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So that is why he was the only one to fail the fitness test?
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbla...ith_the_t.html
Andre Miller has impressed teammates with his play through one week of practice.
TUALATIN — After three weeks in the Northwest, a week of practices and countless media encounters, it has become blatantly clear that Andre Miller, the Trail Blazers’ biggest free agent acquisition, did not arrive in Portland to make new friends.
Teammates and coaches have praised Miller for his superb passing ability, on-court leadership and veteran savvy. Early indications suggest that he is going to be an asset for this team, if not a force that helps propel the Blazers to a playoff run.
But as positive as the on-court reports have been, Miller’s off-the-court demeanor has raised an equal number of eyebrows. After a frosty media day introduction, Miller has gone out of his way to make it clear that he is in Portland to work, not to build relationships.
“I come to practice and go home,” Miller said. “I practice and put in the time, talk to guys during practice and keep going. If it was college, then maybe that would be different. But this is a professional environment … a business. That’s just how I get down.”
On a team full of big personalities and outgoing dispositions, the Blazers’ new point guard is a polar opposite. After practices last week, Miller draped a large towel over his head, shielding the sides of his face, during interviews. And when he answered questions, Miller spoke in a quiet, deliberate manner, often looking toward the ground as he talked.
Miller is reserved and quiet by nature and extremely guarded about his personal life. After the first week of practice, Miller and All-Star Brandon Roy had not yet had an extended conversation off the court. During an early practice, coach Nate McMillan asked Miller a question and he answered softly and dispassionately, prompting McMillan to prod Miller to go further with his answer.
“When they first told me they signed him, they said, ‘He’s (ital)really(ital) quiet off the court,’” Roy said. “And that’s how he is around the team. He’ll come in, say, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And then he probably won’t say another word.”
Getting Miller to open up about his life outside the gym is more challenging than McMillan trying to settle on a player rotation this season.
What do you like to do off the court Andre?
“Nothing. I just hang by myself. I don’t tell people what I do.”
But Portland is a basketball-crazy town that loves its Blazers. People want to know as much as they can about the players on the team.
“If they want to know what I do, they can go pull up some … previous columns,” he said, referring to newspaper stories that have been written about him during his career. “I’ve been playing 10 years so if they need to know anything, there’s been articles written before. I do the same stuff I’ve been doing ever since I was little. Nothing’s changed.”
Miller refuses to discuss whether he’s married, has children or even if he brought family or friends to live with him in Portland. He has no problem talking about basketball, his on-court interaction with teammates and his play, but anything else is “crossing the line.” After three seasons in Philadelphia, Miller says, he did not grow close to a single teammate.
“That’s just how I am,” he said. “Ever since I’ve been in the NBA. You go to work and you go home.”
An immeasurable part of the Blazers’ rebirth the past two seasons has centered on the remarkable chemistry among the players. From group dinners and movie outings on the road to that infamous New Year’s Eve celebration on the team plane two seasons ago, the Blazers have thrived, in part, because of their tight bond.
In light of that, it seems only fair to wonder what impact Miller’s indifference to making friends and building off-court relationships will have on his new organization.
“You have to be you, whatever that is,” McMillan said. “Be real. And guys will go with that. Andre is going to be real and that’s all we can ask. Our chemistry is going to be fine. On the floor he’s done what he’s needed to do. Off the floor, he’s done what he needed to do. You haven’t heard of any issues with him. So are you in there hanging out? Do you go to dinner? We don’t know. But I think he’s going to be fine.”
Added Miller: “Chemistry comes from being on the court. A lot of people can talk about what guys do off the court, hanging out and stuff. But I don’t think that has anything to do with it.”
Ultimately, the Blazers insist, Miller’s ability to lead during games will endear him to his teammates and spark all the chemistry needed. And in an ironic twist, the person who would sooner undergo a root canal than open up about his personal life, morphs into a completely different person when he steps on the basketball court.
He barks at teammates when they are out of position, hollers at referees to watch for obscure calls, playfully talks trash and yells calls on defense. General manager Kevin Pritchard has dubbed Miller “The Director” because of the way he leads on the floor, and assistant coach Monty Williams said Miller already is one of the team’s best on-court communicators.
“On the court he’s comfortable,” Roy said. “From Day One, he was talking and telling guys what to do. I was guarding him and he was like ‘Travis, No. Go over there. Martell, pull up. Greg, dive.’ And I’m like, ‘Hmmm.’ On the court, you wouldn’t know how he is off the court. He’s loose as a goose. He talks. He jokes around with coach. It’s just that when he steps outside of those lines …” Miller changes.
He is not in town to make friends and he does not apologize for this. He cares about one thing: winning. And if the victories pile up and Miller proves to be a catalyst for success, he will fit in just fine with his new team — even if no one gets to know him well in the process.
“A part of being a good team is accepting people for who they are,” Williams said. “You can’t make someone into something they’re not. It just doesn’t work that way. Our job as a team is to take what he is and plug it into what we do. We don’t need him to give speeches like Obama.
“With most of our young guys, all they do is talk. They go on and on about videos and cars and family and dogs, whatever. It’s about time we added somebody who doesn’t talk so much.“
So that is why he was the only one to fail the fitness test?
weird looking hair.
He went to the wrong place.
Andre Miller's last year in college, his team was at the Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving, same time my family was there. I was there with my younger brother and three over-18 sisters who had made "friends" with several members of Miller's team. The guys were all real cool (ie they tolerated my brother and I because they liked my sisters), and somewhere there's a picture of my 11-year-old ass with Miller on the beach.
One night several guys on Miller's team (forget who he played for... Utah maybe?) all went crab hunting with us. I vividly remember sitting on the grass at the top of the beach when Miller just got up and walked off. One of my sisters asked about him and I think it was the center on the team that told her Miller kind of does his own thing. They told us he was real cool, but different. They told us, essentially, he was going to be an NBA star and he definitely knew it.
It's just one of those memories that had always stuck with me. I was real young, like 10-12ish, and absolutely obsessed with basketball. Those guys all rode boogie boards with us and hung out on the beach and even though they were really interested in my sisters, I don't remember them -- Miller included -- being anything but awesome with my brother and I. For me, a little kid who was a huge basketball fan, it was the equivalent of getting to hang out with Spiderman or the Hulk for a vacation.
I really need to find that picture. I think my grandparents have it.
Pretty cool story. He always seemed like a good guy.
That hair makes him look like Da Brat back in the 90s.
Or, Buckwheat in the 30s.
With that new hairdo, I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls an Amechi after he retires.
He looks drunk.
Fat
there must be lots of weed in Portland from the looks of that pic
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