From Publishers Weekly
Miller has two claims to fame: for eight years he has been one of the stalwarts on the Indiana Pacers, the perennial bridesmaids in the Eastern Conference championships of the NBA; and he is the brother of Cheryl Miller, generally conceded to be the best female basketball player of all time. He has built a reputation not only as a top player but also as what hoopsters call a trash talker, trying to upset opponents with his on-court commentary. But if the examples of such verbal assaults presented here, with the aid of Los Angeles Times staffer Wojciechowski (Nothing but Net), are a fair sample, America's standup comics need lose no sleep. The book follows the Pacers through the 1994-1995 season game by game, when once again they came close but won no cigar, and is indistinguishable from a dozen other books of the same sort. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Miller, star of basketball's Indiana Pacers, and coauthor Wojciechowski have produced a run-of-the-mill chronology of the 1994-95 National Basketball Association season as seen through Miller's eyes. Miller, who is perhaps best known as the player who got in a "woofing" contest with director Spike Lee during the 1993-94 playoffs, does not come across as the egotistical, loud-mouthed person he often appears to be but instead reveals himself to be a shy young man with a loving, supportive family. More information about Miller's life away from basketball would have made the book more interesting, however. Miller is a keen observer who has a good relationship with his coaches, teammates, and opponents, but his views and comments are a bit on the bland side. In summary, this book has little "hook" to induce readers to pick it up, except, perhaps, in the state of Indiana. A marginal purchase.?William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Indiana Pacer guard Miller may be the NBA's "best shooter," as the subtitle claims, but rather than "sharpest tongue," many fans might substitute "most self-aggrandizing windbag." Still, his streak shooting can be dazzling, and many of his best games have come before a network television audience. This is Reggie's diary kept during the 1994^-95 season. Don't expect the book to generate any scandalous headlines; despite his trash-talkin', hot-dog image, Reggie in print turns out to be an intelligent young man whose opinions rarely extend beyond common knowledge. For example, he refers to the Knicks as a dirty team and says their star guard, John Starks, has a hollow little head. These are not revelations to NBA fans. He does provide a good sense of the NBA season's interminable length and touches on the delicate chemistry that must be established on a winning team. On balance, this is a lightweight, sanitized look at the NBA, but Miller's name will attract some attention, especially from Pacer fans. Wes Lukowsky


Book Description
Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks: I'm telling you right now, I hate the Knicks. Absolutely hate those kids....Face it: The Knicks are dirty players. Let me take the back. They're not dirty players, but when things aren't going New York's way, they're going to do whatever it takes to win. And if that means hurting someone, then they'll do it. I'm not going to say that's dirty, but sometimes they take it to the extreme.On the mental side of the game: Everybody in the NBA knows how to play basketball or else they wouldn't be there. But what separates the good players from the great players is their mental capacity, not only to overcome their opponent, but to get through the tough spots...I always feel mentally stronger than any opponent I step on the same floor with. He might have more talent than I do, but I don't think anybody is mentally stronger than me. I'll match wills with anybody.On determination: On Cheryl Miller: "Cheryl, I got 39.""Reggie, that's great.""Yeah, so how'd you do?""Uh, I got 105."Thing was, Cheryl didn't say it to be mean, But, damn, 105 points in one game? But I got my revenge a few years later...We got out to the court and shesaid, "Your ball." I told her she could have it first. So she kind of crouched down, made her usual strong first move, got right past me and put up the shot.Cheryl paused for a moment and then said, in a real serious tone, "We're going to play Hors

ANNOTATION

In this no-holds-barred verbal feast, the NBA's deadliest sharpshooter holds forth on players, coaches, fans, and the arcane art of trash talking. of photos.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Reggie Miller is the NBA's acknowledged king of the trash talkers - and he's one of the few players since Larry Bird with the game to back up his talk. Miller's incendiary performance against the New York Knicks in the 1994 playoffs catapulted him to national attention; his 25 fourth-quarter points in the fifth game brought the Indiana Pacers to the brink of the NBA Finals, but there they stalled, one step short of joining the league's elite. The challenge for the following season remained: Could the Pacers get past New York and take the Eastern Conference crown, en route to a possible NBA championship? I Love Being the Enemy is Reggie Miller's chronicle of the Pacers' rollercoaster 1994-95 season. With the outspoken candor that has made him the target of so much animosity in so many rival arenas, Reggie tells what life is really like behind the scenes in the NBA: what players say to each other in the heat of battle; how to work the referees, and how to know when not to; who in the league is immune to trash talk, and who lets it get under his skin; why and how the playoffs are another world from the game played in the regular season. Reggie tells us why he idolizes Michael Jordan; how he and coach Larry Brown disagree about the role he should be playing on the team; and just how his boldest statements serve to motivate and elevate his teammates' games.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Miller has two claims to fame: for eight years he has been one of the stalwarts on the Indiana Pacers, the perennial bridesmaids in the Eastern Conference championships of the NBA; and he is the brother of Cheryl Miller, generally conceded to be the best female basketball player of all time. He has built a reputation not only as a top player but also as what hoopsters call a trash talker, trying to upset opponents with his on-court commentary. But if the examples of such verbal assaults presented here, with the aid of Los Angeles Times staffer Wojciechowski (Nothing but Net), are a fair sample, America's standup comics need lose no sleep. The book follows the Pacers through the 1994-1995 season game by game, when once again they came close but won no cigar, and is indistinguishable from a dozen other books of the same sort. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)

Library Journal