It is so tough sometimes when you are coaching with cliches, little division between players, or you have kids who are more worried about their shot counts compared to wins and losses. It has been a while since we were this deep. Tahli will be the one who carries us.”

First off, Miller pointed out, Murray is an honor student, so he is very good in the classroom. On the court, he possesses a high basketball IQ. Over the last two years, he has improved his three-point shot. Before, he had a penchant to drive more than think about a three. This summer, Miller trusted him with running the team. Miller would like Murray to improve his on-ball defense. Not that he is a bad defender, Miller says, but he can be even better in that area.

Boreland is a foot-and-a-half over the rim and is a good finisher. Miller would like Boreland to play with more of an edge and envisions him as a strong rebounder. With his hops and first-step explosiveness, he is the type of player that could thrust Upper Darby in the top half of the Central League.

The problem Upper Darby has, or anyone in the Central League has for that matter, is that the league is loaded. It could arguably be the second-best league in Southeastern Pennsylvania behind the Philadelphia Catholic League.