The book on … Brad Millard

Sporting News, The, Dec 6, 1999 by Dwight Chapin

Brad Millard has his left foot in an ice bucket, although in this case it's more like a tub, because his size 23-EEEE foot won't fit in anything smaller.

Millard is working hard on being comfortable, not only with that balky foot, which has been broken twice the past two years, but with the pro scouts and journalists swarming around practices. Also being comfortable with himself and his size; he hit 380 pounds when he was sidelined because of his foot.

But it's clear his weight is approaching his goal of 320, and it has been redistributed. There's plenty of new muscle in his upper body to go with a new, tough-guy attitude.

"He's never going to be Carl Lewis," coach Dave Bollwinkel says, "but he's bigger, quicker, stronger and faster. He's the most dominant player in the West Coast Conference. I'm not going to argue that he's the best player in the conference, but he's the most dominant. Having him back makes a huge difference to us."

Millard was a very raw talent when he arrived in 1995, but he showed promise and was helped by a stint in 199G at Pete Newell's Big Man Camp, where he showed off his skills in shooting and passing. It was Newell who nicknamed him Big Continent. As a sophomore, Millard was named the WCC's MVP and scored 16 points with six rebounds in a fine showing against Wake Forest and current NBA star Tim Duncan in the 1997 NCAA tourney. "That's the high point of my career," Millard says.

But because of the foot fractures, Millard appeared in just five games over the past two seasons, and Boll-winkel took to calling him Atlantis because he became the lost continent.

Millard, a fifth-year senior, is trying to shake the rust. In losses to Washington and Colorado, he had 36 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks but shot just 39 percent. "I've just got to get back out there and prove to people the way I played against Duncan is the way I still can play," he says.

RELATED ARTICLE: FINAL FOUR THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK

The week's latest turn of events on the way to Indy:

1 Scoring's his Forte. Meet UNC frosh Joe Forte, definitive proof there's a lab in Research Triangle genetically engineering ideal shooting guards.

2 RPI or HMO? We'll take Michigan State's Mateen Cleaves, Fresno State's Courtney Alexander, Utah's Hanno Mottola, Stanford's Mark Madsen and Temple's Pepe Sanchez in a pickup game. So long as it's played in February.

3 Made for TV hoops. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Great Eight. And coming soon: Clem Haskins, the Miniseries.

4 Gator Bait. Florida's Brett Wright is suspended for a poor attitude: "I asked him some questions," says coach Billy Donovan, "and I didn't get the answers I wanted." Guess he doesn't grade on a curve.

RELATED ARTICLE: MATCHUPS

ARIZONA VS. CONNECTICUT, 9 P.M. ET TUESDAY, ESPN: Arizona, fresh off a showdown with Texas, squeezes in UConn at the Great Eight before Michigan State visits December 11. (The 'Cats get a peak at MSU in its Great Eight opener vs. Kansas at 7 p.m.)

Frontcourt: Beauty vs. the beast. Jake Voskuhl, with his golden mane and stellar defense, must stop the unstoppable scoring force that is UA's Michael Wright.

Backcourt: UA freshmen Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas have been solid, if not spectacular, but it's lot to match the veteran savvy of Khalid El-Amin.

Prediction: If El-Amin's shot selection and passing are on par, the NCAA champs will win.

NO. CAROLINA VS. CINCINNATI, 9 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY, ESPN: The final Great Eight game pits the nation's fiercest frontcourts, which means the guards will likely decide it. UNC veteran Ed Cota has alternated between unstop has alternated between unstoppable and inconsistent. Freshman and UC's DerMarr Johnson could light it up at off-guard.

DePAUL AT DUKE, 7 P.M. ET SATURDAY, ESPN: "Q" has had the headlines so far, but JC transfer Paul McPherson and his 47-inch vertical jump have Chicagoans' jaws dropping. Although many of the Blue Devils weren't even around, the Blue Demons haven't forgotten last February's 96-64 thrashing by Duke at the United Center.

RELATED ARTICLE: Recruiting watch

Brick Oettinger ranks the top 25 senior prospects

                                   Town/High school
Rk.   Name               Ht./Wt.   (Schools considering)

1.    Marcus Taylor       6-3      Lansing, Mich./Waverly
                                   (signed with Michigan St.)

2.    Omar Cook           6-1      Middle Village, N.Y./Christ
                                   the King (signed with St.
                                   John's)

3.    Chris Duhon         6-2      Slidell, La./Salmen (signed
                                   with Duke)

4.    Taliek Brown        6-1      Astoria, N.Y./St. John's
                                   Prep (signed with
                                   Connecticut)

5.    Andre Barrett       5-8      Manhattan, N.Y./Rice (signed
                                   with Seton Hall)

6.    Imari Sawyer        6-2      Chicago/Martin Luther King
                                   (signed with DePaul)

7.    Brian Morrison      6-2      Kirkland, Wash./Lake
                                   Washington (signed with
                                   North Carolina)

8.    Avery Queen         5-8      Winchendon, Mass./Winchendon
                                   (signed with Michigan)

9.    Cliff Hawkins       6-2      Mouth of Wilson, Va./Oak
                                   Hill Academy (signed with
                                   Kentucky)

10.   Demetrius Smith     6-3      Hogansville, Ga./Callaway
                                   (signed with Alabama)

11.   Eddie Starks        6-3      Miami/Northwest Christian
                                   (Miami, Rutgers, S. Florida,
                                   C. Fla.)

12.   Adam Boone          6-2      Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka
                                   (signed with North Carolina)

13.   Derrick Snowden     6-0      Severn, Md./Archbishop
                                   Spalding (signed with
                                   Villanova)

14.   Wesley Stokes       5-10     Long Beach, Calif./
                                   Polytechnic (signed with
                                   Missouri)

15.   Luke Ridnour        6-2      Blaine, Wash./Blaine (signed
                                   with Oregon)

16.   Anthony Anderson    5-11     Lynn, Mass./English (prep
                                   school, junior college)

17.   Andre Owens         6-3      Indianapolis/Perry Meridian
                                   (signed with Indiana)

18.   Jake Sullivan       6-1      Oakdale, Minn./Tartan
                                   (signed with Iowa State)

19.   Brandon Brooks      5-11     Portland, Ore./Jefferson
                                   (Pac-10, Mtn. West, prep
                                   school, JC)

20.   Jimmy Twymon        6-0      Winchendon, Mass./Winchendon
                                   (Detroit, Big Ten, others,
                                   JC)

21.   Reggie Bryant       6-3      Oakdale, Conn./St. Thomas
                                   More (Atl. 10, American,
                                   others, JC)

22.   James Thues         6-0      Detroit/Martin Luther King
                                   (Syracuse)

23.   Russell Lakey       6-0      N. Hollywood, Calif./
                                   Harvard-Westlake (Ivy
                                   League, Vandy, others)

24.   Sherrod Teasley     6-4      Middleburg, Va./Notre Dame
                                   (Rutgers, Alabama, others)

25.   Curtis Allen        6-2      Tacoma, Wash./Wilson
                                   (signed with Washington)