Reggie Miller cycled 100 miles in Indiana then talked about Pacers, coaching and being 57

EMINENCE — Reggie Miller is, admittedly, worn out and he is humble. He has just finished cycling 100 miles on a gravel course, winding through the dirt and dust of Morgan County, traversing wide open farm fields, century old bridges and wooded creek valleys.

The course Miller rode Saturday was amazing, and it was flat, maybe too flat, he laments. Making it much tougher than a course with more elevation that allows for some downhill relief.

"People see the route and see it's going to be mainly flat and say it's going to be easy," Miller said. "To me that's the worst thing because people are going full gas, especially the first 50 miles, it was like a full-out sprint and this 57-year-old body couldn't handle that."

But Miller finished the Dust Bowl 100 Saturday, wearing bib No. 31. And he finished it in five hours and 31 minutes. That's not a promotional hoax. That's reality. The race started at 8 a.m. and Miller crossed the finish line at 1:31 p.m.

No. 31. That number Miller wore as an Indiana Pacers superstar is always with him — and it seems to always follow him.

As Miller sat down, with a bit of a groan, on a bench under the shade of a tree in the state that made him a basketball legend, fans at the Dust Bowl looked on with starstruck faces. There were people who showed up with No. 31 Pacers jerseys, asking for autographs.

There were fans with signs that harkened back to the glorious days of the Pacers, when Miller led the team to the NBA Finals and Slick Leonard shouted, "Boom Baby."

As Miller raced Saturday, he wore a blue cycling jersey with gold letters that said, "Boom Baby." He will never forget the thrill of being an Indiana Pacer, even if he has traded in his basketball shoes for a bike.

He will never forget those glorious years playing with teammates he adored.

Travis Best 'clutch.' Jalen Rose 'cool.'

As IndyStar sat on a bench with Miller Saturday, after he had recorded an 18.1-mph pace on a bike for 100 miles in gritty terrain, we asked him to say the first thing that came to mind when one of his former Pacers' teammates was named.

Rik Smits: "Unbelievable jokester. A lot of people don't think that he was a jokester, that he was so straight faced," Miller said. "But he had a funny side to him."

Dale Davis: Miller laughs, then says, "People think mean. But (he had) the biggest heart maybe of all my teammates."

Travis Best: "Clutch, very clutch, and snazzy dresser," Miller said. More clutch than you? IndyStar asked him. There were, after all, those famous eight points Miller scored in 8.9 seconds. "Umm," Miller said, "he's clutch as well."

Jalen Rose: "I would say just cool, because he came from that Fab Five and was under such scrutiny and those hot lights being at Michigan, and then when we got him, he was ready." Rose was chill and he was fierce. "So, I would just say he was cool."

Coaching: 'I would never say never'

Pacers fans, of course, think Miller was cool. And they are relentless. No matter what move the team makes, fans crawl out of the woodwork and hail the Miller days, hanging on every word he has to say about their team.

When asked about the latest Pacers move, drafting Jarace Walker, Miller said, "I think time will tell all. But the Pacers always do a good job of drafting young players, so we'll see."

There are also the fans who advocate for Miller coming back to basketball, trading in his TV analyst gig for a coaching job, maybe even with the Pacers.

"No, no. That will never happen," Miller says. Never? Would you ever go into coaching?

"I would never say never," he says. "It's something I think I could do. But right now, I have so much fun working with (TNT) and it's less stressful."

His media job allows him a flexible work schedule and the time to be with his wife, Laura, and their three children, Ryker, Lennox and Remi Jo.

Laura, Ryker and Lennox were at the Dust Bowl, cheering Miller on as he crossed the finish line. So were plenty of other fans. Miller can't come back to Indiana without an outpouring of love.

Representing 31

How Miller ended up in Indiana racing a 100-mile dusty route began with his sponsor Santa Cruz. "Hey, do you want to go back to Indiana?" they asked Miller.

"And I was like, 'Well who doesn't want to go back to Indiana and show your love of two wheels?" he said. "I was like, 'But if I'm going to go back, I've got to get 31.'"

Marc O'Leary, with Elevate Endurance and promoter of the Dust Bowl, got the call for a cycler who wanted to wear No. 31. The request came from the race's title sponsor, Zipp.

"I have a rider that wants to participate in the Dust Bowl 100, but I need you to save a specific race number for him," O'Leary was told. "The number is 31. Any idea who that would be for?"

O'Leary knew immediately it was Miller and he was ecstatic. Growing up in Indiana in the 1990s and being a basketball player himself, he was a massive Pacers fan.

"If you told me as a kid, I would create an event that Reggie Miller was going to participate in," he said, "I wouldn't have believed you."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Reggie Miller cycled 100 miles in Indiana then talked about basketball