Could Miller join Penny’s coaching staff at Memphis?
Mike Miller sat on a table near midcourt Monday evening, removed his backwards black hat and ran his fingers through his hair as he considered the question. How was he doing? To Miller, it meant what was he doing here, at Houston High School, teaching a group of 15-year-old boys that weren’t born when he started playing in the NBA the importance of pace and space on the basketball court? The answer came to him quickly. “Life is good,” Miller said with a smile. “It’s basketball.”
After 17 years as an NBA player, Miller is on the verge of beginning the next chapter of his career. He wants to be a coach and, for now, he’s doing that for M33M, the Memphis-based grassroots basketball program he has sponsored for 13 years.
His oldest son, Mason, just finished his freshman season at Houston and
he’s playing for M33M’s 16-and-under team. And so, for the first time, Miller is actively involved in coaching him.
But Miller is also faced with a looming decision, one he knows will pry him away from the comforts of domestic life and scenes like Monday night.
Who might hire Mike Miller?
Last month, Miller met with new Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway about becoming an assistant coach for the Tigers starting next season. The two then discussed the possibility of Miller joining the staff a second time on Tuesday, according to a person with a direct knowledge of the situation.
Over the past week, Miller also fielded interest from Florida, the school he starred at in college; TCU, the school his older brother currently works at as an assistant coach; and Louisville.
“I’m going to do something. It’s just got to fit for them and me,” Miller said after Monday’s practice ended. “There’s a couple attractive things that are going on right now that I’m interested in and we’ll see what happens.”
The plan, once Miller’s 18th season in the NBA ended last April, was to not take the first job that came his way. The 38-year-old had options to coach a year ago, but he promised his wife and three kids he would take at least six months to determine his next move.
He had enjoyed a successful, if nomadic, professional career, appearing in more than 1,000 games for seven different teams. He became one of the game’s great shooters and spent time in huddles with coaches such as Pat Riley, Hubie Brown, Doc Rivers and Billy Donovan.
But the Mitchell, S.D., native played more combined seasons for the Memphis Grizzlies (seven) than anyone else, and had some of his finest years wowing crowds at FedExForum. Memphis embraced Miller and he embraced the city back, so much so that his family moved here full-time.
It’s also why Miller’s name emerged as a candidate to work under Hardaway.
When the two met, Miller described the conversation as just two former players informally talking basketball because, “he understands, the same way I do, basketball doesn’t need to be hard.”
“I told him this,” Miller said. “I knew he was huge here. I didn’t know how big he was. When he got hired and I saw the city, what happened, it was unbelievable. It’s been amazing. The excitement in the city, I mean it’s hard not to be involved in it one way or the other.”
“It would be something that I’m very, very, very interested in, but it’s got to work for him most importantly, and the university. If it comes out that it does, then we’ll see what happens. The one thing I respect about Penny is he’s invested. He’s competitive as I’ve never seen. I just think he’s going to crush it.”
Why Miller is an attractive candidate?
But Miller is also an intriguing coaching option elsewhere for several reasons, including an engaging personality that made him a favorite of fans and media alike during his playing career.
Miller already knows the ins and outs of college basketball better than the typical first-time coach because of his older brother. Ryan Miller spent two years (2004-06) as the director of basketball operations under former coach John Calipari at Memphis before stints as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, New Mexico, UNLV, Auburn and TCU.
Mike Miller also has ties to several high-profile recruits, beyond his affiliation with M33M.
Miller confirmed on Monday that over the past year he began conducting periodic workouts with various high school players around the country, including three of the nation’s top 15 prospects in the 2019 recruiting class.
More than anything, though, Miller realized in recent months he can’t just leave the game. He believes the best way to stay involved is to give back to the sport’s next generation.
So when M33M President Ernie Kuyper was trying to convince Miller to coach for M33M this year, his pitch was simple: “We need you. Will you do it for your son?”
“He’s in love with the game of basketball. You can see it,” said Kuyper, who is also Miller’s cousin. “It’s given us everything. It’s given our family everything.”
But with that love comes a difficult choice, and the reminders are everywhere at the moment.
M33M’s new point guard, for instance, is T.J. Madlock, the son of new Memphis assistant coach Tony Madlock. There’s also a legacy at Florida, a brother at TCU and a new head coach at Louisville to consider.
And then, of course, there’s Mason Miller, who’s already 6-foot-6 and beginning to resemble a left-handed version of his father on the court. He closed Monday’s practice by driving down the wing and completing a thunderous slam dunk over a defender.
The sequence briefly caught Mike Miller off guard and, a few minutes later, he again pondered the thought of not being right where he was at that moment.
“I truly think Memphis is home for me. That’s why I came here,” Miller said on Monday. “But at the same time, I’m going to continue to do what’s best for my family. Anything I do is going to put them first. If there’s an opportunity for me tomorrow and my family is happy with it, it might be tomorrow. It’s got to fit for everybody.”
“One thing about where I’ve been, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of basketball my entire life, I’m not going to rush into anything now.”