"I've found that, should he come to practice and have a lot of other burdens on his mind, it might not just be reading six chapters for a class. It could be a lot of other issues as well," Farmer said. "He has such a different set of circumstances than most players."

Like what?

McMillan, a 23-year-old senior forward, said he didn't even know where to begin.

Raised by Denise Howard near Over-the-Rhine, McMillan was a self-proclaimed "bad kid." He ran with the wrong crowd, skipped classes and was suspended before graduating Aiken High in 1999.

With the help of a guardian angel basketball coach - Eric Thomas, now at Cincinnati State - McMillan dazzled on the basketball court. He led Aiken in scoring (22.5 points) and rebounding (13) as a senior. After graduation he went to Lincoln Trail Community College in Illinois. He called it quits after four games.

"I missed my family," McMillan said, "so I wanted to come home."

McMillan reunited with Thomas at Miami University-Middletown in 2001, when he averaged 23.5 points and had 14 rebounds in leading the team to a then school-record 24 wins. Though rated the country's 13th-best power forward by Ballplayers J.C. Report, McMillan remained at MUM the next year as an assistant coach.

He needed to earn money before committing to another program. He had a family to support.

The second-year Loyola player - the Horizon League's first Rambler Newcomer of the Year since 1989 - is the father of Sheiara, 9; Isiah, 6; Miracle, 3; and Paul IV, 3 months.

"I always encouraged Paul to play basketball," said his wife, Amy. "I knew the outcome was going to be something wonderful."

The McMillans lived together in Chicago last year, but Amy was on bedrest before Paul IV's birth. Amy and Paul agreed he would stay at school while she and the kids returned to Greenhills so their families could assist.

"It's been hard, being away from them," said McMillan, who leads Loyola in scoring (17.5 points) and rebounding (7.4). "This year has been kind of a struggle."

McMillan said he rarely misses the little things - school anecdotes, kids' basketball practices, meals - because he and Amy are constantly conversing on cell phones. When he can, he boards a Greyhound bus and comes home.

Before he left for Loyola, his cell phone recording was "Paul McMillan, NBA first-round lottery pick." Two years later, he's still pinning hopes on a professional career.

But decisions he made in his youth have prompted him to plan a dual future. Should a pro career crumble, McMillan would like to return to Cincinnati to help troubled teens. He graduates this spring with a sociology degree.

"It's been a long journey, but I look back and see how far I've come," he said.

Farmer sees a bright future for a kid once headed down a destructive path.

"I'm sure he'll have his chance to impact others because of the decisions he's had in his own life," Farmer said. "He's an example of someone who didn't give up responsibility. He hit it straight on, and he really did something great with his life."

Others

• Thomas More is renewing its cross country program and will begin formal competition in the 2004-05 academic year. The College will be sponsoring both a men's and women's team. Thomas More named Del Walters, current men's basketball assistant coach and head men's tennis coach, as the program's head coach. Led by athletics director Terry Connor, TMC will begin the process of formalizing a home course, setting a schedule and organizing a competitive roster based on current and prospective students.

• Thomas More sophomore center R.K. Thurman was named to the d3hoops.com team of the week after he averaged 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in three games, leading the team in both categories. He also made 64.7 percent of his field-goal attempts and 72.7 percent of his free throws. Thomas More freshman guard Brooke Warner (Kings) also was named to the d3hoops.com team of the week. She led the Saints in scoring and rebounding in four games, averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds.

• Tulane freshman midfielder Jackie Obert (Ursuline) was named to Conference USA's third team and the All-Freshman Team for women's soccer. Obert tied the team lead for goals scored (five) and was second on the team with 12 points. She ranked 10th in the conference in C-USA points scored.

• Pittsburgh senior football player Jonathan Schall (Turpin) was named the Panthers' offensive line MVP. He started 10 games at center and three at guard for the Panthers, which finished 8-5 and 5-2 in the Big East.

• Wilmington College's Claire Gauche (Anderson) was one of five Lady Quaker soccer players named to the all-Ohio team. Gauche was named to the first team. Head coach Steve Spirk was named the Ohio Coach of the Year for the season, as the team earned Division III Team of the Year for Ohio.

• Wittenberg's Haley Warden (Indian Hill) was named women's basketball player of the week in the North Coast Athletic Conference after leading the Tigers to two conference wins last week. Warden leads Wittenberg in scoring (14.1 points per game), rebounding (9.7) and steals (2.13).

• The Florence Freedom have made two trades in preparation for the 2004 season. Kevin Wilson of the Kalamazoo Kings has been traded for Eric Zizzleman. Wilson, a shortstop, played for the University of Cincinnati. Lenny Bays, who played for Northern Kentucky University, is the other addition to the roster in a trade for Ben Hudson.

• Walsh University will induct Julie (Bachman) Nagel into its Athletic Wall of Fame on Feb. 6. Bachman, a 1988 Mercy graduate, lettered four times for the Cavaliers volleyball team from 1988-92. She starred as setter on teams that compiled a 115-42 record over a four-year period and won Walsh's first District 22 Championship in 1989. In her four years, Bachman earned Mid-Ohio Conference second-team honors three times and first-team honors once, was a three-time NAIA District 22 first-team member and a two-time Mid-Ohio Conference all-academic team member, and made the NAIA District 22 all-academic team once.

• Union sophomore defensive back Ernest Johnson (Hughes) was named an NAIA honorable mention by Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette. Johnson was sixth on the team in tackles with 44, but he led the team with four fumble recoveries and 11 pass deflections.

• Bert Capel (Heritage Academy) averaged 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Evangel University men's basketball team's three games last week. He made 53 percent of his field goals (23-43) and 64 percent of his free throws (7-11).

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E-mail srussell@enquirer.com