Milk Carton All-Star of the Day.....9/23

The daily Milk Carton concept hit a big of a snag thanks to a bad case of indecision on my part. Originally, I was all set to go with Spergeon Wynn as the follow-up to the Crabtree-Mike Williams tandem, but midway into typing that up, I thought it would be better to go with former Hurricane QB Ken Dorsey(because The U is hot again and because of the potential Tim Tebow comparison), but I was reluctant to have a football theme back-to-back, so that got scrapped. Inevitably, at the 11th hour, I settled on someone on I've been meaning to use in this spot for quite some time now....and here he is:

The man seen here is two-time Slam Dunk champion and hype machine poster child, Harold Miner. Miner's freakish athletic ability made him a standout as early as high school, where his ridiculous hops garnered him the nickname "Baby Jordan"(Mind you, this was the early 90s, long before Jordan would become a 6-time champion, as well as arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live and a well-documented endorsement whore, so I guess we should give him the PR people props for foreshadowing Jordan's success enough that they felt the need to produce Jordan clones). However, like many Jordan wannabes, Miner was nothing more than a stiff with a incredible vertical.

He was drafted 12th overall by the Miami Heat(ahead of notables like the pussy-whipped, emasculated defensive stalwart Doug Christie and choke artist Latrell Sprewell). He averaged double digits in scoring his first two seasons with the Heat, as he tallied around 10 points per game. His most notable achievements, however, would come during the All-Star Break where he dominated the Slam Dunk Contest. He won the title in 1993, before losing to J.R. Rider in 1994. Then, in the most anticipated showdown since Tyson-Givens, Rider and Miner squared off in 1995 for the Slam Dunk crown and Miner emerged victorious. Later that year, he was traded to Cleveland and after one season, the Cavs waived Miner and his career was over by the age of 24.

Perhaps Miner's biggest downfall was the fact that he was born a decade or two too early. In today's era of instant YouTube stars, reality television and round-the-clock sports media hype machines, Miner certainly could have been the second coming of Vince Carter had he been available in this year's draft, dazzling fans with amazing whirlwind dunks in 40-point blowout mop up duty.

That's merely hypothetical and the facts are that Miner was more "Baby Tyus Edney" than "Baby Jordan" in his brief four-year career, of which he finished with a eye-popping 9 points per game.

So let's give it up for Darius Miles' long-lost older brother, Harold Miner!

---Dave