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In Their Own Words: Columbia Legend of Ivy League Basketball Jim McMillian

By Aron McMillian, son of Jim McMillian, Columbia ‘70
 
IvyLeague.com: Why did Jim choose to attend an Ivy League institution?
Aron McMillian: It was a great opportunity and in his home town so his mother could attend games. She worked as a seamstress in the garment district. He once said in an interview with the New York Post that “Other kids got their kicks showing how much man they were. Mine was basketball, but in a way it alienated me from the rest of the fellows…and they hated me for it. That was the most difficult thing to accept, but my mother, who’s had a hard time of it, kept telling me ‘I know what can happen.’ She’d been through it. She didn’t want me to go through it.”
 
IvyLeague.com: How did Jim’s Ivy League experience help prepare him for his career?
Aron: It provided exposure to different opportunities outside of sports. After his basketball playing career ended (Jim played 10 years in the NBA for the Lakers, Buffalo Braves (now LA Clippers), Knicks and Trailblazers, and two years professionally in Italy), he worked in a wholesale-retail business and went on to own his own clothing business before moving on to work for a large clothing manufacturing company.
 
IvyLeague.com: What accomplishment during Jim’s time at Columbia was he most proud of/had the most significance to him? 
Aron: Winning the Ivy League Championship his sophomore year. That season saw him lead the Lions to a 23-5 record and their first Ivy title in program history. During that same year, he guided Columbia to the Holiday Festival title in Madison Square Garden, and despite throwing up before one of the games, was named Tournament MVP after leading the Lions to wins over West Virginia, Louisville and St. John’s on successive days. He became the first sophomore ever to receive the Haggerty Award, given annually to most outstanding player in the New York Metropolitan area. He also became the first-ever player to receive the Haggerty three times and the only player to do so until 2011, when Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins matched his accomplishment.
 
IvyLeague.com: What accomplishment after Jim’s time at Columbia was he most proud of/had the most significance to him? 
Aron: Playing 10 years in the NBA. He was drafted by the Lakers and played there for three seasons, starting for the injured Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor and helping the team win 33-straight games, still an NBA record. He was a part of the Lakers’ 1972 NBA Championship team. He then went on to play three seasons for the Buffalo Braves (now the Clippers), averaging 16.4 points per game, then two with the Knicks and one with the Trailblazers. He averaged 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 631 career games, and his .832 career free throw percentage (1448-1741) still ranks among the NBA’s best.
 
IvyLeague.com: What was Jim’s most memorable experience from his time in the Ivy League?
Aron: Playing on the Columbia Varsity Men’s Basketball team. He used basketball to stay away from trouble as a kid, and then to get an amazing education and experience at Columbia. He once said he was “lucky” that his life turned out the way it did. His teammate Hayward Dotson once said of him that “when he came out of Jefferson High School he was a first-team All-American and he was just a superb player. Quiet, but as a teammate you could ride on his shoulders.”

IvyLeague.com: How did Jim feel Ivy League Basketball had evolved since his time at Columbia?
Aron: It has gained more exposure, especially with the Ivy League on ESPN.
 
IvyLeague.com: How did the Ivy League community impact Jim’s life or career?
Aron: It gave him a diverse point of view to the world, which certainly helped him not only throughout his NBA career, but especially during his two seasons playing professionally in Italy and then certainly during his post-basketball career, working in the clothing retail industry. He always tried to get to know everyone to maximize his Columbia experience. Dave Rosen, former sports editor of the Columbia Spectator and a classmate of Jim’s, once said that Jim was “an incredible guy to know,” that he “stops and talks [to everyone]. He’s interested in what others are doing. He doesn’t separate himself as an athlete star.”
Jim McMillian was a Columbia men's basketball student-athlete from 1966-70. He is a member of the 2019 Class of Legends of Ivy League Basketball that will be formally honored during the 2019 Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments on Saturday, March 16, at the John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn. Purchase tickets at IvyMadness.com.