When Hurricanes star Jordan Miller learned the Los Angeles Clippers were taking him in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft, he was not just excited to get his shot in the professional ranks.
He was also glad to know he would see a familiar face — in more ways than one — when he got there. Miami coach Jim Larrañaga’s son Jay is an assistant coach for the Clippers.
“Obviously very excited,” Miller told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Was a little caught off guard because I didn’t have a pre-workout with them, but was really just grateful for just an opportunity. I knew coach Jay was there and I got to have a conversation, a talk with him. To have a familiar face in a new system, new place, is always good.”
The younger Larrañaga already knew Miller because he would drop in to watch Miami’s practices from time to time, getting to know his father’s players.
“Obviously, I follow my dad’s teams every year as close as I can,” Larrañaga told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Whenever we play in Miami, I try to get over to whenever they’re practicing, so I had known Jordan since he transferred from George Mason. I’ve always been a big fan of what a great team player he was and how his sole focus, you could always tell, was just on being a good teammate and winning.”
When it came time to evaluate players for the draft, Larrañaga reached out to his father to ask about Miller and other players around the ACC. Naturally, the elder Larrañaga gave his player a rave review, and the long-time NBA assistant had his own thoughts from watching Miller.
“I think the No. 1 thing that stuck out to me during his college career was how often he guarded the opponent’s best player, and whether that guy was a two-guard or a small forward or a power forward or even sometimes a center, he was always up to the challenge,” Larrañaga said. “He always made it really difficult. And so that was something that really was impressive, playing against NBA-level talent in the ACC and the NCAA Tournament and really performing at the defensive end because that’s a big challenge for guys.
“And then offensively, my dad just said, ‘You never have to run a play for him, and he’ll end up with 14 or 16 points every game because he’s the best offensive rebounder I’ve ever coached. He’s one of the best cutters I’ve ever coached.’ He’s an, I thought, underrated three-point shooter but a big-shot maker in college, and I think all those things will end up translating really well to the NBA.”
Miller went through the NBA Summer League and training camp with the Clippers. He averaged 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in five games. He learned that the younger Larrañaga was not that different from his former coach.
“They look the same. But other than that, I think the similarity is they’re both very caring,” Miller said. “Teachers more than coaches, and they both really, really are sticklers on the details, which I think is a good thing. It is crazy going from Coach L to Coach Jay because there’s a big age difference. I’m used to one Larrañaga being not as mobile vs. seeing this one chase rebounds. You know what I mean? It threw me for a loop at first.”
Larrañaga said Miller is a quick learner and a good teammate. He also said Miller was able to consistently get to the basket, but he thinks the former Hurricane can work to become a “lights-out” 3-point shooter.
Miller signed a two-way deal with Los Angeles and made his NBA debut against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. He scored two points in four minutes on the court. Miller’s two-way contract means he could shuttle between Los Angeles and its G-League team, the Ontario (California) Clippers. Regardless of where he is playing, Miller is taking a positive outlook toward his time in the professional ranks.
“I know there’s two ways that people could look at it,” Miller said. “They could look at it as, ‘Aw man, I’m going to spend time in the G-League. This sucks. I deserve to be in the NBA.’
“But for me, I just trust the process. Wherever it is where I’m at, I’m just going to put my all into it, maintain a positive attitude and just keep pushing forward.”
