A Short & Sweet Summer!

Hello everybody,

I am happy to say that I'm posting this blog from France! That's right! I am in Poitiers, France where I am going to be playing this season. A lot has happened since my last blog, so I will not waste anytime with the small talk.

The most important thing to talk/type about is Kyndall's 1st birthday! It seems like the first year of her life just flew by. If this is any indication of how fast she is going to grow up, then I want to hit slow motion on the remote control lol! We went all out for her birthday party. Monica cooked the most beautiful cakes that you ever wanna see! She was up all night working on them. I will try to include some pictures of these great tasting cakes at the end of the blog! I was on the job as well. I was running all over the place to get balloons, banners, presents, and other material for days, smh! I enjoyed it all though! Kyndall had a ball. She started walking about a week before her birthday but we did not tell anyone so that she could surprise everyone at her party. She did just that! We brought her downstairs in her absolutely adorable birthday costume (picture included) and she was the life of the party as she should be! As you can tell, I am a very proud father. Anyway, I stood on one side of the room and Monica stood on the other and we let her go. I must admit I was a little apprehensive because I thought that all the people watching would scare her. I think they did a little but that just made her walk faster to get to me, lol! Long story short, she did great and everybody cheered which really did scare her. All in All, it was the best day of the summer! We thank God everyday for blessing us with such a wonderful, sweet, and loving little girl!

As for basketball, things were really moving this summer. I was in negotiations with several teams this summer! This is a very rewarding experience because it is great to know that there are people out there that really value what you do on the basketball court! My decision process actually came down to the last few hours! I decided to accept an offer to play for Poitiers Basket 86. This is a team in the top league of France and they are known for treating there players well. It also helped that one of my best friends already played for the team. I am really excited to be playing along side Rasheed Wright for the second time in my career. We played together a few years back for the Paris team which is in the same league that we are playing in now. I was also attracted to this team because I know several of the players and I am familiar with the coach. I think that we have a real shot to achieve some big things this season and EXCEED EXPECTATIONS! I have already started practicing with the team but I will blog about that as well as the city in my next post.

As for summer workouts and hoops, things really went great! I was able to really get a lot of work in this summer. I am feeling great physically and mentally. I am in great shape and looking forward to training camp to get in even better shape before the season starts. One of the things that I did this summer to stay in shape was play in the Chavis Summer League in Raleigh, NC. This is a very well known summer league and it is pretty competitive. I am proud to say that our team won the championship! It was a tough game but we were able to pull it out and raise that trophy. Hopefully, this is an indication of things to come in the French league as well. I have included a picture of the team in this blog and I just want to say "Great Job Fellas!"

Also, JJ MILLER'S ELITE HOOPS BASKETBALL CAMP was a huge success! The kids had a great time, as did the counselors! We had guest visitors from the NBA and European leagues as well as top College players from the area. Tons of prizes and gifts were given out, and the kids really had a chance to play and interact with other kids from different backgrounds. It was a win for everybody involved! I am looking forward to next year. Thanks to all our sponsors and everyone who contributed a helping hand.

It's also worthy to mention that I got to spend some quality time with my mother over the last few weeks. It was awesome. My mother is not only one of my biggest fans but she is also my hero! I often find myself looking at her in amazement. Her strength is immeasurable and I am blessed to have her in my life. Mom if you are reading this "Thanks" for being who you are.

Well the summer for me is now over. This vacation (if i can call it that) felt like one of the shortest breaks I have ever had. It was also a trying summer full of things that required me to make some tough decisions. However, that is what being an adult is about and I am glad that I have a great wife to help me make those decisions! My life can be a fast pace race sometimes, but that comes with my profession. I would not change it for the world because I simply love what I do! I want to Thank everybody for all the support! I would like to send a special Thanks to my wife Monica for always being there even if it is behind the scenes. I know the contributions that you make, sweetheart, and I am grateful.

Well that's it for this week. I have to get to bed some because we are hitting the track in the morning for what promises to be a tough session, lol! Take care and thanks for stopping through. Have a great week and as always "EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!"

Happy Birthday Justin! We miss you!

This blog is in HONOR & REMEMBRANCE of our son Justin James Miller

A Tribute To Justin

This weeks blog will be short, but special and powerful. It will permanently be engraved in my heart similar to the life of my son Justin! Justin James Miller was born on August 4, 2009! For whatever reason, he was very eager to be here with us and decided to join us 16 weeks early. Justin was a fighter from his first breath, just like his daddy! He sighed a cry and was able to breath on his own without assistance from the medical staff! This was astonishing for an infant of his age and size. He was already exceeding expectations the minute he joined us. All i can say about that is "WOW THAT'S MY BOY!" Shortly after birth, he displayed the profound characteristic of love and affection that he must have inherited from his Mom! I rushed in to quickly see him before he would be taken to NICU. I immediately said, "hey Justin daddy is here" and he move his head and reached out his hand in the direction of my voice as to say "I know your voice daddy!" With tears in my eyes and excitement and love in my heart, I let the doctors take him away to do there job! I would be by his side again soon enough. Justin made his parents so proud. We witnessed our son do everything possible to cling to life. He was obviously born prematurely, but that did not stop him from giving his all to stay here with us! Justin's body was small and tiny but everything was intact. The medical staff was absolutely astonished with his ability to endure the rigorous challenges that an infant of his age had to deal with! Unfortunately, he was still underdeveloped and this would make his battle for life an unfair one. God saw fit to take my son home just 3 days 13hours and 58 minutes after he was born. I have never experienced pain like this. My son Justin... my world... our future was snatched away from me. I may never fully come to terms with God's decision to take my son so briefly, but I will try my best to trust him. (Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will i hope in him)

Dear Justin, I want you to know that you were loved by your Mommy and Daddy since the day you were conceived. We loved you with everything we had! As parents we could not have been happier or prouder to have you for a son! You will forever be with us!

I want to take this time to say THANK YOU to my beautiful, loving, resilient, and unbelievably strong wife. Monica words cannot express the LOVE, RESPECT, and GRATIFICATION that I have for you! What i witnessed you do for our son, for lack of better words, was PHENOMENAL and EXTRAORDINARY! Thank You and I LOVE YOU ALWAYS!

Thank you Justin James Miller for being the little boy that EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS! You are an inspiration to Daddy!

What's up Everyone!! I know...I know... it has been a longtime since my last post! A lot has happened in my life over the past 12 months but nothing greater than the birth of my beautiful baby girl Kyndall! My wife and I have been extremely busy as the first year of our little girl's life seems to be racing by. I am very proud to say that as pretty as Kyndall is, her personality is just as wonderful! (photos below)

Monica is a great "MOMMY"! She's was born to be a mother which is one of the reasons I married her (that and the fact that she decided to keep me around, lol).

This summer has been one of the busiest summers that I have ever experienced! I have been working on my charitable efforts through my foundation and I am hosting my first basketball camp in this area. "JJ Miller's ELITE HOOPS YOUTH BASKETBALL CAMP" This has kept me really busy with putting everything together, marketing, and advertising. I had a commercial done that I am gonna try to include with this blog so everyone can see. I have also been playing with and against some of the best players in the country in the Chavis League and NC Proam! N.C. is known for having some great basketball and this summer has not disappointed at all!

Speaking of basketball, things went good this season after a slow start. In October, I decided to join my former team in Belgium and it was an uphill battle from the start to help this team reach its full potential. Our team was compiled of some of the best guys you could ever meet. We worked together both on and off the court. This was a key factor in our ability to make the playoffs. Coming in to the season, I knew that this team had finished last the year before! I took it as a personal challenge to get this team back into the playoffs ( a position that we were in the last time I played for the club). I am very happy to say that after a lot of hard work, I was able to lead this team into the playoffs for yet another season! Achieving this personal goal was very gratifying and has compelled me to work even harder! I have committed myself to working harder than I have ever worked before! My goal is quite simple: TO BE THE BEST IN THE WORLD! (everybody included) I know that to many people that may sound ridiculous, but not to me! If the mind can conceive it, the man can achieve it! So I encourage you to follow my blog as I embark on my next journey to Exceed Expectations! I am going to give you an inside look at the successes, failures, and growth processes of a professional basketball player that is focused on being all that God wants him to be! I believe this is going to be an exciting year in my life!

Contract negotiations are under way as I type this blog and I am eager to see how this will play out. I understand that there are a lot of people that don't think that I am going to succeed. To those people I say "Thank You" because you are only adding fuel to the fire that burns in me to be the best! Fortunately for me, there's a whole lot of people who do want me to succeed! Thank You for your support! I know who you are and I am grateful to you all!

Well I have kept you guys long enough. Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog! To all my teammates from last season, I want to say "JOB WELL DONE!" As I leave you this week, I want to ask: How is your approach???? Are you striving to make the most of everything that you have been blessed with? Honestly, I believe that this is what it takes to truly "EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!" Have a great week!

Final Day in France!

Hello everybody!
I hope all is well with you! It is 2am eurotime and I am wide awake. Today is my FINAL DAY IN FRANCE. I am set to return to the USA tomorrow! I am excited about getting home and seeing all my family! This is the last blog of the 2009/2010 season which makes it a bitter, sweet one. It has been a long season that has seemed to fly by. I say a long season because we had a lot of ups and downs! If you know me, and I think all my followers know me, you know that I am an optimistic guy! I search out the positive in every situation and look for the best in every circumstance. I will be honest, this season was a tough one from a team perspective. Some people believe that the season was a success because we finished higher than what most analysts picked us to finish. I, on the other hand, am a bit disappointed because I know that we could have done much better! I am content with the fact that no matter what happened during the season, I conducted myself as a complete professional on and off the court. It is not only playing the game that is important but how you play the game. I believe the same to hold true for life. To be truely successful you must understand this fact. After analyzing the season, I realize that it has been a wonderful learning experience for me! This season is going to make me so much better. I am going into my off-season workouts very hungry and eager to get better! I have tasted success in the past and I am addicted to it. Falling short of a goal or being mediocre is something that I will not allow myself to be associated with. For this reason, I am grateful for the season and all the ups and downs that we had to endure. I am happy to say that we finished the season on an up by beating Vichy on the road and securing the teams spot in the top league in France. I would like to Thank the organization, team, coaches, fans, and my teammates for a wonderful experience here in Le Havre!
Now I have to finish packing and try to get some rest. I am looking forward to an awesome summer in North Carolina. It is going to be busy with my family, friends, workouts, and charity work but that's what makes life great! I have enjoyed blogging this basketball year and I hope that you have enjoyed sharing these experiences with me. I have included a few photos from the season for you to check out. I hope that you will join me again next season. As always I challenge you to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Nice Weekend!

Hello World,
I am chilling on my couch on a very rare Saturday evening off. Normally, I would be in game preparation mode but we do not play tonight. We have 1 game left to be played on Tuesday May 11! I have to say that I am looking forward to finishing the season strong and heading home for the summer. I will say that the past few days have been good here in Le Havre. The sun is out and the temperature is great. These are just a few of the things that makes this a NICE WEEKEND.
I think the best thing about this weekend is that it is MOTHER'S DAY weekend. Mother's day is on Sunday and this is a very special day for all mothers across the world! It is also special for me, because I believe that I have the best mother in the whole wide world! For this reason, I would like to take the next few moments to let Loretta Miller know just how much I appreciate her.
Ma, I want you to know that you are my HERO. A HERO can be defined as "a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life." My whole life you have demonstrated courage. We have been in some tough times as a family! However, you managed to get us through it in a fearless manner! I realize that I would not be where I am today without you taking major risks and making huge sacrifices to allow me to pursue my dreams. I remember you putting me before yourself countless times and for that i am forever grateful. I want to Thank You for having my back and believing in me and my dreams! I often examine my life and the way that I live. I believe that many of the virtues that I possess are a direct reflection of how you raised us. You raised 3 tough little boys to be responsible, loving, god-fearing, and all around great men! Thank You and job well done! So this is me: the baby, the peanut head, momma's boy, the star, J.J. saying: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY and I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!
I also want to wish all the mothers out there a very happy Mother's Day. I hope that you enjoy and realize just how important you are. Get many gifts because you deserve it! Well that's it for this week's blog. Be on the look out for the last blog of the season coming next week! Have a great weekend and remember to always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Victory Tastes So Sweet!

Hello everybody! I am sitting here in a very good mood as I type this week's post! As you can probably tell by the title, We got a win this week! This was huge for us and everyone who follows this blog knows why, lol! I also had a great week away from basketball as I will discuss later. So let's get into another week of Exceeding Expectations!
Coming into this week we were faced with a must win game vs. Rouen! Unfortunately, this game was key for our survival in the top league. Rouen has been playing some good ball lately. I knew that it was going to be tough to go into their place and get a win! This proved to be exactly how the game was won! We had to tough it out for not just 40 minutes but for 50 minutes. Thats right, 2 overtimes! Neither team wanted to give in, but in the end Le Havre came out on top! After so many weeks of hardwork and comittment we were still falling short game after game. However, last night we finally got a much deserved win, and VICTORY TASTES SO SWEET! We have 3 games left in the season and I believe that we can win all 3! I will admit that this season has not been what I anticipated, but to end it on a good note would be great!
As for life outside of basketball, I had my extended european family come to visit me this weekend. Diane and Mark Saelens are from Belgium where I played last year. Our friendship has really grown every since the day we met! This couple has to be 2 of the nicest people I have ever met! They drove 4 hours to support at the game last night! They also brought some good luck with them for us to get the win, lol! They also prepared dinner for me last night as well as today and left me with enough food to last for some time! I also must admit that waking up to fresh coffee and breakfast this morning was awesome! Oh, I failed to mention that they were kind enough to take boxes full of my things back to Belgium with them so that I would not have to send them back to the United States! Now they will be waiting for me when I decide where I want to play in Europe next year! All these things are great, but their company is what I cherished the most about their visit! My wife has been home for some time now and it can get lonely out here. It really did me good to be able to hang out with friends away from the basketball court! Mark and Diane, if you are reading this I am truly grateful to have friends like you!
As for life in France, everything is everything. The weather is continuing to get better and better. I must say that the closer the season gets to the end the more I am ready to get home, lol! The sunny weather is a gift and a curse. I mean beautiful days are awesome, but they seem to make think about all the things I could be doing at home! I will be here for about 1 more month. It seems as if this season has gone by really fast. Maybe I shouldnt say this but I hope this last month does the same! I am ready to see family and do some yardwork (I know that sounds silly)!
Well thats all for this week! Thanks for checking out another episode of my life! I am about to call my mother and watch the NBA playoffs! I hope everyone has a great week and as always EXCEED EXPECTATIONS!

Backs Against The Walls!

Depending on where you are in the world when you read this Good Morning/Good Afternoon. It is a beautiful day in Le Havre, France. The sun is out and the temperature is nice. I am relaxing after yet another tough loss! Yes that's right, we are still weathering the storm over here. Our team is fighting hard and we seem to be improving, but it just seems like one thing happens after another! Just when I think that we are about to snap out of this losing streak, we fall short yet again. Last night we played my former team from Paris. We started the game out pretty good, but before we knew it we found ourselves on the bad end of a couple of questionable foul calls! We already had one big guy out due to injury, and now our other big guys were in foul trouble before halftime! I wish I could blame everything on the referees but that is not the case! I have to hand it to the team from Paris, they really did a good job of executing and forcing us into turnovers! The end result was very discouraging because we have been working hard and improving over the last 3 weeks! Now our BACKS ARE AGAINST THE WALLS! We have a do or die game next week against our somewhat local rivals! We are in a position now where we have to beat this team in order to secure our place in the top league in France! This is a big deal! I do have confidence that we can get this win! Despite our performance last night, we have been doing some good things over the past few weeks and I am sure that we can taste victory once again.
This is new territory for me. I have been trying to embrace the challenges that have been presented to me over the past few months. I really believe that I am growing through all of this, both as a player and a man!
As for life outside of basketball, things are pretty good! We have only a month left in the season and I have to be honest when I say that I can't wait to get home! Monica is already there waiting for me and I am looking forward to being able to spend some time with her! I think Prince is missing me as well, and it will be good to play with him again! I also can't wait to see my mom, lol! That's right, I am a Momma's boy! The summer is probably the greatest time of year for me to just have fun and relax! The weather is great and that is always a good thing! My plans for the Driven Perfection Youth Foundation summer events are coming along well and are right on schedule! So all that is left to do is to focus on getting wins and finishing the season strong. Tomorrow is the beginning of another practice week in which I will have the opportunity to EXCEED EXPECTATIONS! I plan on doing just that, and I hope that you will do the same! Have a great week!