Staying the course

Last May, Utah guard Andre Miller had a difficult decision to make. Should he stay for his senior season at the University of Utah or declare himself eligible for the NBA draft?

At the time, a lot of folks believed Miller would be crazy not to turn pro and shout "Show me the money!" After all, he was as hot as he might ever be, having led the Utes to the NCAA championship game against Kentucky a month earlier with a series of dazzling performances.The fact that Miller was on the verge of graduating from college at the time and didn't need to come back to finish school was also a factor. Why not take the money and run to the NBA?

However, Miller announced - actually, his coach, Rick Majerus, announced it on a Seattle radio show - in early May that he would return for his senior season.

A lot of people were surprised by the decision. But five months later, it looks absolutely brilliant.

Look at all the underclassmen whoturned pro - college stars such as Paul Pierce and Antawn Jamison - who are struggling to stay in shape and injury-free while NBA owners and players haggle over money and other issues. Meanwhile, Miller is busy preparing for the upcoming collegiate season, being named on several preseason all-American teams.

Ask Miller what he thinks about the NBA lockout and he quickly replies, "I don't even care about the NBA."

He'd much rather talk about new teammates such as Phil Cullen and Tony Harvey, who he hopes will help lead the Utes deep into the NCAA tourney again with the likes of U. returnees Alex Jensen and Hanno Mot-tola.

"I think we will do well this year," said Miller. "We'll probably start off slow, but by the time league starts, we'll be playing well as a team."

Last spring, Miller basically left the decision on whether to turn pro up to Majerus, who has several friends and contacts in the NBA. Majerus talked to several teams, but he found out that Miller wasn't as high on their lists as he was on the lists of the so-called "experts," who had Miller going among the top 15 picks in the draft.

"I couldn't get an NBA team to tell me they'd take Andre in the first round before the 26th pick," said Majerus. "It's like (Jerry) West told me. `I'd probably take him if he was there unless somebody I really like fell.' That's like saying I might marry you unless Cindy Crawford comes along.

"The Lakers had (Nick) Van Exel and (Derek) Fisher as the backup, so Andre would be the third guard there. Where is he going to get playing time? The Jazz have Stockton, Eisley and Vaughn. He's not going to play for them."