A Gym Rat’s Version of Endless Summer : High school basketball: Miller tours the country, playing best of the best.

Have high tops, will travel.

Eddie Miller, a power forward from Chatsworth High, has spent much of his summer playing in basketball tournaments with some of the best high school players in the nation.

His American Roundball Corp. team, which also included Harvard-Westlake twins Jason and Jarron Collins, won the Virginia Invitational tournament in May.

The 6-foot-8, 227-pound Miller was a force down low.

“He outplayed many of the best big men in the nation and really made a name for himself,” ARC President Rich Goldberg said.

College recruiters have descended upon Miller, who will be a senior at Chatsworth. Syracuse, Arizona, Maryland and California are among the schools showing immediate, and intense, interest.

Miller returned Wednesday from a trip to the Nike All-American tournament at Indianapolis, which featured the top 100 high school players in the nation.

He wasn’t quite as sharp as he was in Virginia, but he was still satisfied.

Miller this weekend is playing in the Slam-n-Jam National Invitational at Long Beach State. Then comes the Las Vegas Grand Finale, July 24-29.

A lot of basketball. A lot of opportunities to improve.

“I’ll go against 6-9, 295-pound guys and that makes me much stronger,” Miller said. “I’m learning more about what I have to do to dominate a game.”

Better ball-handling skills and a softer touch on his jump shot, which Miller attributes to summer league, are components of his ever-improving game.

He also is working on shooting left-handed, another weapon to be used in the post.

“Without playing this summer, I’d still be klutzy 6-8 Eddie Miller,” he said.

They don’t exactly play H-O-R-S-E at these tournaments.

Quite simply, the best play against the best. With college scouts in the stands, egos often move to the forefront. Winning can take a back seat to hot-dogging.

“Everybody’s out there trying to show you up,” Miller said.

Competition comes even from teammates.

“Whoever has the ball is basically going to score,” Miller said. “If you give it up, you’re not going to score.”

Miller, who is expected to help make Chatsworth a contender for the City Section 4-A championship, has remained level-headed.

“You’ve got to work extremely hard to get to the top,” he said. “Because wherever you go, you’re always going to play somebody better.”

After this summer, Miller will know.