Plumlee Excited About Returning Home

In a way, Miles Plumlee’s basketball life will come full circle Friday. Plumlee, who grew up in Warsaw before opting for prep school in North Carolina and then a four-year collegiate career with the Duke Blue Devils, will participate in the Champions Classic Tour at Grace College’s Orthopaedic Capital Center. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will feature seniors from the Atlantic Coast Conference against seniors from colleges in Indiana. “It’s awesome to be coming back,” the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Plumlee said in a phone conversation this week. “I’m pretty excited about playing in front of my family and friends. I grew up there, my parents still live there, I have a lot of close friends there. Warsaw is still home base for me.” Joining Plumlee on the roster of ACC players will be Duke teammate Casey Peters, North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller, Justin Watts, Stewart Cooper and Daniel Bolick; North Carolina State’s C.J. Williams and Alex Johnson; and Nikita Mescheriakov of Wake Forest. Players on the roster of in-state Division I schools include Indiana University’s Tom Pritchard, Daniel Moore and Kory Barnett, and Butler’s Ronald Nored and Garrett Butcher. Filling out the roster of Hoosier State players will be five members of the Mid-Central College Conference – Duke Johnson (Grace), Qadr Owens (St. Francis), Caleb Kennedy (Huntington), Alex Sylvester (Marian) and Derrick Troyer (Indiana Wesleyan). “The games are really fun,” Plumlee said of the fan-friendly contests, which include a dunk and three-point competition at halftime. “We’ve had two of them already in North Carolina, and they’re pretty fun. I might take this one a little more serious.” Basketball is something Plumlee has always taken seriously. It’s a way of life in his family. Both his parents played at the Division I level - his father Perky at Tennessee Tech, and his mother Leslie at Purdue. Both his younger brothers – 6-10 Mason and 7-0 Marshall – were McDonald’s All-Americans and are also on scholarship at Duke. After completing his junior year at Warsaw Community High School, Miles and Mason – who had just completed his freshman year – transferred to Christ School in Arden, N.C. That was in 2006, when Miles had a wiry 6-9, 190-pound frame – a far cry from the chiseled 6-10, 250-pounder fans will see Friday night. After re-classifying, Miles played two years at Christ School and was a standout on two state championship teams. He was an all-state basketball player, and also finished second in the state in high – setting a school record of 6-9. He added another championship ring to his collection in 2010 when the Duke Blue Devils won the national title over the Butler Bulldogs. In his four years at Duke, the Blue Devils posted a record of 124-24. They won three ACC Tournament championships and this season’s Maui Classic. Miles, who averaged seven points and seven rebounds per game as a senior, set Duke’s single-game rebounding record this year with 22. Leslie Plumlee holds the women’s single-game record at Purdue with 25. “I’m truly blessed,” Miles said of his career. “I couldn’t have dreamt it up any better. I’ve worked hard, and it just goes to show hard work pays off.” Plumlee hopes to continue his career in the NBA. He has an agent, and believes he’ll get a chance to play at the next level. “I’m really excited about the future,” Miles said. “I’d love to think that I could have a 10-year NBA career. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”