Derrick Miller charged in UK ticket scam

This is more sad news about another former ‘Cat deceiving the same fans that worshipped him back in the 1980′s. Derrick Miller has been charged in connection with the same ticket scam as teammate Ed Davender.

Contrary to rumors, no charges will be filed for this photograph.

HERALD-LEADER –  Lexington police have charged former University of Kentucky basketball player Derrick G. Miller with the fraudulent sale of UK season basketball tickets.

Miller, 42, has been charged with one count of theft by deception, a felony, according a release from Lexington police.

Police said Miller accepted payment in advance for the tickets when the tickets weren’t available to him to sell.

Miller received a citation for the charge and was not arrested, Lexington police Lt. Doug Pape said.

The charge against Miller follows the arrest of former UK basketball star Ed Davender on Sept. 1.

Davender, 43, of Georgetown is accused of taking money from at least three people and promising them UK basketball season tickets that he didn’t have, police said.

Lexington police said last week that they received nearly 100 calls about the alleged ticket scam. Miller’s charge “came to light as a result of the noise around the Davender case,” Pape said.

Pape said Miller was not arrested because he was cooperative. Davender was arrested because he also was charged with having a prescription controlled substance not in the proper container and trafficking in a controlled substance within 1,000 yards of a school. Court records state that Davender had 14.2 grams of marijuana in two jars in his Jeep Cherokee at the time of his arrest.

Davender’s attorney, Stephen McFayden, has said that his client never intended to defraud anyone and that there was a miscommunication between parties.

On Friday, McFayden told the Herald-Leader that people will come forward in the next few weeks who say they sold the former player tickets that he would have then sold to his accusers.

Police have charged Davender with three felony counts of theft by deception. The three alleged victims who have been identified gave Davender a total of $5,846, according to court records, after he offered to sell them tickets for the 2009-10 season.

Davender pleaded not guilty. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Fayette District Court.

Miller played at UK from 1986-90. He and Davender were teammates during Miller’s first two seasons at UK.

During his senior year at UK, 1989-90, Miller was the captain and leading scorer (19.2 points per game) for Rick Pitino’s first Kentucky team, which became known as “Pitino’s Bombinos” because of its penchant for shooting three-pointers. That year, Miller set the UK record he still holds for most three-point attempts in one season with 298. He made 99 of those shots, the third-most makes in one season, behind Jodie Meeks (117) and Travis Ford (101).

Miller ranks 42nd on UK’s all-time men’s basketball scoring list with 1,156 career points.

According to UK’s basketball media guide, Miller recently earned his degree in social work thanks to the Cawood Ledford Scholarship Fund.

Davender was a UK guard from 1984-88. He is 11th on UK’s all-time men’s scoring list, with 1,637 career points.