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While the NBA lists Romeo Miller as an actor and recording artist on the official event page for the 2017 All-Star Celebrity Game, the 27-year-old also has an intriguing basketball history.
Miller spent two years on the USC basketball team in 2009 and ’10. He appeared in nine games, tallying five points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals and two turnovers.
Listed at 5’11”, he was a quick ball-handler with impressive athletic ability (Warning: Video contains NSFW language):
Of course, how he ended up with the Trojans is probably more interesting than his actual career with the team.
Miller started three years at Beverly Hills High School in California, averaging 13.9 points and 5.6 assists as a junior before being limited by injury as a senior. Considering his lack of size, injury history and middling statistical production, he didn’t seem to profile as a future D-1 basketball player.
He had one important thing going for him, though: a close friendship with a guy named DeMar DeRozan.
Though they played at different high schools, Miller and DeRozan, who was a 5-star recruit with every major school in the country after him, were the stars of an AAU team that was sponsored by Miller’s dad, famed rapper Master P (who will be playing alongside his son in the 2017 Celebrity Game).
When it was time for DeRozan to make a decision on where to attend college, Miller’s dad reportedly made then-USC head coach Tim Floyd an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“Last April…Percy Miller called while driving both players from a tournament in Fayetteville, Ark,” explained Floyd, per The Wall Street Journal. “Percy Miller said ‘Demar and Romeo are ready to make their decision, and would you like to have them both on scholarship?’ I said, ‘absolutely.'”
And thus, USC picked up a future NBA All-Star and a future NBA Celebrity All-Star in one fell swoop.
