a native of inglewood, california, miner first came to prominence as a high school player. a stand-out on his team at inglewood high school, miner's spectacular dunking ability resulted in his being given the nickname "baby jordan," in reference to fellow nba high flyer michael jordan. in his junior year of high school he averaged 27 points per game, and in his senior year he averaged 28. he also recorded 48 points and 17 rebounds in one game when playing at inglewood.