Athlete of the Week: Terra Nova's Jared Milch

Milch said he wasn’t made aware of the milestone until later that evening when he arrived home. Until then, he was reeling in awe of teammate Austyn Paminiano’s heroics, as Milch’s fellow senior hit a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to give the Tigers a win to celebrate.

“That was the biggest shot of our season, in my opinion,” Milch said.

As it turns out, Milch was just getting warmed up in the Homestead game. He followed it with his fourth double-double of the season, reveling in a career night in Terra Nova’s 76-67 win over Capuchino Jan. 2. The 6-4 forward totaled 36 points and 16 rebounds, both career highs, punctuating Milch’s bid as Daily Journal Player of the Week.

Not only was it a big-time performance. It was a key win for the Tigers, bumping their record above the .500 mark at 6-5 heading into Wednesday’s Peninsula Athletic League North Division opener.

Terra Nova’s makeup has seen a dramatic shakeup from a 2014-15 squad that advanced to the second round of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs. Milch is the only returning starter, but has been anchoring the team with a healthy 20.7 points per game.

“We knew it was going to be rough … but I think we’ve all proven everyone wrong that has doubted us recently,” Milch said.

So far as big shots go, Milch has witnessed his share in his four years at Terra Nova. And while Paminiano’s three-pointer may well be the biggest shot of the Tigers’ season, no shot in recent memory is held in more esteem by Terra Nova fans than that of Eric Dale’s buzzer-beater to down archrival Half Moon Bay in last year’s regular-season finale. Not only did it snap Half Moon Bay’s 36-game winning streak in league play dating back to the 2012-13 season, it gave the Tigers a share of the PAL North Division championship.

“It’s something that we’ll never forget, I believe,” Milch said. “It was a great accomplishment for Terra Nova as a team.”

That’s Milch’s focus now — Terra Nova as a team. Last season, as a junior starter among a senior-laden lineup, the varsity veteran was able to go about the business of posting big numbers, leading the Tigers with 16.1 points per game. This season, he’s done even better, falling just shy of averaging a double-double with 9.3 rebounds per game.

But now, he is the ranking veteran — the only four-year varsity player on the roster. And that, for the normally reserved Milch, presents a new set of challenges as a floor general. It’s a role he has never played before at any level of basketball.

“I think (the big change this year) is the leadership role, the on-court coach-type of thing,” Milch said. “Last year, we had a lot of seniors and this year, with the turnover, I’ve had to step into that leadership role.”

Milch had the chance to run alongside one of the best floor generals in the PAL during last year’s AAU club season. Playing for Lunardi’s Elite, Milch paired with Burlingame point guard Vinny Ferrari, who Milch referred to as “crazy good.”

Balancing his spring between baseball and basketball was no easy task. The left-handed Milch was a key component to the Tigers’ success on the diamond last season, rounding out a stellar starting rotation with right-handers Anthony Gordon and Ray Falk. While Gordon led the staff with a 1.32 ERA and Falk posted the best record at 7-1, Milch still settled in for a superb season after joining the team late due to his playoff run with the basketball team.

Milch posted a 4-2 record with a 1.44 ERA, and capped his season with an eight-inning shutout of Aragon in the PAL Tournament opener, as Terra Nova won 1-0 in extra innings.

While Milch is still considering his college options — he doesn’t even know if he will play basketball, or baseball, or both — he is hoping to keep his two-sport ambitions alive at the next level.

“I don’t have a preference (between sports) but both would be crazy,” Milch said.

At present though, Milch is entirely focused on the court. The senior said he isn’t looking ahead to, say, the rematch with Half Moon Bay on Jan. 22. Instead, he is taking them one game at a time. But the hope is Terra Nova will shock the PAL North basketball world — again.

“With Terra Nova, I’d say it’s just guys who come in and work hard every day and put their best effort forth,” Milch said. “And at the end of the day, we can say we gave it our all, 100 percent, no matter the talent level.”