Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) On August 20, 2010, Miller was also inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame for her success in international play.
She is the sister of retired NBA star and fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller and former Major League Baseball catcher Darrell Miller.
Early life
Miller played at Riverside Polytechnic High School (1978–1982) where she was a four-year letter winner and led her team to a 132–4 record. She was awarded the Dial Award for the national high-school scholar-athlete of the year in 1981. She was the first player, male or female, to be named an All-American by Parade magazine four times. Averaging 32.8 points and 15.0 rebounds a game, Miller was Street & Smith's National High School Player of the Year in both 1981 and 1982. In her senior year she scored 105 points in a game against Norte Vista High School. She set California state records for points scored in a single season (1156) and a high-school career (3405). Miller still holds numerous Trojan career records, including points (3,018, 23.6 ppg), rebounds (1,534, 12.0 rpg), field goals made (1,159), free throws made (700), games played (128), and steals (462). Miller's previous Trojan records in assists (414) was almost doubled by Rhonda Windham (735); Lisa Leslie topped her blocked shot record by one (321).
In 1986, Miller was nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award and USC retired her #31 jersey, the first retired jersey of a basketball player, male or female, at USC.
USC statistics
{| class="wikitable"
|+Cheryl Miller college statistics
!scope="col"|Year
!scope="col"|Team
!scope="col"|GP
!scope="col"|Points
!scope="col"|FG%
!scope="col"|FT%
!scope="col"|RPG
!scope="col"|APG
!scope="col"|SPG
!scope="col"|BPG
!scope="col"|PPG
|-
|scope="row"|1982–83
|USC
|33
|673
|55.1%
|73.7%
|9.7
|3.5
|3.5
|2.4
|20.4
|-
|scope="row"|1983–84
|USC
|33
|726
|57.0%
|75.2%
|10.6
|3.6
|3.2
|2.5
|22.0
|-
|scope="row"|1984–85
|USC
|30
|805
|52.8%
|69.6%
|15.8
|2.9
|3.9
|2.7
|26.8
|-
|scope="row"|1985–86
|USC
|32
|814
|60.9%
|75.3%
|12.2
|2.9
|4.0
|2.5
|25.4
|-
|scope="row"|Career
|
|128
|3018
|56.5%
|73.5%
|12.0
|3.2
|3.6
|2.5
|23.6
|}
USA Basketball
Miller played for the USA National team in the 1983 World Championships, held in São Paulo, Brazil. The team won six games, but lost two against the Soviet Union. In an opening round game, the USA team had a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Soviets came back to take the lead, and a final shot by the USA failed to drop, leaving the USSR team with a one-point victory 85–84, despite 23 points from Miller. The USA team won their next four games, setting up the gold medal game against USSR. This game was also close, and was tied at 82 points each with six seconds to go in the game. The Soviets' Elena Chausova received the inbounds pass and hit the game winning shot in the final seconds, giving the USSR team the gold medal with a score of 84–82. The USA team earned the silver medal. Miller led the team in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game, and tied for the lead in rebounding at 4.4 per game. Miller coached two seasons (1993–95). Her teams had a combined 42–14 record and went to the NCAA tournament both seasons, making a Regional Final once. She then coached for four seasons (1997–2000) with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she also served as general manager. "Run, run, run, run, run," Miller said about her kind of team. "Play some outstanding defense. I want this team to be physical, I want them to know the game." In 1998, Miller coached the Mercury to a 16–12 record and the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Comets. She resigned after the 2000 season, citing fatigue.
On April 30, 2014, she was named women's basketball coach at Langston University by athletic director Mike Garrett.
On May 26, 2016, she was named women's basketball coach at California State Los Angeles by athletic director Mike Garrett.
She is part-owner of the UpShot League, new development women's professional basketball league in the United States, set to have its debut season in May 2026.
Coaching record
USC
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! G !! W !! L !! W-L% !! Conference !! Notes
|-
| 1993–94|| 30 || 26 || 4 || || 16–2 (1st) || NCAA Elite Eight
|-
| 1994–95 || 28 || 18 || 10 || || 10–8 (5th) || NCAA 1st Round
|-
| Overall || 58 || 44 || 14 || || 26–10 ||
|}
Phoenix Mercury
|-
| align="left" | PHX
| align="left" |1997
|28||16||12||.571|| align="center" |1st in West||1||0||1||.000
| align="center" |Lost in WNBA Semifinals
|-
| align="left" | PHX
| align="left" |1998
|30||19||11||.633|| align="center" |2nd in West||6||3||3||.500
| align="center" |Lost WNBA Finals
|-
| align="left" | PHX
| align="left" |1999
|32||15||17||.469|| align="center" |4th in West||-||-||-||
| align="center" |Missed WNBA Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | PHX
| align="left" |2000
|32||20||12||.625|| align="center" |4th in West||2||0||2||.000
| align="center" |Lost in 1st Round
|-
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||122||70||52|||| ||9||3||6||
Broadcast career
Cheryl Miller served as a sideline reporter for the NBA on TNTs Thursday night doubleheader coverage for TNT Sports. She also made appearances on NBA TV during the 2008-09 NBA season as a reporter and analyst. Miller joined Turner Sports in September 1995 as an analyst and reporter for the NBA on TBS and TNT. She made occasional appearances as a studio analyst for NBA games. In November 1996, became the first female analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game. She also served as the sideline reporter in 2K Sports' NBA 2K Series. She left the company after her contract expired in 2013.
Miller worked as a basketball commentator at the 1994 Goodwill Games. Miller worked as a basketball reporter and called weightlifting for the 2001 Goodwill Games. Miller served as women's basketball analyst and men's basketball reporter for NBC's coverage of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Before joining Turner Sports, Miller also worked for ABC Sports/ESPN from 1987 to 1993, where she served as a reporter for ABC's Wide World of Sports and a commentator for the network's college basketball telecasts. She served as a field reporter for the 1987 Little League World Series and served as a correspondent for the 1988 Calgary Olympics.
Awards and honors
- 1984 – Winner of the Honda Sports Award for basketball
- 1984 – The Honda-Broderick Cup winner for all sports
- 1985, 1986 – Women's Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year
- 1991 – International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
- 2010 – FIBA Hall of Fame
- 2024 – California Hall of Fame
See also
- List of basketball players who have scored 100 points in a single game
- List of NCAA Division I women's basketball players with 2,500 points and 1,000 rebounds
- List of NCAA Division I women's basketball career scoring leaders
- List of NCAA Division I women's basketball career rebounding leaders
References
;Sources
External links
- Cheryl Miller at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (archived)