McMillan, son of former N.C. State great and current Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, is being recruited by both the Pack and Herb Sendek's new school, Arizona State.

Insert wicked cackle here.

McMillan, a 6-foot-1 point guard out of O'Dea High in Seattle, represents the first major recruiting fight between State's new coach, Sidney Lowe, and its old one. Sendek left State after 10 years in April.

If that weren't entertaining enough, McMillan's recruiting story took on another twist when his father was mentioned as a candidate to replace Sendek before Lowe was hired.

McMillan, who participated in the Nike All-America camp last week, said his father never seriously considered the idea of coaching at his alma mater because he never completed his degree at State. The college job required a college degree.

McMillan, who said his dad planned to finish his diploma once his NBA coaching career was over, admitted that the situation entertained the family for a few weeks this spring.

"It was basically laughs," Jamelle MacMillan said about hearing from family back in North Carolina about the State coaching search. "We got a big kick out of it. It was definitely an interesting situation."

At that time McMillan had already received a scholarship offer from State. When Sendek left, State athletics director Lee Fowler called Nate McMillan to tell him the scholarship offer was still good regardless of who would become the next coach.

Lowe has been in contact with Jamelle McMillan since officially taking over at State.

After Sendek arrived in Tempe, Ariz., he offered McMillan a scholarship to play for the Sun Devils. McMillan also has received scholarship offers from Stanford, Clemson and Georgia Tech.

Need another wrinkle? Lowe and Sendek have a history with State's other point guard target, Chris Wright of St. John's College High in Washington D.C.

Wright, the 18th-best prospect in the 2007 class as ranked by Scout.com, had committed to play at N.C. State before Sendek left for Arizona State. Lowe is still pursuing Wright for the Wolfpack.

With disappointment lingering over Wright's rejection of State and Wright's interest in Georgetown growing, Wolfpack fans are doing what they can to convince McMillan to choose their school.

McMillan said he has been hearing from State fans -- he isn't sure how they got his e-mail address -- for months. They all want to know if he's still interested in State. His answer is yes. In fact, when McMillan saw Lowe watching him at the Nike camp, it eased his mind.

"They definitely kept their promise so it's pretty exciting," said McMillan, who is ranked 98th by Scout.com.

McMillan, who averaged 13 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists as a junior at O'Dea, said he would be a good fit at either school, playing a controlled offense like Sendek's, or the up-tempo game Lowe has promised at State.

McMillan knows both. He plays a ball-control style at O'Dea for former NBA player Phil Lumpkin. He also plays a wide-open style with the West coast powerhouse AAU club Friends of Hoop coached by Jim Marsh, another former NBA player.

Sendek would seem to have an edge, even after changing jobs, since McMillan has attended camps at State since kindergarten, most with Sendek in charge.

McMillan speaks warmly of Sendek, but the McMillan family has a house near the State campus. McMillan knows the area, the school and the atmosphere at State as well as anyone.

Whoever snags McMillan will get a kid with a firm grasp on reality. Asked what he thought his weaknesses are as a player, McMillan launched into a succinct summary about creating his own shot off the dribble and not settling only for 3-pointers, about being a soft-spoken person who needed to be more vocal while playing the point.

McMillan said he also must finish with more authority off the fast break and even offered that he had been blocked eight or nine times on the break by strong, athletic types at Nike camp.

"I'm doing more," McMillan said of his play at Nike. "Hopefully everyone sees that here."

He knows which college coaches are watching.

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