The path from Holy Cross to the Boston Celtics is not a new one. Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn made that transition, as did Togo Palazzi and, at least through the draft, Ronnie Perry Jr.
Malcolm Miller hopes to be one day join the purple-to-green pipeline from Worcester to North Station.
Miller is one of four Maine Red Claws who took part in NBA training camp with the parent Celtics before dropping down to their Development League affiliate, two hours up Interstate-95. The Red Claws will open their seventh D-League season Thursday night against the Westchester Knicks in New York.
“Holy Cross is pretty close to Boston, so they were able to keep an eye on local talent,” said Miller, a 6-foot-7 forward who graduated in May with a degree in philosophy after averaging 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for the Crusaders. “After having a couple workouts with them and other teams, I got invited to Summer League and it just took off from there.”
Following Thursday night’s game, the Red Claws will play in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday and outside of Toronto on Nov. 19 before hosting the new Raptors 905 at the refurbished Portland Expo on Nov. 20.
As the Red Claws attempt to defend their Atlantic Division title, four of their main cogs are likely to be the quartet of Miller and fellow Celtics training camp participants Coty Clarke, Corey Walden and Levi Randolph.
Coach Scott Morrison has been working with all four since September and said he likes what he sees. Clarke, a 6-foot-7 forward, played in Israel last season after finishing his collegiate career at Arkansas. Walden, a 6-foot-2 guard, led the nation in steals per game (3.09) last season while at Eastern Kentucky. Randolph, a 6-foot-6 guard, played four years at Alabama, where he was named Southeast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
They join Red Claws returners Omari Johnson, Andre Stringer and Ralph Sampson III to form the core of the team. Morrison also expects to see a lot of current Celtics James Young and rookie Jordan Mickey on assignment from Boston. Both played in Sunday’s scrimmage and have practiced with the Red Claws.
“Whenever Jordan Mickey’s here, he’s going to make a good impact,” Morrison said. “He’s a guy we can throw to on the block to create some offense. And we’re always happy to have (Young). He definitely helps our team.”
As a Celtics rookie last season, Young played in 17 games for the Red Claws, averaging 21.5 points.
The Red Claws also retain the rights to Chris Babb, who was recently released from Golden State after the Warriors acquired him in the deal that sent David Lee to the Celtics. Morrison said he spoke with Babb last week. “He was going to talk to his agent and evaluate options,” Morrison said. “We’re just encouraging him to do what he thinks is best and let him know that we’d love to have him back if he decides this is a good league for him to be in for another year.”
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