Miller Time!

I keep crossing paths with Andre Miller.

When I worked as an intern at NBA Inside Stuff Magazine (then the official teen magazine of the NBA), I got to interview Andre Miller, then of the University of Utah, for one of the few mini-articles that included my own name.  I spoke to the late Rick Majerus, former Utah head coach, for the blurb.  Majerus spoke glowingly about Andre Miller.

'Dre took the Utes to the finals against a very talented Kentucky team and came up short.  I remember him playing brilliantly and I rooted for his underdog team to shock the world.  It did not hurt that I had interviewed him and found him to be kind and respectful.  Without getting into details, I'll just say that interviewing athletes isn't always like that.

I remember how important it was to coach Majerus that I understand how good a rebounder Miller was.  I remember my editor explaining to me how unimportant it was that I emphasize that when writing about a point guard.  My article was small and simple, but it was my first national publication credit.

I am just short of three months younger than 'Dre and I have followed his career since Utah.  That got easier when he became a Denver Nugget in 2003.  My friends and I shared 10-game Nuggets ticket packages back then and we followed the Nuggets closely.  I have always been impressed with Miller.  I know George Karl has only ever sung his praises.  He sounded exactly like Rick Majerus.

Miller was an alley-oop master and created some vicious dunks by Melo, K-Mart, Camby and J.R. Smith.  Then, in 2006, Miller was traded as part of the deal that brought Allen Iverson to Denver. I still remember George Karl talking about how disappointed he was to lose Miller.  Karl brought that up many times over the years.  I hated losing 'Dre.

In 2008, I came face-to-face with Miller at Mile High Stadium in Denver for the DNC nomination of Barrack Obama.  I remember seeing him, being certain it was him, and deciding not to invade his privacy.  He's such a low-key guy and I didn't want to intrude.

In 2011, Miller re-signed with Denver, only he is now known as "the Professor" and has survived on savvy in a young-man's game at age 37.  As you can see in the highlights, Miller can still throw a long oop, and he can still create with the ball.

Flash to this Saturday.  I took Jacob to see Game 1 of the playoffs.  The team was in a funk.  Miller took over in the fourth when no one else would.  He scored 28 points and made every shot when it was needed.  He did so many "professor" type things and dragged this team to an improbable victory.

I loved it.  That patented flat jumper, the passing, the up-and-under scoop shots...  It was all like it was when he was here from 2003-2006.

The Denver Nuggets cleared out for the final shot of the game for 37-year old Andre Miller to put the team's fate in his hands.  The way he played this game, I could not have felt better about the team's chances even if Melo were still available for late-game heroics.   Miller went left, cut right and went up and under the rim to take the lead with 1.3 seconds left.

I lost my voice at the game and could not have asked for a better experience.  It's nice to have 'Dre back around.