Late Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller wrestled with his bright mind

This is the sixth of an eight-part series on "Driven: An Autobiography" about the life of Larry H. Miller written by Deseret News columnist Doug Robinson in collaboration with Miller. Each begins with Robinson's personal observations and experiences from the project, followed by an excerpt from the book. "Driven" is available at Deseret Book.

The first time I met with Larry for this book project, we discussed our audience. Larry had always planned to produce a book only for family, business associates and friends. Gail, who often was working in the kitchen nearby while Larry and I conducted our interviews and chipped in valuable comments, said she thought he should make the book available to everyone, as did I. Larry listened and thought about this for a moment and decided this was acceptable, but with this caveat: He didn't want to change the content simply because he had broadened his audience. He was still going to talk about personal and spiritual matters the way he would if he were addressing family members. And so he did.

In the world of Larry Miller, many of his stories were often repeated and well-known — stories he dubbed "Wyoming Gas" and "5 + 0 =," for instance. Many of them had a lesson or a point he was trying to drive home and Larry used them effectively in meetings with his managers and employees. Having heard these stories for years, many of Larry's associates, including basketball star John Stockton, urged him to put his stories in a book. In the summer of 2008, Stockton called Larry and once again suggested that he produce a book. Larry told him one was in the works.

John was eventually asked to write a foreword for the book and gladly accepted the task. A few weeks later, he left a message on my cell phone to inform me that he had e-mailed the foreword to me. "Please, pass on your thoughts once you read it," he said. This concerned me. What if he couldn't write and I had to tell a Hall of Famer his writing needed to be reworked, or, worse, I had to do it for him? Well, as it turned out, the foreword was terrific. It turns out Stockton can write almost as well as he plays ball.

One thing I remember from the early days of our interviews is that Larry seemed uncomfortable. He often rocked back and forth in his chair, with his arms crossed on his chest, as he shut his eyes deep in thought. "Pressure sores," he explained one day, without being asked (apparently, he read my mind). "I'm rocking back and forth like this because I have pressure sores." But of course he wanted to continue the interviews, despite his discomfort. Right to the end, he thrived on work.

I graduated from West High School with a 1.77 cumulative grade point average. I barely graduated.

I was also a National Merit Scholar.