C.J. Miles would be a college senior now
I looked at C.J. Miles during the Jazz's annual media day and couldn't help but think that this guy could be entering his senior year at the University of Texas.
Do you think he would help the Longhorns this season?
Miles jumped to the NBA straight from high school -- a decision that looked a little shaky when he slipped to the second round of the 2005 draft.
Remember what happened?
The Jazz owned the No. 6 and No. 27 picks and, from what I've heard since then, hoped Miles would still be around when they made their second selection in the first round.
On Draft Day, however, vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor made a trade with Portland. The Jazz moved up and got the No. 3 pick, which they turned into Deron Williams, in exchange for the No. 6 and No. 27 picks (as well as a conditional first-round pick in 2006).
With the Jazz not there to stop his fall, Miles slid out of the first round. But Utah happily grabbed him when he was still available early in the second round (No. 34 overall).
Miles turned pro less than three months after his 18th birthday and now -- after he signed a four-year, $15 million contract in the offseason -- nobody can second-guess his decision to forego a chance to take final exams at Texas to become a millionaire in the NBA.
Miles told me he spent a lot of time during this offseason in New York, working out at a facility that caters to pro athletes and concentrates on conditioning, improving foot speed and increasing quickness.
He also made a trip to his home in Dallas, where he enjoyed being around his family as well as "playing basketball and video games with my brother. ... That's what we do."
Miles' brother is a senior in high school and, apparently, a Division I prospect who is going through the recruiting process that C.J. came to dislike a few years ago.
When I asked Miles where his brother would be going to college, he said, "I don't know because I don't ask him much about it. I've been through it and everybody is always asking, 'Where are you going?' So I let him tell me about it. If he needs advice, I try to give it. But I know it's really bothersome, so I pretty much leave him be."
Miles did know that one school recruiting his brother is Arkansas, which made ex-Razorback Ronnie Brewer happy.
"The SEC is the premier sports conference in the country," Brewer said. "... Great area. Great people. Great school. I told C.J. it's a place [his brother] needs to consider."
Miles' brother told C.J. the University of Utah had contacted him awhile ago, but he did not know if the Utes were still actively recruiting him.
---
The best line I heard during media day came courtesy of Morris Almond.
When I asked him if he had taken any vacations to any exotic locations over the summer, he said, "No, I pretty much stayed home and worked out. ... I did do a Junior Jazz thing. I went to Price, Utah ... and Roosevelt, Utah ... and Tabiona, Utah. That was the most scenery I saw."
- Steve Luhm
Do you think he would help the Longhorns this season?
Miles jumped to the NBA straight from high school -- a decision that looked a little shaky when he slipped to the second round of the 2005 draft.
Remember what happened?
The Jazz owned the No. 6 and No. 27 picks and, from what I've heard since then, hoped Miles would still be around when they made their second selection in the first round.
On Draft Day, however, vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor made a trade with Portland. The Jazz moved up and got the No. 3 pick, which they turned into Deron Williams, in exchange for the No. 6 and No. 27 picks (as well as a conditional first-round pick in 2006).
With the Jazz not there to stop his fall, Miles slid out of the first round. But Utah happily grabbed him when he was still available early in the second round (No. 34 overall).
Miles turned pro less than three months after his 18th birthday and now -- after he signed a four-year, $15 million contract in the offseason -- nobody can second-guess his decision to forego a chance to take final exams at Texas to become a millionaire in the NBA.
Miles told me he spent a lot of time during this offseason in New York, working out at a facility that caters to pro athletes and concentrates on conditioning, improving foot speed and increasing quickness.
He also made a trip to his home in Dallas, where he enjoyed being around his family as well as "playing basketball and video games with my brother. ... That's what we do."
Miles' brother is a senior in high school and, apparently, a Division I prospect who is going through the recruiting process that C.J. came to dislike a few years ago.
When I asked Miles where his brother would be going to college, he said, "I don't know because I don't ask him much about it. I've been through it and everybody is always asking, 'Where are you going?' So I let him tell me about it. If he needs advice, I try to give it. But I know it's really bothersome, so I pretty much leave him be."
Miles did know that one school recruiting his brother is Arkansas, which made ex-Razorback Ronnie Brewer happy.
"The SEC is the premier sports conference in the country," Brewer said. "... Great area. Great people. Great school. I told C.J. it's a place [his brother] needs to consider."
Miles' brother told C.J. the University of Utah had contacted him awhile ago, but he did not know if the Utes were still actively recruiting him.
---
The best line I heard during media day came courtesy of Morris Almond.
When I asked him if he had taken any vacations to any exotic locations over the summer, he said, "No, I pretty much stayed home and worked out. ... I did do a Junior Jazz thing. I went to Price, Utah ... and Roosevelt, Utah ... and Tabiona, Utah. That was the most scenery I saw."
- Steve Luhm
2:43 PM
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