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In Part 1 of this exclusive two-part interview, Stephen Miller, aka "Philly Cat," visited with former Kentucky great Michael Kidd-Gilchrist about "the Breakfast Club" and summer pickup games with NBA players. In this Part, Kidd-Gilchrist and Miller choose their own pick-up games.
By: STEPHEN MILLER
Part 2
This discussion of pick-up games with the NBA players led Kidd-Gilchrist to think about a hypothetical pick-up game among his Kentucky teammates from last year. We each agreed to serve as team captains, and he graciously agreed to allow my “cousin” Darius (not really) to take my place on the court. In return, I gave Kidd-Gilchrist first pick.
“Ant! Ant!” he said before the offer was fully out of my mouth. Real tough choice! I picked Doron Lamb, confident that he could handle point guard duties at the pick-up level and add an extra dimension with his outside shooting. Kidd-Gilchrist picked Marquis Teague. At this point, his team of 3 was comprised of 3 NBA first-round draft picks — including the top 2 overall selections last year. Undeterred, I selected Terrence Jones, and I remember thinking that my team actually had a chance at this point.
His next pick deflated me — probably in the same way it deflated opposing coaches trying to scout UK last year: “Kyle Wiltjer.” I knew he'd be able to stretch my defense to the breaking point. I chose Eloy Vargas, hoping that maybe I could move Vargas to defend Davis in stretches, and let Jones defend Wiltjer.
Kidd-Gilchrist must not have been surprised with Jarrod Polson’s strong play this season, because Polson was his next pick. I took a “healthy” Jon Hood, and Kidd-Gilchrist took the suspension of belief one step further by choosing Stacey Poole for the last spot on his team.
I knew I had to make my last pick count, so I boldly chose Sam Malone. Figuring that his pre-injury points-per-minute-played ratio must have been stratospheric, I knew that Malone would be ready for the big stage in this hypothetical pick-up game.
The final line-ups were:
Team MKG
Kidd-Gilchrist
Davis
Teague
Wiltjer
Polson
Poole
Team Miller
Miller
Lamb
Jones
Vargas
Hood
Malone
We stopped the game before we had to force Brian Long or Twany Beckham to become someone’s last pick. And, sadly, our hypothetical musings could not overcome the NCAA’s eligibility restrictions: Ryan Harrow would be forced to watch this pick-up game — like the national championship game — from the stands.
KSR thanks Stephen Miller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for the interview. Be looking for other special projects from Stephen in the weeks to come.
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