GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's basketball team hosted a jersey retirement ceremony for Francis Alonso and Isaiah Miller last Saturday in the Fleming Gymnasium.
 
"It is a great day to be a Spartan as we get to recognize these two UNCG greats, Francis Alonso and Isaiah Miller," stated Director of Athletics Brian Mackin. "This is a tremendous honor and a great moment in the program's 57-year history."
 
Alonso, who was a member of the Spartans from 2015-19, leads UNCG with 396 three-pointers made in his collegiate career. Additionally, he paces the program with 426 made free throws and an 87.1 free-throw percentage. His total for three-point buckets ranks third in The Southern Conference (SoCon) while his mark for free throws converted stands at seventh all-time in the conference's decorated 100-year history.
 
With a career total of 2,142 points scored, which put him 45 shy of reaching Kyle Hines' record 2,187 points from 2005-08, Alonso is the second player in UNCG history to reach the 2,000-point plateau. Among Alonso's finest accomplishments were helping UNCG win its first-ever postseason game vs. Houston Baptist in the Greensboro Coliseum in 2016. He later went on to finish his college career as a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District first team honoree as well as being voted first team All-SoCon Coaches and Media in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
 
"I want to thank UNCG, the community and the city of Greensboro for helping me become the man I am today," said Alonso. "Without my former teammates and my coaches, I wouldn't be here today and they had a great part of this honor. I want to thank my family because they made a lot of sacrifices as it has been a long road and this really belongs to you as well. This weekend was so special because I realized that this family will last forever."

Miller, who competed with the Spartans during the 2017-21 seasons, is first all-time in steals at UNCG with 315, second with 831 field goals and third with 1,967 career points. His 315 steals currently rank second in SoCon history after he previously led the entire league in steals for three consecutive seasons from 2018-21. Miller finished his collegiate career at UNCG ranked fourth in the record book with a 14.9 scoring average per game.
 
After leading the Spartans to a SoCon Regular Season and Tournament title in 2021 to become the only UNCG men's basketball player to appear in multiple NCAA Tournaments, he declared for the NBA Draft the following spring and signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 30, 2021. He was later named the Bob Waters SoCon Male Athlete of the Year, becoming the first UNCG student-athlete to ever win the award. It was the icing on the cake for Miller, who hauled in a slew of awards. It included but was not limited to being a Lefty Driessell and Hugh Durham Award finalist, SoCon Coaches' and Media Player of the Year two times (2019-20 and 2020-21) and SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in each of his final three seasons, making him just the second person to accomplish the feat.
 
"I would like to thank everyone that is here," Miller said. "I want to thank God for giving me all these gifts. Second, I want to thank my family, everyone has been behind me through all my trials, my falls and successes. I also want to thank all my teammates, coaches and fans."

The jersey banners that dawn No. 10, in honor of Alonso, and No. 1, recognizing Miller, will be raised to the rafters at the Greensboro Coliseum alongside No. 42 for Hines, No. 23 for Courtney Eldridge and No. 5 for Scott Hartzell.
 
"On behalf of Courtney Eldridge, Scott Hartzell and myself welcome to the club," Hines said.
 

Gallery: (7-27-2024) I.Miller & F.Alonso Jersey Retirement