Basketball Prior to entering politics, McMillen was a star basketball player on all levels. In 1970, he was the number one high school basketball player in the country coming out of
Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and was the biggest recruiting catch early in coach
Lefty Driesell's career at the
University of Maryland, beating out rival coaches
Dean Smith of the
University of North Carolina and
John Wooden of
University of California, Los Angeles for McMillen's services. McMillen played for the
Terrapins from 1971 to 1974. He was also a member of the 1972
U.S. Olympic basketball team that lost a
controversial gold medal game to the
Soviet Union. McMillen earned his B.S. from University of Maryland in chemistry, which is part of the
University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. After graduating from Maryland in 1974, McMillen was drafted with the ninth pick in the first round of the
1974 NBA draft by the
Buffalo Braves and the first round of the
1974 ABA draft by the
Virginia Squires. McMillen signed with the Braves but postponed his entry into the NBA in order to attend
University College, Oxford as a
Rhodes Scholar. During his time at Oxford, McMillen was a member of the
Oxford University basketball team. He also commuted to
Bologna, to play for Italian club
Virtus Bologna. During his eleven-year
National Basketball Association career, he played for the Braves,
New York Knicks,
Atlanta Hawks, and
Washington Bullets, before he retired in 1986 to pursue his political career.
U.S. House He was elected to the
United States Congress as a
Democrat to represent
Maryland's 4th district, and served from 1987 to 1993 as that district's representative. Future president
Donald Trump donated to McMillen's first Congressional campaign. In 1992, the 4th was redrawn as a black-majority district due to a mandate from the Justice Department. His home in
Crofton was drawn into the
Eastern Shore-based
1st district, represented by first-term
Republican Congressman
Wayne Gilchrest. Although McMillen did very well in the more urbanized areas of the district near
Baltimore and
Washington, D.C., it was not enough to overcome Gilchrest's margin on the Eastern Shore, and McMillen lost his reelection bid. McMillen is thought to be the tallest-ever member of Congress. At 6 feet 11 inches, he is two feet taller than
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who is believed to be the shortest representative ever.
Later career Wes Moore, 2024 President
Bill Clinton named McMillen to be the chair of the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; he resigned in November 1997 after the FBI raided a separate healthcare business he was running. McMillen was appointed to the
University System of Maryland's Board of Regents in 2007, where he served until June 30, 2015. He was replaced by
Robert R. Neall whom McMillen had defeated for Congress in 1986. In March 2023, McMillen was again appointed to the Boards of Regents, succeeding Gary L. Attman. In September 2015, McMillen was selected to lead the
Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association as it moved from
Dallas to Washington, D.C. He remains President and Chief Executive Officer of the renamed Lead1 Association, now advocating for athletic directors at
Football Bowl Subdivision universities. ==Personal life==