He had to be.
Otago Nuggets power forward Isaac Miller-Jose is brutal when he gets to the rim.
The 27-year-old American-born New Zealander loves to stuff the ball through the hoop with a real flourish if he gets the opportunity.
But one of the many jobs he has had required a much gentler touch.
‘‘I worked as an egg merchandiser for a couple of years,’’ he said.
‘‘So, basically, my job was to drive around to different grocery stores, supermarkets, and go into the back and bring the eggs out and stock them.
‘‘And I would do that in one grocery store, then I would drive 10 minutes to the next grocery store and do the same thing. And I actually really enjoyed it.’’
He would probably be really good at an egg-and-spoon race, which is hard to reconcile with the way he plays.
The 2.03m giant moves with the speed of a guard, but he has the physicality of a rugby player. He is quite an athlete and led the effort from the bench for the Nuggets in the 86-77 win over the Nelson Giants in Dunedin on Wednesday night.
Miller-Jose shone with 14 points and 10 rebounds and, arguably, is due a promotion to the starting five for tonight’s game against the Tauranga Whai.
‘‘Honestly, if there wasn’t a prestige attached to starting, I wouldn’t care. I’d be perfectly happy coming in for two minutes, three minutes off the bench.
‘‘I think I get a lot out of getting to see the game play a little bit.
‘‘Have a little rest. And then get into the game when everyone’s starting to flow a little bit. And I can add my impact and give us another burst of energy.’’
He is certainly doing that.
The Nuggets have started the season with back-to-back wins, and Miller-Jose has provided a spark in both games.
He was born in Chicago. His father is American and his mother is Canadian.
The family shifted to New Zealand when he was a toddler and he lived in Wellington until his late teens.
He attended college in Canada and played for the Manitoba Bisons.
His professional career started in 2023. He signed for the Norwood Flames in Adelaide and played in the second-tier Australian basketball league.
Miller-Jose, who won a title with the Wellington Saints in 2021, had an eight-month stint in Germany.
He played for the Manawatū Jets last season and averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds.
The Nuggets were perhaps expecting similar numbers, but he is proving to be a greater asset than that.
‘‘I think we have a quite dynamic group, a lot of energy and a lot of talent. And I think I’m just excited to be surrounded by a bunch of people who are just really passionate about putting in the effort on defence and sprinting the floor in transition.
‘‘It’s all stuff that I love.’’
Perhaps we should not bring it up, but both Miller-Jose and American import Michael Henn sport similar haircuts and rock a retro headband as well.
‘‘I think it’s quite funny because my fiancee [Georgia Stewart] is currently living in Wellington at the moment.
‘‘So she’ll click on to the TV and be watching us and see that we’re both wearing the same colour headband.
‘‘It’ll be her and a couple of friends watching. And they get confused because, while Mike and I don’t look exactly the same, we’re two tall, white, blonde guys with headbands. It gets confusing.’’
