Cheryl Miller facts for kids
Miller during a game in 1986
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| Born | January 3, 1964 Riverside, California, U.S. |
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| High school | Riverside Polytechnic (Riverside, California) |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | USC (1982–1986) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1986–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1986–1991 | USC (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | USC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Phoenix Mercury (HC/GM) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Langston University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Cal State Los Angeles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an amazing American former basketball player. She has also been a coach and a sportscaster. You might have seen her reporting on NBA games or on NBA TV. She even coached the WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury.
Cheryl Miller is a true basketball legend. In 1995, she was honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She also joined the first group of players in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2010, she was added to the FIBA Hall of Fame for her success in international games.
She is the sister of two other famous athletes: Reggie Miller, a retired NBA star, and Darrell Miller, a former Major League Baseball player.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Cheryl Miller played basketball at Riverside Polytechnic High School from 1978 to 1982. Her team had an incredible record of 132 wins and only 4 losses! In 1981, she won the Dial Award as the best high school scholar-athlete in the country.
She was the first high school player ever, male or female, to be named an All-American by Parade magazine four times. She scored an average of 32.8 points and grabbed 15.0 rebounds per game. In her senior year, she scored an amazing 105 points in a single game! She set California state records for points in one season (1,156) and points in her entire high school career (3,405).
Playing for USC
Cheryl Miller went on to play for the University of Southern California (USC). She was 6 feet 2 inches tall and played as a small forward. She scored 3,018 points in her college career, which is one of the highest totals in NCAA history. She also grabbed 1,534 rebounds, ranking her third all-time.
Miller was named the Naismith College Player of the Year three times. She also won the Wade Trophy, another top player award. At USC, she led her team to a fantastic 112–20 record. They won two NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984. Miller was named the NCAA Tournament MVP in both those years.
Her teammates included other future stars like Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Pamela McGee. In 1986, USC honored her by retiring her number 31 jersey. This was the first time USC had retired a basketball player's jersey, male or female.
USA Basketball and Olympic Gold
Cheryl Miller was a key player for the USA National team. In 1983, she played in the World Championships in Brazil. The team won a silver medal, with Miller leading in scoring.
In 1984, she helped the US team win every game at the William Jones Cup in Taiwan. She led the team in scoring, rebounding, and steals.
Miller led the U.S. team to a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She also won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games in Venezuela.
In 1986, Miller played in the first-ever Goodwill Games in Moscow. The US team won the gold medal by beating the Soviet Union 83–60. Miller was the top scorer for the team, averaging 20.6 points per game. She also helped the US win another gold medal at the 1986 World Championships in Moscow. The team was very strong, winning the final game against the Soviet Union 108–88.
After College: Coaching and Broadcasting
After graduating from USC in 1986, Cheryl Miller faced challenges with knee injuries. These injuries stopped her from continuing her playing career.
From 1986 to 1991, she worked as an assistant coach at USC. She also started a career as a television sportscaster. In 1993, she became the head coach at USC for two seasons. Her teams had a great record of 42 wins and 14 losses.
Later, she coached the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA from 1997 to 2000. She was also the team's general manager. In 1998, she led the Mercury to the WNBA Finals, where they played against the Houston Comets. She left the team in 2000, saying she was tired.
Miller also coached college basketball at Langston University (2014–2015) and California State Los Angeles (2016–2019).
Broadcast Career
Cheryl Miller has had a long and successful career in sports broadcasting. She was a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT and appeared on NBA TV as a reporter and analyst.
She joined Turner Sports in 1995. In November 1996, she made history as the first female analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game. She also worked as a sideline reporter for the NBA 2K video game series.
Before joining Turner Sports, Miller worked for ABC Sports/ESPN from 1987 to 1993. She reported for ABC's Wide World of Sports and was a commentator for college basketball games. She also reported from the 1987 Little League World Series and the 1988 Calgary Olympics.
Awards and Honors
Cheryl Miller has received many awards for her amazing career:
- 1984 – Won the Honda Sports Award for basketball
- 1984 – Named WBCA Player of the Year
- 1984 – Won the Honda-Broderick Cup for all sports
- 1985 – Won the Honda Sports Award for basketball again
- 1985 – Won the Wade Trophy
- 1985 – Named WBCA Player of the Year again
- 1991 – Inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
- 2010 – Inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame
- 2024 – Inducted into the California Hall of Fame
Images for kids
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Miller during a game in 1986
See also
In Spanish: Cheryl Miller para niños
- 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
