Interview with Cameron Mills, August 11, 2017

Partial Transcript: Alright, Cameron, uh, normally just like to start by giving your name and years you were at UK.

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes his father's basketball career at the University of Kentucky from 1966-1971. He tells of growing up knowing that his dad was a famous college basketball player and when he first realized its significance. He also describes several of the games that his mom showed him where his dad guarded Pete Maravich of LSU. He also tells of how he had wanted to quit during his freshman year playing for coach Rick Pitino and his dad helped him by telling stories of Adolph Rupp from his career.

Keywords: Adolph Rupp; Coaches; Family; Family history; Fathers; Louisiana State University (LSU); Pete Maravich; Rick Pitino; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball.; Families.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: Uh, before we get into that though, le, let's talk a little bit about, uh, your success, I mean in high school you had great success.

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes his high school career at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky. He says that he played really well, specifically during his junior and senior seasons. He tells of how he was highly recruited by many mid-major Division 1 universities and was highly recruited by the University of Georgia. However, he says that his dream was to play for Kentucky so he decided to walk-on for them.

Keywords: Basketball; High schools; Recruitment; Rick Pitino; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; High school; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: You talked about, you know, once practice started you were going home...

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes his freshman year playing basketball at UK. He says that he got to practice quite a bit more in the 1994-1995 season compared to the next year. He says that practice was very tough and Coach Pitino was very hard on him to the point that he contemplated quitting the team numerous times.

Keywords: Andre Riddick; Chris Harrison; Rick Pitino; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: The, the '94-'95 team, I mean, it was a--Tony Delk was a junior, Rodrick Rhodes was a junior, Walter McCarty was a junior, Mark Pope was a junior, Jared Prickett was a junior.

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes the 1994-1995 UK basketball season. He describes several of the games, including losses to UCLA and Louisville. He also describes Coach Pitino's coaching style and several of his interactions with the team after losses.

Keywords: Andre Riddick; Mark Pope; Rick Pitino; Tony Delk; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); University of Kentucky basketball; University of Louisville (UofL); Wayne Turner

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: So that goes then into the '95-'96 season and a year that's memorable 34-2 record on the season.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses the '95-'96 season, during which he played on the JV basketball team for the University of Kentucky. He says that he did not like it because it felt like he had been demoted and it limited the amount of varsity games he could dress for.

Keywords: Junior varsity (JV); Play time; Rick Pitino; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: So the start of the championship season as it turns out, but starts out a little bit rocky.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses the start of the '95-'96 University of Kentucky basketball season. He describes how they lost the second game of the season to UMass, after which they went on a 27 game win streak before losing in the SEC championship game.

Keywords: Rick Pitino; Tournaments; University of Kentucky basketball; University of Massachusetts (UMass)

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: The, the following game after that UMass though, you go to Indianapolis to play Indiana.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses playing Indiana at the start of the '95-'96 University of Kentucky basketball season. He describes the game and the nature of the Indiana-Kentucky rivalry. He talks about playing in the RCA dome and how the fans were evenly split down the middle of the arena. He also talks about shooting in domes and the art of shooting.

Keywords: Indiana University (IU); Rick Pitino; Rivalries; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: Um, so let's go back to the season.

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes playing in the Holiday Tournament in New York City at Madison Square Garden during the '95-'96 season. He also discusses beating Mississippi State later on in the season. He talks about playing in Mississippi and the racial comments and slurs that he heard by fans there.

Keywords: Mississippi State University; Race relations; Racism; Rick Pitino; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: African Americans--Social conditions; Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: So as you mentioned, the team wins 27 games in a row, wins the regular season like we talked about, heads to the SEC tournament down in New Orleans.

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes playing in the SEC tournament during the '95-'96 University of Kentucky basketball season. He talks about how Coach Pitino benched Antoine Walker for the SEC championship game because he was not being a team player. He talks about how they were able to have team chemistry and overcome individual ego.

Keywords: Antoine Walker; Discipline; Rick Pitino; Southeastern Conference (SEC); Tournaments; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: Okay, so uh, against that Mississippi State game you end up getting beat 84-73.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses the NCAA tournament for the '95-'96 season. He recalls each of the games, specifically the game against Wake Forest who had Tim Duncan as their best player. He talks about how the UK team was incredibly good at executing Coach Pitino's game-plan. He also talks about the rematch with UMass in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. He then discusses the championship game against Syracuse and how they struggled against the zone defense. He says that they really did not play well and they were surprised that they won.

Keywords: Rick Pitino; Syracuse University; Tournaments; University of Kentucky basketball; University of Massachusetts (UMass); Wake Forest University

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; NCAA Basketball Tournament.; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: But now that, that leads us to the '96-'97 team, which when you look at your numbers, let's go backwards on that season.

Segment Synopsis: Mills talks about how he played a significant amount of minutes during his junior season. He says that he was able to get more opportunities due to injuries and players leaving.

Keywords: Play time; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: The '96-'97 team, uh, went 35-5.

Segment Synopsis: Mills gives an overview of the '96-'97 season. He describes the various tournaments that UK played in. He talks about the regular season and the SEC tournament. He describes how he played really well throughout the season and that he greatly improved in playing time and scoring.

Keywords: Basketball; Chris Harrison; Clemson University; Derek Anderson; Indiana University; Iowa University; Nazr Mohammed; Rick Pitino; St. Joe's University; University of Arizona; University of Arkansas; University of Kentucky basketball; University of Minnesota; University of Syracuse; University of Utah; Wayne Turner

Subjects: Basketball; Southeastern Conference.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball.

Partial Transcript: So then that, that sets up, after that season, uh, disappointment of thinking you should have won another championship.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses Rick Pitino leaving the University of Kentucky for the Boston Celtics. He talks about how Pitino called a team meeting and discussed his thoughts about leaving with the team. He also discusses the transition process of acquiring Tubby Smith as their next coach.

Keywords: Allen Edwards; Boston Celtics; C.M. Newton; Jeff Sheppard; Rick Pitino; Tubby Smith; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; Smith, Tubby; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: How, how, uh, was that transition?

Segment Synopsis: Mills talks about the transition at the University of Kentucky from Coach Rick Pitino to Tubby Smith. He says that the transition was smooth except for the defense. He says that the team still wanted to run Pitino's style of defense and not adopt Smith's because they did not know if it would work.

Keywords: Rick Pitino; Styles; Tubby Smith; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; Smith, Tubby; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: So we lose, what, five games I think?

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes the entire '97-'98 season, leading up to the national championship. He says that after they lost to Ole Miss, Coach Smith instituted 6 AM practices everyday for the rest of the season. He also describes the players-only meeting after the Ole Miss loss and its effect for the rest of the year. He says that they decided to go along with Coach Smith's playing ideology and they did not lose again the rest of the year. Mills also describes playing against UCLA, Duke, and Utah.

Keywords: Discipline; Duke University; The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss); Tubby Smith; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); University of Florida; University of Kentucky basketball; University of Louisville; University of Utah

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Smith, Tubby; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: So then looking back then on your career, um, you play 84 games.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses his career statistics playing basketball for the University of Kentucky. He remarks that he did much better and had a far greater career than he ever could have dreamed of. He discusses his proudest moments in his career, specifically the '96-'97 season.

Keywords: Statistics; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Let me ask you then about some--just some individual people and your view of them or whatever.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses several stories and opinions about his former teammate Anthony Epps and his former assistant coach, Jim O'Brian. He tells of their value to the team and his personal feelings towards them.

Keywords: Anthony Epps; Assistant coaches; Jim O'Brian; Players; Teammates; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Uh, I, I guess explain now what you're doing so we have it on record.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses his various jobs and activities including his ministry where he speaks at churches and religious groups, his job at a hospice care company, his radio show, and his documentary and multimedia company used to document the 1996 and 1998 national championships. He also talks about how he was asked to introduce Coach Gillispie after Coach Smith left.

Keywords: Billy Gillispie; Careers; Jobs; Ministry; Occupations; Religion; Tubby Smith

Subjects: Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Employment--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Um, lo--talk about the--you, you talked on--we talk about it all the time because it's a huge part of it, Kentucky fans.

Segment Synopsis: Mills describes the fan-base of the University of Kentucky basketball program. He says that they have been very critical to the success of the program. However, he says that they put unrealistic expectations on the program.

Keywords: University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Do you get any grief, um, from Kentucky fans because of your relationship with Coach Pitino now that he's a traitor at the University of Louisville.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses his current relationship with Rick Pitino as well as his thoughts on the scandals that he has been involved with. He says that he will always stand by Coach Pitino and love him because he gave him a chance and let him play on the team.

Keywords: Fans; Rick Pitino; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Basketball coaches--Kentucky; Basketball--Coaching; Pitino, Rick; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Uh, quick, quick answers: Tony Delk.

Segment Synopsis: Mills gives his thoughts and opinions about many of his teammates, specifically about what they are currently doing, including Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Antoine Walker, Scott Padgett, Mark Pope, and Allen Edwards.

Keywords: Allen Edwards; Antoine Walker; Mark Pope; Players; Scott Padgett; Tony Delk; University of Kentucky basketball; Walter McCarty

Subjects: Basketball; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, we talked at the start about you and your dad sitting down and talking about Kentucky basketball before you went to UK.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses being able to talk with his father and share experiences from playing basketball at the University of Kentucky. He also talks about his brother who played for Transylvania University.

Keywords: Family; Fathers; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; Families.; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball

Partial Transcript: Um, let, let's close this up then by--(coughs)--let me just ask you how you think or how you would like, uh, people to remember you long when you're gone.

Segment Synopsis: Mills discusses how he wants to be remembered at the University of Kentucky. He says that he wants to be remembered as the best three-point shooter in Kentucky history.

Keywords: Legacies; Three point shooters; Three pointers; Three-point shooters; Three-pointers; University of Kentucky basketball

Subjects: Basketball; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky--Basketball