Larry Miller Time: The Story of the Lost Legend Who Sparked the Tar Heel Dynasty

by Stephen Demorest, Larry Miller

LARRY MILLER is the tough-as-nails, fun-loving, working class bad boy who in the 1960s saved young North Carolina coach Dean Smith's job by winning his first two ACC titles and a trip to the National Championship game. A two-time All American, Miller is still the only Tar Heel ever named ACC Player of the Year twice. He was also the first heartthrob of the modern ACC before moving on to become "the Joe Namath of the ABA," setting the pro league's All-Time Single Game scoring record. And then he simply disappeared. Now, for the first time, North Carolina's foundational player shares priceless stories from the locker rooms, road trips, parties and fights of the teams that established Dean Smith's Tar Heel legacy… and from the raffish early days of modern pro basketball. It's all The charm of yesteryear's tiny Catasauqua, Pa., where a high school hero's blue collar hunger made him the most coveted recruit in the nation… The bribes dangled by unscrupulous colleges… The mysterious pills that caused young Larry to skip his H.S. All America Award banquet… The time he risked getting thrown out of college to save a buddy… The party at Kentucky that was so wild Coach Smith threatened to yank the entire team's scholarships… The game that so impressed Pat Conroy that he later wrote in My Losing Season, "I will never forget the dark fire of Larry Miller" – unaware that just hours later Miller almost fell out of a thirteenth-floor window in a girls' dorm… The night he upstaged Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels in concert… How Coach Smith negotiated a monster pro contract for him… Why Larry skedaddled from UNC one credit shy of graduation to escape a Duke frame-up… The flower power years in LA, playing 1-on-1 with the great Jim Brown and his staff of naked Swedish girls, dating Clint Eastwood's secretary, winning "The Dating Game," and the scuttlebutt behind Wilt Chamberlain's claim of bedding 20,000 women… The chaotic management of the ABA and the dark side of colorful coach Bones McKinney… Wild times with the early creators of NASCAR, and how he "stole" a night honoring Richard Petty… The jinxed playboy pad where Miller and others nearly died… How he outsmarted his vindictive draft board… Decades of Dean Smith's letters still coaching his most beloved and wayward player… and much, much more. Larry Keith of Sports Illustrated calls Larry Miller Time "the great untold story of Carolina basketball… a fascinating tale with an unexpected ending." Coach Roy Williams says, "Larry Miller was one of those mythical figures to me… he was one of my heroes." Charles Scott claims, "Larry was the winner who made Coach Smith a winner. Like Bill Russell started the Boston Celtics tradition, Larry Miller is the tradition that Carolina talks about. Everything starts with him." Featuring over 40 vintage photos and original interviews with teammates Billy Cunningham, Charles Scott, Big-10 commissioner Jim Delany, Coach Williams, and many others, Larry Miller Time is a candid, immersive narrative for every follower of UNC and classic basketball lore, and a Brigadoon of America's good old days.

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 14, 2020

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read since the pandemic started. I’m a big college hoops fan and I knew nothing at all about Larry Miller. Even that he existed! But something about this book looked right and my instincts were correct. It is outstanding. Very well written, nicely edited, and Larry is a great subject for a bio. He is an interesting and unique character. Easy to see why he is beloved on so many levels. Highly recommended!

[Lee Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories of my love for The Heels

Thank you, thank you for a joyous two days reading of a childhood hero. It was 1968 I think when my parents left me, an 11 year old, in a Charlotte motel room while they attended a army reunion party. To my delight the Manger Inn's black and white had the Duke - Carolina game on. I started the game as a naive Duke fan but by the half I was a Tar Heel for life. UNC '1979 Rusty Clark, Grubar, Scott and of course Larry Miller were the gods among mortals. To this day, I still wear my St Christopher. Thanks for the writing, have ordered paperbacks for some of my Carolina buddies.

[George P. Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where It All Began

I was in the UNC class of 1968 with Larry Miller. So I got see first hand how Larry jump started Dean Smith’s legendary career. Truly remarkable player. It was so fascinating to read his roller coaster life story. As a huge UNC fan I thought he was lost to those of us that bleed Carolina blue. This book brought him back home to us. Well written. Thanks so much to the author and especially his wife who took the big leap that day in the garden.

[Jane Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memory Lane

What an amazing book; growing up a Tarheel fan, I remember the Miller/Grubar/Clark teammates as my first Tarheel memory. So appreciative of this book and a walk down Memory Lane.

[Bill Ware · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

Larry was a really great basketball player but a better person! He found his place in the world where it all started?

[Derek Ludwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the lost legend who sparked the Tar Heel basketball dynasty