Harold Miner - What could have been...

[Dee4Three]

Hi all,

My favorite time period for the NBA is the 90's, and I remember all the hype surrounding "Baby Jordan" before he came into the league, and during his rookie season. Whenever I watched Miner, I always thought that he was held back (Heat overloaded with guards, and when he went to the Cavs they were overloaded with guards). They also played him at the point a lot... which is not his game and makes no sense. I think he was a unique player for his time, and an obvious offensive talent. What do you think Miner could have done in a situation that gave him more minutes AT THE SG position, with a team that genuinely used him the right way?

He had an accurate pull up jumper that he could get off whenever he wanted, he was good with both his left and right when driving (left handed), he had solid hang time and power as well. He didn't seem to force the issue when passing (Which he didn't do a lot of, but still).

I am asking more of the opinion of those who actually watched him play and were old enough to remember all the hype. Or, those who have legitimately sat down and watched full games of Harold Miner on youtube or another platform.

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[Andrew]

He's probably only remembered as a dunker, the 90s equivalent of Terence Stansbury (whose NBA career was even shorter, though he had a lengthy career playing in Europe). Knee injuries ultimately forced Miner to retire early, so even if he had more of an opportunity, it's tough to say whether he could've truly taken advantage of it.

Looking back at what he could do and considering his numbers (especially Per 36, since he never played more than 21.6 mpg in a season), I suppose it's possible he might have had a more impressive career if he'd stayed healthy. At the same time, I also believe that cream rises to the top, you can't stop talent, and all that. If he truly had it in him to be more than he was, I think he would've gotten that opportunity. Maybe that could've happened if he didn't get injured, or he'd at least have had more of a chance, so perhaps that's a little unfair. Still, I don't know. I think great talent finds a way to break through, and adapt where necessary. I'd say at best, he could've been a solid scorer off the bench if he stayed healthy. I don't know that he'd have reached greater heights, rather just keep doing what he did, only for longer.

[mp3]

He pretty much ran away when he became famous, I remember late 90's someone interviewed his mother and they asked what happened to Harold to which she replied "he's fine he's ok he just wants to be left alone"

I always found this interesting.

[Dee4Three]

He pretty much ran away when he became famous, I remember late 90's someone interviewed his mother and they asked what happened to Harold to which she replied "he's fine he's ok he just wants to be left alone"

I always found this interesting.

I didn't even know that. Funny how that works.

I just watched an interview with him (recent one), and he admitted that he could never get his knees right. But watching highlights, it bothers me a little... because I thought he had a lot of talent. In the recent interview, he admitted to taking a 10 year break from anything basketball related after he retired, but his kids love for the game made him love the game again himself.

[Andrew]

It would be a terrible blow to achieve your dream of playing in the NBA, but still not have it go quite to plan, never quite reaching the heights you imagined or seemed destined for, and ultimately retiring young due to injuries. I imagine that's what Greg Oden is still going through, though it seems it hasn't taken him as long to make his peace and still be involved with the game in some capacity. Everyone heals in their own time, of course.

As fun as the "what ifs" and "what happened to..." discussions are for us, they probably do sting for athletes like Harold Miner, Greg Oden, and Dejuan Wagner, who achieved something special by making the NBA, but really only got a taste of the dream. With that in mind, I think we can all come to understand why they might become reclusive, or at least try to keep a low profile as a private citizen. They've already endured scrutiny as an athlete in the most famous basketball league in the world; I imagine they'd want to take a break from all the talk of what might have been, and the whole scene of professional basketball.