Already a star, Miller competes with the best
Teaneck, N.J. -- Percy Miller, a.k.a.
Lil' Romeo, owns a Cadillac Escalade and lives in
Advertisement
Beverly Hills. Everywhere he goes, there are autograph
seekers.
He's been in movies, he has his own
television show, his own records and he is the son of
rap entrepeneur Master P. He's more than likely the
richest person in the gymnasium. By far. At 16 years
old, he is already a multi-millionaire.
This week, though, he is not a superstar. He is No. 11
on the Bulls team at Reebok ABCD Camp. Lil Romeo has
made it in the entertainment industry. Now he is
trying to make it on the basketball court.
"This is what I've been doing since before the music
and everything else," Miller said. "I like playing
against the best competitors. This is what I love to
do, play basketball."
Obviously, Miller is not your typical teenager. He had
to postpone the shooting of a movie so he could attend
camp this week. Usually, he spends eight hours in the
studio working on his music.
"It's crazy," he said. "Sometimes I'm in there all
night."
But it would not be right any other way for Miller,
who describes himself as a workaholic who aims to only
do the things in life that make him happy -- music,
entertainment and basketball.
There is still a youthful side to Miller, a refreshing
child-like attitude that wants to have fun and be
carefree. Make no mistake, he is goal-oriented and
mature. But sometimes he likes to let loose and just
be a kid.
"My house is like a family reunion every day," Miller
said. "I have my AAU team over and we hang out. My
cousins and my family are always there. We have a real
fun time."
He laughs when he talks about family members from his
native New Orleans falling when trying to navigate the
hills of his canyon home. Miller, listed at 5-foot-11,
always seems to be enjoying life.
He's got the cars and the money and the homes and the
diamonds. He's a success on television, in movies, in
music. Now he wants to conquer basketball.
An invitation to ABCD was a good first step, even
though he ranks second-to-last among all campers on
the stat sheet. But ABCD is an elite camp and no one
said he's the top player in the 2008 class. Everything
Miller is involved with turns out to be successful. He
wants to make basketball no different.
"My father gives me a lot of advice, not only on
basketball or music, but on life," Miller said. "He
tells me if you're not happy doing what you are doing,
then find something else. This is what makes me
happy."
Jennings, Love connection
Kevin Love, who leads the camp in scoring and
rebounding after two days, gave Brandon Jennings the best compliment on Thursday.
"A lot of guys are selfish, a lot of guys won't pass
the ball," Love said. "Brandon's not like that. He
makes us all better."
Love is averaging 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per
game. Jennings, a 2008 prospect who has UConn,
Arizona, USC and Texas as his top four schools, is
second in camp at 4.5 assists per outing. He's also
averaging 9.5 points.
"He's the man," Love said. "I can't believe he's in
the class of 08. He's such an amazing player. He
passes the ball, he gets in the lane, he sets up
players with shots. He gets our team going."
For Jennings, who will transfer from Los Angeles
(Calif.) Dominguez to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill
Academy this season, it all comes naturally.
The masterful dribbiling. The pinpoint passing. The
ability to drive the lane, draw the defender and dump
it off to an open teammate for an easy two points. He
can drill the 3-pointer or finish an alley-oop. Like
Love said, Jennings is the man.
"I just go out and play," Jennings said. "I come out
and try to look for open teammates. Sometimes I come
down the court and I don't even know what I'm going to
do, I just do it."