Miller wasn’t the only star on that Utes team, as two others went on to fruitful professional careers.
One, Michael Doleac, played center in the NBA for 11 seasons.
The other, Hanno Mottola, is perhaps the best Finnish basketball player of all time.
In Finland, Mottola coached Arizona star Lauri Markkanen, who is working to take away the title of “Best Finn Ever.”
The Utes recruited Markkanen because of the Mottola connection.
In the end, though, Arizona won that recruiting battle, as it often does.
“I love the kid on and off the court and his family — we had a great time here on his visit and I went over there,” Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak told the Salt Lake Tribune. “We lost out to a good basketball program. I’m not excited to play against him, but we’ll see what happens.”
