Andre Miller was a college basketball legend in Utah. One of the perks of being one of the Utes' most recognizable faces was the frequent summer pickup basketball sessions with the Utah Jazz . On the Forgotten Seasons podcast, Miller details what he remembered on those private runs and the lessons that stuck with him.
"I'm in Utah, I'm out there for five years, never went home in the summer. So, I was also trying to find pickup games, and we had this gym up on campus called The Hyper. It was like four or five gyms in there, and the Utah Jazz guys would come up there and hoop," Miller told hosts Jelani McCoy and Dylan Dreyfuss.
"John Stockton and Karl Malone, those guys wouldn't come. But right around when I started school, like right around August, they'll start revving up, getting ready for training camp in September… Next thing you know they walking in the gym like they already warmed up. It ain't no stretching, ain't no walking there with the slippers on, let me sit on the side lace up my shoes. It was straight to the court," observed Miller.
As the "The Professor" saw, the Jazz pillars were all business, even in a pickup game. The NBA's all-time assists leader did not talk much and handled himself in a no-nonsense manner. What's more surprising to Miller was that Stockton and Malone never played free-flowing ball typical in pickup games; they ran structured sets as they did in the NBA.
"Big learning step"
The 17-year NBA veteran also noticed something these guys did: If you were out of shape, the court was off-limits. That's the gold standard for professionalism, and if you're wearing that Jazz logo, you were expected to conduct yourself as such.
Even though these NBA veterans did not give him one-on-one advice sessions, Andre believed playing pickup games with them for five summers contributed a lot to his foundation as a basketball player.
"I'm watching legends Karl Malone and John Stockton, and I can be in the gym with them and develop confidence, learn the physicality, and just soak up the game," Miller continued. "Back then, they wasn't really saying too much. It was like you get out here, you get knocked around, and you learn from it…"
"I had an opportunity to catch that for five years, so it helped us out as a team with Utah learning discipline, work ethic, and it helped us get to the Finals and the championship," concluded the retired guard.
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The Jazz fingerprint
Miller led the Utes to the NCAA title game in 1998. Although they eventually lost to Kentucky, Andre's tournament performances put his name on the map. He had 16 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists in the semifinal against UNC and an 18/14/13 triple-double in knocking out defending champs Arizona at the Elite Eight.
It's no surprise that a college team spending time in the gym with two-time NBA Western Conference champs reached such a high level of success. Moreover, the toughness, professionalism, and "basic yet effective" style Miller brought with him to the NBA had the Jazz's influence written all over it.
In his heyday, peers considered "The Professor" one of the most underrated and cerebral point guards . He could see things on the basketball court that others didn't, and that hoop IQ enabled Andre to stay in the Association for 17 years.
The LA native didn't reach the same individual heights as his pickup game mentors. Nevertheless, the lessons from Stockton and Malone were etched into his game, helping him carve a long and respected career.
Related: Andre Miller recalls his career-high 52 points game against the Mavs: "I didn't even get tired"
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