Being the only college player on the floor would’ve been challenging enough for Selton Miguel. But with Spain’s coaching staff yelling not to leave him space on the perimeter, his 11 points were even harder to come by.

“Maryland, Maryland, Maryland,” they hollered anytime Angola passed Miguel the ball at the Olympic trials in July.

The extra attention caught him off guard — but it also provided perspective.

Miguel was just happy to play for Angola’s national team in the previous Olympic trials after a rocky freshman year at Kansas State. His career-high 14.7 points on 39 percent three-point shooting at South Florida last year made him a featured option this summer and a hot commodity in the transfer portal.

He’s set to assume a big role for Maryland men’s basketball this season. Miguel’s vastly improved jump shot reinvigorated a career that’s included stops at three schools and three continents.

As the fifth-year guard enters his final collegiate campaign back at the high-major level, everything’s coming together.

Miguel spent the first 11 years of his life in Angola before he moved to Portugal with his older brother, Rifen Miguel. Their dad, Henriques Miguel, wanted a better education for the two, even though it meant leaving family behind.

“I had to grow up way before my age,” Selton Miguel said. “Without [my family] here, I really had to go to work, grind for them as much as I could. Because I feel like even if they were here, probably I would get a little comfortable … I think that made me the man I am today.”

The brothers attended a military school in Portugal and played for one of the country’s top club basketball teams. Their play caught the attention of high school coaches in the United States.

Rifen Miguel left Portugal a year before Selton Miguel, but couldn’t play basketball at the school that brought him over, leaving the brothers separated and unsettled.

As Rifen Miguel looked for a new school, an assistant coach at West Oaks Academy in Orlando, Florida, reached out. The coach brought him into athletic director Barry Myers’ office in hopes of enrolling Rifen Miguel.

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They called Rifen Miguel’s parents, and Myers and Henriques Miguel quickly realized they weren’t strangers. Myers used to own a record company and traveled Africa two decades prior. He and Henriques Miguel, who was a promoter, did plenty of business together, Myers said.

Myers told Rifen Miguel that he’d take care of him, just as his father did for him. But the Miguels had one more request.

“Selton’s mom called me one day and she said, ‘Please go get my son,’” Myers recalled.

West Oaks saw flashes of potential in Selton Miguel, and shortly after, the brothers were reunited. Myers, who Rifen Miguel described as a second father, became their guardian.

Finding a school was a mess, Myers said. But soon it all started to work out.

“Selton is a fighter, man,” Myers said. “He’s the guy that’s got that quiet riot. He’s on a mission, so for him, adapting, it wasn’t that much of a problem.”

Rifen and Selton Miguel shared a dorm at West Oaks. The brothers promised their dad they would not speak Portuguese so they could learn English. Selton Miguel, who’s fluent in four languages, learned the basics over the summer before starting school.

The adjustment wasn’t perfect, but he had been there before.

Selton Miguel had to adapt when he moved to Portugal, and with his older brother going through a similar experience in America a year prior, he had guidance.

“I couldn’t let my little brother go through the same things I went through,” Rifen Miguel said. “I already had the situation situated and put him in a better spot.”

Selton Miguel had a prolific career at West Oaks and began his collegiate career at Kansas State. He started immediately for a struggling Wildcats program.

His offensive game was limited, but his intensity and defense kept him on the court. Selton Miguel spent two years at Kansas State before transferring to USF for another two seasons. His production increased instantly at the mid-major level.

He took another leap last season, winning the American Athletic Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards.

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Plenty of high-major teams had interest in Selton Miguel, but multiple connections sent him to College Park, including one that originated back in Angola.

Selton Miguel and former Terp Bruno Fernando, who is two years older than him, met as kids in their home country and grew close. He often refers to Fernando as his cousin. Fernando is the only Angolan to make the NBA and suggested that Maryland would be a good fit for Selton Miguel.

“Bruno is somebody I’ve been looking up to, and somebody that I grew up with in Angola,” Selton Miguel said. “I just want to come in here and keep his legacy.”

Last year was Selton Miguel’s career-best. Still, he’s reluctant to boast his accomplishments since he’s yet to play professionally.

What he can’t deny, though, is that his journey has come full circle.

Earlier this year, Rifen and Selton Miguel started a nonprofit to support youth basketball players in Africa. On top of donations, the brothers use their basketball connections to link athletes with high schools that could give them scholarships and a pathway to America.

Rifen Miguel said they’ve helped place more than a dozen players, some of whom have later joined Division I teams. Selton Miguel also ran a youth basketball camp in Angola, donated to the community and gave motivational speeches prior to starting the foundation.

Rifen Miguel said that work, not the on-court achievements, makes him most proud of his brother.

“Being able to open a foundation with him and support kids that don’t have the financial support in Africa, but are really talented — to help those kids to come to America and live the same dream he’s living, that’s big time,” Rifen Miguel said.

Kids swarm Selton Miguel for pictures and autographs whenever he visits Angola, which was most recently this summer ahead of the Olympic trials.

Selton Miguel’s ascension has led the kids he was once in the shoes of to idolize him.

“I think it’s more than just basketball at this point,” Rifen Miguel said. “People like that always get rewarded.”