Lewis-Palmer needed a leader.

The Rangers boys basketball team lost five seniors from last year’s roster and 851 points from the squad that compiled 1,371 last season. If the Rangers hoped to improve their 12-13 finish from the 2024-25 campaign, someone needed to accept the task of guiding L-P.

Insert Jonas Miller. The Rangers senior served as one of the key cogs who involved his teammates in activities inside and outside the gym and that allowed the Rangers to develop the bond necessary to thrive on the court. 

“We’re going to follow him and his lead regarding how he prepares, how he thinks, what he does in the gym and outside of the gym,” Rangers coach Bill Benton said. “He put himself out there in the offseason as far as organizing things.”

Miller pieced together a trip to the Great Sand Dunes, movie nights or simple hangouts at his family’s or other teammates’ homes to galvanize the Rangers. 

“Everyone would come up with something new to do,” Miller said. “We would hang out every day over the summer. Even during school days, we would hang out at someone’s house. We were a close team. This was definitely the closest team I played on out of all four years.”

Miller also felt compelled to amplify his play on the court, which required an offseason on the grind, which Miller didn’t shy away from. Miller’s X page is littered with posts from an offseason filled with scouting reports regarding his game, weight room accomplishments and club basketball highlights. The Rangers guard also noted that some of his offseason workouts went unrecorded.

“The practices and drills I would do were more ‘gamelike’ this offseason,” Miller said. “I would have a friend play defense while I’m trying to make shots, and I would make my training feel more like a game rather than just shooting around. It definitely helped me prepare for games.” 

Lewis-Palmer opened the season with a 58-45 loss to 6A Chaparral, but, as a junior, Miller and the Rangers lost 78-40 to the Wolverines and Miller finished 3-of-11 shooting for seven points. This year, Miller scored a team-high 14 points. The loss was just a chapter in the Rangers’ book. They planned to author a beautiful novel by season’s end. 

“Even though we lost to Chaparral, we all knew what we could do better,” Miller said. “We were all talking and we all had a voice. It wasn’t just me who was in the locker room talking — even underclassmen had a voice.” 

Team accountability remained despite a 7-7 start to the season. The Rangers suffered back-to-back one-point losses in Pikes Peak Athletic Conference action, including a 58-57 loss to rival Palmer Ridge on Jan. 23 where Miller scored a season-low four points. 

In the offseason, when Benton talked to Miller about team unity, he had a separate note for the senior. The loss to the Bears provided an ideal chance to illustrate that vulnerability.

“Guys have to know you’re human, too,” Benton said. “I think he embraced that very well and said, ‘I do want to be one of the fellas and a part of this family; and he helped create that family environment.” 

Miller said after the Palmer Ridge game, “I was down on myself a little bit.” But the Rangers family rallied around their brother and reminded Miller of his on-court capabilities. Miller immediately rewarded his teammates’ belief in him with a virtuoso performance against Liberty on Jan. 26. 

The Rangers senior scored a career-high 30 against the Lancers in a 68-65 victory on 12-of-24 shooting and drained four 3-pointers. 

“After that PR game, my teammates were like, ‘Bro, we don’t care. We need you to shoot and do whatever you do on a nightly basis,’” Miller said. “‘A bad game is going to happen, but we need everything that you bring every night.’”

Miller’s confidence flickered, but it didn’t waver the remainder of the season. As a junior, Miller shot 37% from the floor and scored 255 points in 25 games. In 27 games this year, Miller shot 45% and went 50% or better from the field in six of the Rangers’ final 13 games.

He scored his 1,000th career point in the 5A playoff opener against Evergreen on Feb. 27, a milestone Benton said Miller never pursued. Benton said he was impressed that the 6-foot-1 guard accomplished the feat considering his defensive responsibilities.

“Throughout his high school career, he’s been tasked with guarding one of the top two players on the other team,” Benton said. “He’s had to put that work in on both sides of the court. Jonas is one of the most unselfish players we’ve had and wants to be successful. For him to get to 1,000 points and knowing he’s an assists guy and a defensive stopper … makes it special. But I know getting to the (Denver) Coliseum was important for him and to see the culmination of all that work was the ultimate highlight.” 

The Rangers, who had not advanced to the Final Four since their 2022 championship, reestablished the program as one of the dominant area teams after their semifinals run this year. Miller said he’s proud of that for himself and his school. 

“Just knowing everyone’s name, even our JV-varsity swingers, everyone’s name is going to be on that banner,” Miller said. “Everyone will be remembered. Not just the captains or the best scorer. Everyone who had a role on this team will be remembered.”