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KANSAS CITY — Master P wraps his son Mercy Miller up in a hug in a back hallway of the T-Mobile Center, steps removed from all the hoopla of the Big 12 Tournament. It’s a fitting remove because the iconic music tycoon turned president of basketball for his struggling hometown University of New Orleans is proud that his son is not some celebrity hooper. Instead Mercy Miller is putting in the work to become a Kelvin Sampson University of Houston battler.
“He’s just following Coach Sampson’s lead,” Master P tells PaperCity. “And he’s going to turn out to be a tough player.”
Master P is wearing thick shades and a black sweatshirt with his son’s No. 25 on it in bedazzled glitter. But there is nothing flashy about the way his son plays in No. 2 Houston’s 77-68 lurch by Colorado in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. Appearing in a game for the first time since February 18th, Mercy Miller logs a hard-nosed nine minutes, grabbing three rebounds and blocking a shot.
That’s not celebrity hooping. But Miller’s little dash of grit is exactly what Sampson’s national championship contender needs in one of those early round conference tournament games that almost invites an NCAA Tournament seed secure favorite to sleep walk right through it. Consider the setting. A big arena that’s not close to packed. An afternoon tip. A noticeable lack of energy in the building — and certainly a comedown from the electric, crowd delirious showdown between BYU and Iowa State the game before.
Miller, Houston’s true freshman guard with the famous dad, pops off the bench with energy though when Sampson summons him without any notice. That and super sixth man Terrance Arceneaux’s own very active 18 minute stint on a tender Achilles that prevents him for playing much longer in a game helps get the other Coogs going. Especially with lifeline power forward J’Wan Roberts logging only 18 minutes himself due to a painful twisting of his ankle that isn’t considered a serious concern going forward. And starting point guard Milos Uzan limited to nine first half minutes due to early foul trouble.
Sometimes even the very best teams in America need a jolt. In UH’s first tournament game of March (albeit not the ultimate tournament), Mercy Miller helps provide it.
“A lot of energy,” J’Wan Roberts tells PaperCity of Miller’s impact. “Especially being ready for the moment. That’s the biggest thing. You know that the role he has right now, you never know when your name is going to get called. So his name being called (against Colorado), I feel like he was overly ready for the moment.
“And he played with a lot of heart. And he gave us a lift one hundred percent.”
One March forward. The backslaps from Mercy Miller’s Houston teammates, many who seem even more excited that he got a chance than he is, mean something. So does that hug with dad.
“That’s big time,” Mercy tells PaperCity. “I haven’t seen my dad in a couple of weeks. So just being able to give him a hug, give him a fist bump, have a little talk, that was major for me.”
He’s just following Coach Sampson’s lead. And he’s going to turn out to be a tough player.” — Master P on his son Mercy Miller
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