Minneapolis Star Tribune
Published Sunday, December
13, 1998
Rapper hoping for new hit
in CBA
Associated Press
FORT WAYNE, IND. -- At
first glance, there's
little to separate Percy
Miller from teammates on
the CBA's Fort Wayne Fury.
Although his style is a
little more street, he can
hold his own with the other
10 men hoping to play in
the NBA one day.
But look a little closer.
For starters, there are the
camouflage shorts, the
diamond stud earring and
the gold bridge across his
front teeth with the
diamond inlays.
Then there's the plain
black T-shirt under his
mesh jersey with a small
"P" emblem on the left
sleeve -- as in Master P,
the rapper-producer-sports
agent who made more than
$56 million last year
through his business
ventures, a far cry from
the $1,500 a week the
average CBA player gets.
He's also the only Fury
player to leave the team
this season to make a
movie.
"I just said I want to be
here and show people I'm
serious about this and
build my talent and then go
to the NBA," Miller said,
describing how he persuaded
the Fury to give him a shot
at making the team. "I'm
growing. I'm growing and
getting better. . . . You
know, it ain't no thing."
At least if you're Master P
it's not. For while the
Fury players, coaches and
owners insist the megastar
has the skills to play in
the CBA, they also admit
his spot on the roster is
part publicity stunt,
giving him, the team and
the league invaluable
expose during the NBA
lockout.
"Obviously, the
marketability of him
certainly had something to
do with this," said Fury
co-owner Jay Frye. "I said
as long as it's not making
a mockery of the game or
anything, he can play and
he can have a chance. So we
brought him in, and he can
play."
This isn't the first brush
with fame for the Fury.
Country singer Mark Miller
of Sawyer Brown, a friend
of Frye's, practiced with
the team and played in an
exhibition game during the
1996 preseason. And Arizona
Cardinals defensive end
Simeon Rice has practiced
with the team on occasion.
But Fury coach Keith Smart,
who played 10 years in the
NBA, Europe and CBA, said
his rapping point guard
isn't on the court as a
celebrity but as a
basketball player.
"He's not Master P here.
He's Percy Miller. When
you're Percy Miller, you
can learn because you know
you haven't done anything,"
Smart said.
Despite the gold and
glitter Miller wears at
practice, Smart said the
rapper's lack of polish on
the court has been
apparent, though his talent
is promising. In 65 minutes
on the court this season,
Miller has 24 fouls, about
one for every 2.7 minutes,
something that Smart
attributes to the flying
elbows and grabbing that
are common in street ball.
Miller also is averaging
1.6 points a game, worst on
the team, but he had his
best game of the season
before he left last week to
shoot a movie -- eight
points and four rebounds in
13 minutes while shooting
4-for-6 from the floor.
"He has improved since day
one," Smart said. "There
was a lot of stuff in his
game that was street
basketball to now where
he's making a change."
While Miller, 28, got much
of his game from street
ball, he also played at
Warren Easton High in New
Orleans and was briefly on
the team at the University
of Houston, but he didn't
get any playing time there.
With all his stardom,
Miller seems like an odd
fit for Smart and Fury
teammate Damon Bailey, who
both played for the strict
Bob Knight at Indiana.
(Smart hit the game-winning
shot when Indiana won the
national championship in
1987.)
"I don't know how serious
he is about it," Bailey
said of Miller. "I don't
know if he's going to
dedicate a part of his life
to the game. But I think if
he says, 'Hey I want to be
a basketball player,' and
he works at it, I think he
could be a pretty good
player.
"He's just a guy trying to
have a successful career in
basketball, just like we
all are."
It's his other careers that
sometimes are a
distraction. Miller claims
to be dedicated to making
his way to the NBA, but he
left the Fury after the
Dec. 4 game to make an
action movie titled "No
Tomorrow" and isn't
expected back until
sometime in January.
While he's gone, he has
been dropped to
developmental status with
the team, which means he
can practice with the Fury
but can't play in games.
Fury spokesman Rory Brown
said it's uncertain whether
Miller will be returned to
the active roster once he
returns.
He's also still running his
No Limit rap label and No
Limit Sports Management,
which represents several
NBA players such as the
Cleveland Cavaliers' Derek
Anderson and the Boston
Celtics' Ron Mercer.
Smart compared Miller's
foray into the CBA with
Michael Jordan's brief
stint in minor league
baseball. And, like
Jordan's return to
basketball, Smart said
Miller will probably one
day go back to what he does
best.
"I think he will look at
himself and say, 'OK, how
long am I willing to give
this thing to play pro
basketball and one day make
it in the NBA?' " Smart
said. "He has to see that
it's a tough transition
trying to go from nowhere
to try and play in this
league. I played it for 10
years, and it's a tough job
to try and make that
transition."
But he hasn't let the
multimillionaire purchase a
new team bus for the Fury,
as Jordan did for teammates
at the Class AA Birmingham
Barons.
"We were on the way to
Rockford and our bus broke
down, and he made mention
of something that, 'Hey,
man, we've got to do
something about this,' and
I said, 'No, P, this keeps
you hungry,' " Smart said.
"Sitting on the bus, broken
down, running out of gas,
this keeps you hungry,
knowing that, hey, this
isn't where I want to
remain. I want to be on
higher ground."
© Copyright 1998 Associated
Press. All rights reserved.