Miles Christian Plumlee was born September 1, 1988 — the firstborn son of Perky and Leslie Plumlee, two college basketball players who met at a Purdue basketball camp in 1979 and found each other again at a tournament in Indianapolis. Perky had played at Tennessee Tech, a 6’7” forward. Leslie had played at Purdue, a 6’1” forward who once grabbed 25 rebounds in a single game — a record that still stands. When Miles was born, at 11 pounds and 23 inches, the nurse found his feet were too long for the ink pad. The Plumlee dynasty was announced at birth.
The family settled in Warsaw, Indiana. Perky put an adjustable hoop in the driveway. Miles, Mason (born 1990), and Marshall (born 1992) grew up fighting over it. Perky called it cheap entertainment. The games between Miles and Mason were brutal. Marshall squeezed in when he could. It wasn’t always literally a fight, Miles admitted, but we never finished a lot of the games.
Miles attended Warsaw Community High School for three years but played only about thirteen minutes per game. Perky made the controversial decision: Miles and Mason would transfer to Christ School, an all-boys boarding school in Arden, North Carolina, 600 miles from home. Miles was the first one across the mountains. He repeated his junior year. The letters to the editor were brutal. Perky and Leslie wiped away tears all the way back across the mountains.
Miles thrived. Christ School: 63–6 record, back-to-back state championships. Senior year: 15.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.5 BPG. School high jump record at 6’9”. He committed to Stanford. Then coach Trent Johnson left for LSU. Mason had already committed to Duke. Miles called his brother, who didn’t hesitate: come be a Blue Devil. Miles decommitted from Stanford and followed his younger brother to Durham. The first Plumlee to leave Warsaw was now the second Plumlee at Duke.