By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
It almost couldn’t have been dreamier for Quincy Miller during the first summer days.
The American forward had officially become a player of Maccabi Tel Aviv not long after completing his breakthrough debut season in Europe by being crowned a champion in two different leagues with Crvena Zvezda.
Alas, the sweet as honey taste that these events brought to his mouth would soon turn sour.
During early July, almost a month after being announced by his new team, the 23-year old player decided to play a pickup game in the USA with some friends. Just casual stuff to get him even more pumped up for the upcoming season.
What was supposed to be a bit of harmless, hoops related fun, took an awful turn when he sustained an injury on his knee. He immediately realized that what happened to him was cause for alarm.
“I felt that something got messed up inside my leg. I knew it was something bad for sure,” Miller told Eurohoops. “At first, I didn’t think it would be as ugly as it actually was. But obviously the situation turned out to be nasty.”
Indeed. The examinations revealed a torn PCL on his knee for which his rehabilitation might take up to nine months. The 23-year old gunslinger who terrorized even Euroleague powerhouses last season, will keep his weapons in their holsters for now.
“The thing that I initially thought was something along the lines of ‘Damn… not again’. That’s what I kept saying. And when I heard that I’d be out for months? That hurt. A lot. Even more given the fact that it wasn’t the first time that something like that happened after getting an opportunity I wanted. It’s not the first injury that I feel it sets me back in one way or another.”
No, it wasn’t. That’s why his reaction makes total sense, in a kinda unfortunate way. Almost one year before his freshman season in Baylor, Miller had also faced knee problems, suffering a torn ACL. Although he proceeded to make a successful recovery, something evident from his performances in NCAA, that injury affected how NBA scouts and executives evaluated his athletic profile.
On the eve of the 2015 NBA Summer League, another injury stole him the opportunity to display the entire spectrum of his capabilities at a key period. It was his chance to show the Detroit Pistons that he deserves something more than a non-guaranteed deal. Everyone, including his teammates, was expecting him to shine, but an accidental elbow hit left him with a broken nose, fractured orbital and corneal abrasions.
He was forced to miss the whole tournament and a bit later, the Pistons decide to trade him to the Brooklyn Nets.
Although fate has not been exactly kind to his career, he remains stoic enough to carry strong amounts of faith while keeping his spirit high. “You know…. all these are part of my journey. That’s how I see it,” he mentions with a wide smile on his face.
Last year that voyage introduced him to Europe and the foreign land of Belgrade, Serbia. He was about to wear the jersey of Crvena Zvezda and create a serious buzz around his name throughout the continent.
Now, adapting to overseas life encompasses various things, related to the sport or not. Apart from familiarizing himself with a totally new environment and different lifestyle the 22-year old, back then, Miller had to dive into the uncharted waters of a basketball system almost alien to him.
Despite the young of his age and his complete inexperience with European hoops, it didn’t take long for his abundant offensive charisma to flow freely. And take hold.
“I can now say that my transition was easy. And you know why? I was eager to learn. Coming to Europe, I knew that the game won’t be the same to which I was used to. This realization made me open to learn new things and ready to listen what others had to say. This, along with the fact that I had great teammates and a good head coach, helped me.”
His debut venture in the highest level of overseas basketball was nothing less than sensational. Not only did he pull up his team back on its feet from a 1-3 entrance in the Euroleague regular season to finish with a Top 16 spot-clinching 5-5 record, but trailblazed the path of Crvena Zvezda to the competition’s playoffs. A monumental, first-time achievement in the club’s history.
Miller finished the season with an average of 14.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, making the All-Euroleague second team. The only American player to get such distinction in his rookie year in Europe.
Becoming champion was part of the picture as well. The completion of 2015/2016 found him celebrating both the ABA and Serbian league titles with Red Star.
“Focus was the key in these cases. We knew that we were the favorites to win the ABA League and the Serbian championship. We just had to find two things: Consistency and being humble. Sometimes we struggled a bit because even though we were making some big Euroleague wins, we were losing in our domestic leagues. That’s the reason we finished second (after Buducnost) in the ABA regular season. But we matured very much in the playoffs, and that’s why we won the ABA and Serbian titles.”
It was only natural that his performances would attract heavy attention from major European clubs that lusted after the fire they saw him bringing on court. But they were not the only ones watching with glee.
Before signing a quite lucrative deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Miller discovered that his achievements forced some NBA teams to not only turn their gaze on him, but even seriously consider him as prospective summer signing.
“After agreeing with Maccabi, we found out that multiple NBA teams were offering us some really good deals. So I passed on some NBA opportunities. I don’t regret my decision at all. If they were here over last summer, they will appear again”
“It doesn’t matter though. Because I really wanted to come to Maccabi. I’m really happy here and I feel right with the choice I made.”
When so many options are being laid in front of you, it is easy, if not tempting, to lose yourself in a labyrinth of “what ifs”. More than content with his choice, Miller already knew how to shield his mind from thoughts distracting enough to even be potentially dangerous.
“The decisions you make are your own. At the end of the day you have to live with them. You can’t dwell on your choices and think about stuff like”oh what if I had signed with this team, what if I waited longer, what if I said yes to that one and no to the other’. This will inevitably hold you back… especially if you have lots of choices in front of you. “
The road he took led him to Tel Aviv where he received a raving welcome by fans of his new team at the airport, when he arrived together with new partner in crime Sonny Weems.
While the overly excited Maccabi maniacs will have to wait a bit in order to marvel at his game, noone is more frustrated with the whole situation than Miller himself.
“Of course, it’s absolutely unpleasant being forced to watch from the sidelines. Especially if my team is losing a game. At the same time time, when you are dealing with an injury like mine, you need to be patient. You just have to.”
He is rehabilitating fine, with no need or particular urge to rush things. “Patience, you must have” would say a famous filmic sage voice to him. And Miller possesses plenty amounts of this virtue to come back 100% healthy and ready to rumble.
“I am shooting the ball, running, dribbling. Pretty much everything minus physical contact of course. But I don’t have a specific time-frame on getting back to action full time. I’m taking my time and I’m not trying to pressure anything.”
The historic Israeli club of which he is now a part of, takes pride on a highly illustrious trophy case of more than a hundred titles, including six European championships (five Euroleague, one Suproleague). After a drought in the past two years, the “Yellows” underwent a great deal of reconstruction over the summer for the sole purpose of retracing their steps towards success.
“We have some great players in our roster. There’s Maik Zirbes who was my teammate in Crvena Zvezda. Sonny Weems, Andrew Goudelock and D.J. Seeley who I already knew before. And Victor Rudd of course who I have even played against in D-league.”
Maccabi has definitely thought big, conscripting from the free agency’s creme de la creme. Quality matters but building strong relationships with your teammates is a perhaps equally vital for team prosperity, according to Quincy Miller.
“We get along well off the court and that says a lot. It’s very important. Because you can get to a team where you can’t even communicate on court. But we succeed on understanding each other on and off the floor . That adds an extra doze of strength to that which we already have.”