ANDRE Miller isn't necessarily someone you'd want taking the most important shots of a game. In fact, on a list of people you'd want taking 3s and going to the line in the final seconds of an NCAA Tournament game, he'd probably rank somewhere behind Dick Vitale and just ahead of Ray Charles.
A sure bet, he's not.But it wasn't like the Utes had a lot of options, Saturday afternoon at Reunion Arena. Forty-three seconds left in the game and the shot-clock down to five seconds. The Utes trying not to lose their 2-point lead over Iowa State. Utah's best player, Keith Van Horn, sitting on the bench after fouling out and its second-best player, Brandon Jessie, barely grazing the rim on his shots. Who ya gonna call?
Miller isn't the kind of player you know in advance what he's going to do. He can be as unpredictable as an avalanche. He might drive inside to score an important basket, or he may end up dribbling the ball off his leg. While he gives the Utes a freelancing and penetrating quality they sorely need, he also leads the team in turnovers. On the nation's best free throw-shooting team, he is among the worst. His 3-point percentage of .313 is only sixth-best on the team.
So, naturally, when things got dangerous in the closing secondsof Utah's 73-67 second-round win over Iowa State, it was Miller who turned up holding the ball.
Gulp.
"I think I'm consistent," said Miller, not altogether convincingly. "But I do get a lot of turnovers."
Indeed, Miller's heroics weren't something that could have been planned. The coaching staff didn't get together on Friday afternoon and say, "Hey, I know what. Let's have Andre take a 3 at the end of the game!" They didn't say, "Boy, I sure hope Andre gets to take the two free throws with 26 seconds to go."
But when Mark Rydalch's shot was blocked with 43 seconds remaining, and the ball skidded back into Miller's hands, he suddenly became the Utes' first option. Their brand new No. 1 man. With the shot clock down to five seconds, Miller didn't wait to get a better look, check the wind or even square himself up.
He just aimed and fired.
It fell through the net.
"The shot clock was running out. The play wasn't really for me," said Miller. "The ball just came into my hands, so I shot it."
Soon to follow was the clincher. The Cyclones were all over Miller as Utah inbounded the ball, leading by three. Iowa State wasn't dumb. The Cyclones had seen the percentages and could surmise that his .689 free throw percentage - on a team that averages .780 - was as good a chance as they were going to get.
"Everyone knows I'm the worst free-throw shooter on the team," said Miller.
So after Miller's 3-point shot, and an ISU layup that left the Utes with a 67-64 lead, Miller stepped to the line with 26 seconds left. He calmly landed both. "I was just trying to clear my head," said Miller.
Which may have taken some doing. With 6:05 remaining, he fell during a tangle to get a rebound, landing on his seat and banging his head on the court. He lay flat on his back for several minutes, pondering the support structure of the ceiling. At first, he had no feeling in his legs.
"I lost my wind, so I lay there trying to catch my breath," said Miller.
But the landing only served to get Miller started. Soon to follow were the trey and the two free throws, and the Utes were in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1991. "He's probably not the first guy to have shoot that," said center Michael Doleac. "But he came up huge."
And so on a night when Van Horn fouled out with six minutes to go and Jessie, made only three of 10 attempts, and the Utes were all but ready to buckle under ISU's comeback attempt, the job of winning the game fell on Miller. Which was fine with him. Just because you're not the first choice doesn't mean you can't come up huge.