If Miller ‘12 were an actor with a starring role in a movie, he could be cast as Marty McFly in the film Back to the Future.

The reason is simple; during the spring semester, Miller’s life was treading between decisions he’s made in the past, completing his college degree and landing an internship that could prepare him for a future job in the sports industry. 

The past…Miller, a senior from Canadian Lakes, Michigan served as a student assistant on the men’s basketball staff at Lake Forest College. After his freshman year of college, Miller turned in his basketball uniform for a permanent spot on the bench as a student assistant coach. 

But Miller’s decision to stop playing basketball may have actually benefitted his future more than hurt it. “I want to get into college coaching,” Miller said. “I’ve coached a seventh grade team and spent three summers as an AAU coach.” 

The present…Just days after the fall 2012 semester ended, Miller received an unexpected phone call at 10 a.m. from Conger who was looking for a video camera. But, what happened next may have changed the path of Miller’s future forever. 

Conger casually went on to tell Miller that the Chicago Bulls had called him that day and were looking for a video guy. Conger had instantly thought of Miller for the job, but wanted to make sure Miller was interested. Miller was definitely interested. But Conger was still waiting to talk to the assistant coach of the Bulls to confirm everything.  

At 5 p.m. Miller received a second phone call from Conger telling him that the Bulls were ready to hire him. In an attempt to take his mind off of everything, Miller had taken his eight-year old brother to McDonald’s, which was where he was located when he received Conger’s second phone call. 

“I thought ‘wow, this is so awesome,’” Miller recalls. “I was telling people in my hometown and was receiving texts and phone calls.” People in McDonald’s who had overheard Miller’s reaction were even congratulating him. 

Miller started training the next day and worked with the Bulls from December 26th until their season ended in the NBA Playoffs. He typically worked from 5:30-11 p.m. every night watching basketball games as they happened. He watched three-four games a night, breaking down shots, assists, turnovers, blocks, fouls, and offensive rebounds.

All of this occurred after a day of classes and sometimes basketball practices. 

“It’s all late hours,” Miller explained. “With the Bulls, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t come in. They don’t look at me as a college kid; they look at me as an employee.”

While he was just a college student, Miller, who graduated in May with a double major in history and religious studies, gained valuable experience and fulfilled a two credit internship at the same time. But, that’s where the past, present and future have aligned because Miller was still obligated to the Lake Forest College men’s basketball team who was still in season when he started the internship.

He said that Conger and the members of the team were understanding in that they knew that working for the Bulls was something that would benefit Miller in the long run. But Miller didn’t want to completely abandon a team that he put a lot of time and energy into, so he still helped out at Lake Forest when he could. 

The time management skills that he developed as a student assistant coach and as a student-athlete during his freshman year came into play this season. Miller had to determine how much time he could devote to his studies, Lake Forest men’s basketball and the Bulls. But, while he’s living in the present, he realizes that this job opportunity with the Bulls could translate to a potential job in the future. 

“It’s not like I got thrown into working for any team,” Miller said. “I got thrown into the best team in the NBA. It’s important to work your way up and I got my foot in the door so it’s definitely going to help.”

And he helped the Bulls at the same time while making the most of his experience. When Miller started his internship, he looked for advice from Conger and Associate Head Coach Ken Davis. Both Conger and Davis told Miller to make the most of his opportunity, don’t just do what they are asking you to do, go above and beyond, make yourself valuable and do whatever can help make their (the Bulls) lives easier.  

“I don’t want this to be something that I regret not taking advantage of,” Miller said. “This could make or break my career.” 

While he working hard to do whatever it took to be successful, Miller knew this was something really special. 

“The initial high hasn’t worn off yet,” Miller said a few months into the internship. “It’s still really cool.”