Andre is the only Prop 48 student to graduate within 4 years. He majored in criminology and sociology.

And yet, what do we know about the inner Andre?

The player known for his hardcore silence is not going to let you in unless you speak the game. He will then open up just enough to give a sound description of his love for the rock.

I took it as a challenge; these NBA cats are difficult to get at after the season’s last beat is played and Electric Relaxation begins. First step - Mom.

Andrea Robinson-Haralson eased my mind at least three times; Andre will speak. On the phone, I asked Andre’s mom to clear up a few things about her enigmatic son–namely his silence:

“He got it from my Mom and my Mom got it from her Dad. He didn’t get it from me, he got it from his great grandfather.”

and the Mormon rumors:

“No, he’s not a practicing Mormon. I guess you heard that because he played at Utah, but not everybody there is Mormon.”

Is it crazy for a Black kid from South Central to enroll at a predominately White college in Utah? Turns out Rick Majerus’ assistant coach, Donny Daniels, had something in common with Andre - Verbum Dei, a Catholic high school in the Watts section of L.A., where Miller was an honor roll student, California Player of the Year (basketball) and a standout quarterback.

“When I got a chance to meet him, he (Majerus) really sold us on the academic program. They had a lot of availability for tutoring. I wanted him [Andre] to have a change from Los Angeles and also I wanted him to go away from school, but not too far . . .There was a lot of people concerned about your education–and him as a person–than just him as a basketball player.”

A few days later, when Andre finally hit me up, I didn’t know what to expect; he is so reserved in the locker room. Andre was cool and I found out quickly how much the game means to him.

Andre’s Philadelphia 76′ers were one of the biggest stories of the year even though they finished seventh in the Eastern Conference at 40-42. For most, the early season front office shakeup that dismissed long time GM Billy King and transitioned into native son Ed Stefanski will, in retrospect, be the origin of promise.

To be accurate, the roots of this turnaround began last season. King essentially sacrificed his job when he pulled the trigger and traded away the iconic Allen Iverson for Miller and cult figure Reggie Evans. Most thought the trade was bogus but the Sixers have played .500 ball since the blockbuster. Fans still love and miss Iverson but times have changed and it truly starts with Miller.

During the season he averaged 17 points, 7 dimes, and 4 rips; 15 and 3 in the 1st round series loss to the Pistons. Game four, where they led 2-1 with a 10 point halftime lead, haunts Andre. . . From the minute Rasheed Wallace picked up a pre-halftime tech, the series changed face. Detroit shot out of the locker room with an 11-0 run, smacked the young Sixers with a ten man Pistons hand and closed up shop in Philly.

“It’s tough. It’s kind of hard to explain. If you would have told me that we would have stole a game in Detroit and then we had the opportunity with 24 minutes to go of going up 3-1? I actually thought we were going to get swept. That team is a veteran team. That team has been together for five years or better. It says a lot about what those guys did, the type of work they put in and the coaching staff that prepared them. After while experience played a factor and that’s why they were able to get their act together and win the series.”

For those who don’t know his game, Miller is without question one of the best point guards in the Lig. with a relatively unknown ability to score at will. His up and under go-to move along the baseline is unique among guards.

In many games this season Andre had 10 points and 7 dimes at the end of the first quarter. Those ten points usually were scored on five straight possessions. Then, true to his game, he subtly falls back into the flow and executes Cheeks’ plan.

Andre is the intro. When he’s over, the Sixers beat begins to knock–with bass.

By the time the hook plays the Sixers are out on the break and Dre is throwing a bounce pass to Igodala for one of those popcorn all over the fan in front of you throw downs that even gets Mo Cheeks excited enough to give a fist pump. I noticed in these moments that Cheeks and Miller have similar personalities on and off the court.

“Um…a few people see it like that but the crazy thing is that I’ve been in this league nine going on ten years now. I was doing the same things I doing in Philadelphia that I did in Denver, LA and Cleveland. I never got any recognition for it. I should have made the All Star team this year. There’s been a few years where I thought I should have made the All Star team.”

“Cheeks was pretty much the same player, but he played with Hall Of Fame players. Dr. J, Moses Malone, Bobby Jones and Andrew Toney. When it was all said and done, he was considered a great player and eventually a Hall Of Fame. In my position, I’ve pretty much done the same things throughout my career, but I haven’t played on the greatest teams like that. I played in three playoff appearances with Denver and I helped Carmelo Anthony get better as well as a lot of the other players. I was under the radar–which as you know–I don’t like all of the attention. You want people to respect that. I think that people mistake me for saying I’m on my period in public. I’m a little bit different. On the floor I have to mix up being a player as well as a coach. Putting guys in the right spot. I give those guys a lot of credit for getting better but I think I played a major role in the younger guys getting better (on this team).

Andre’s South Central home is not far from where Menace II Society was taped. “It was real!” Andre yells out. “That’s the thing…it felt real.”

It wasn’t just death in the ‘hood, for death hit close as well. His younger brother died in 1988 at age 11 from viral encephalitis. Duane, Miller’s first son, carries his brother’s name.