MILLER, Cheryl DeAnn

(b. 3 January 1964 in Riverside, California), basketball player whose athletic prowess and captivating style helped to increase the pace and popularity of women's basketball during the 1980s.

Miller learned to play basketball at home. Her father, Saul, a musician and computer professional, had played basketball in high school and college, and taught Miller the basics of the game on a concrete half-court in their backyard. Her mother, Carrie, a nurse, had also played basketball earlier in life. Miller's three brothers also had a huge impact on her athletic development. As Miller recounted in an interview, "When I was five years old, my older brothers used to play with their friends, and every time the ball went out in the bushes or out in the lawn, it was my job to run over there and grab it and dribble it. They used to get a kick out of it, and I used to enjoy it because I got to hang out with my brothers. So it started from there just playing against their friends, to playing against Reggie, to playing on a boy's team, to where I am today." Reggie, her younger brother, later became an All-Star player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA); the Millers are considered the best sister-brother duo in basketball history.

By the time Miller was in high school, she already was a basketball powerhouse. During her four years as a six-foot, three-inch forward at Riverside Polytechnic High School (1978–1982), the team won 132 games and lost only 4. Miller averaged 32.8 points and 15 rebounds per game. In one game she scored 105 points. Miller was the first high-school athlete, male or female, chosen as a Parade All-American four years in a row. Her phenomenal playing did not go unnoticed: more than 250 colleges offered her scholarships.

Miller chose to attend the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. During her first year she led the Women of Troy to a national title. In the championship game Miller scored twenty-seven points as USC came back from a halftime deficit to beat the defending champions, Louisiana Tech, by two points. Miller was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). During the summer of 1983, Miller traveled to Brazil and Venezuela as part of the U.S. national team that won the silver at the World Championships and the gold at the Pan-American Games. Back at USC for her sophomore year, Miller and the Women of Troy were again national champions with Miller again named as the MVP.

Over the summer, Miller led the United States to its first gold medal in women's basketball at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Miller led the team in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals. USC went 21–9 in Miller's junior season, but despite her producing college career-high numbers in points (26.8) and rebounds (15.8) per game, the team lost in an early round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. During her senior year, USC entered its third NCAA championship game in four years, losing to the University of Texas. Miller finished her stellar college career with a record of 112–20, two national titles, 3,018 points, and her name in the USC record book in categories including points scored, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, and games played. Miller's jersey number 31 was the first basketball jersey retired at USC.

Miller also attracted national honors. She won the Naismith Award three times as the nation's top player. A four-time All-American, she also won the Wade Trophy (1986) and the Broderick Cup (1985, 1986). ESPN named her the Woman Athlete of the Year in 1985, and Sports Illustrated put her on its cover that same year, naming her the number-one basketball player in the country. Miller was the first female basketball player ever nominated for the Amateur Athletic Union's Sullivan Award, the sports equivalent of an Oscar. She also enjoyed celebrity status, appearing on magazine covers, making cameo appearances at the Grammy Awards and on the television show Cagney and Lacey, meeting heads of state, being interviewed by Barbara Walters, and having a "Cheryl Miller Day" declared by the mayor of Los Angeles.

After graduating from USC in 1986, Miller continued to play for the United States in international competitions. Miller led gold-medal teams at both the World Championships and Goodwill Games in 1986. A severe knee injury kept Miller out of the 1988 Olympics. She retired from basketball in 1988 with a 29–2 record in international play, four gold medals and a silver, and her name in the record book as the lead U.S. scorer in all five international competitions in which she played.

Miller channeled her passion for basketball into sports broadcasting and coaching. Although she was on record as saying, "No coaching, definitely no coaching," she served as the assistant women's basketball coach at USC for five seasons (1987–1991) and became the head coach in 1993. During her two years as the head coach, USC compiled a 44–14 record, won the Pacific Ten conference title, and made it into the NCAA tournament both years. When Miller left coaching at USC in 1995, she joined Turner Sports as a television analyst and reporter covering NBA games. The following year Miller made history by becoming the first woman to provide play-by-play commentary for a nationally televised NBA game.

When the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) was formed in 1997, Miller was the first coach hired. During her four seasons as the head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury, the team posted a 70–52 record and made it into the play-offs three years, including playing in the championship game in 1998. The team also led the league in attendance during its first season, averaging 13,703 spectators per game. Miller was a favorite with the Phoenix fans, receiving loud cheers when she entered the arena. It wasn't unusual for Miller to dance with the team's hip-hop squad on the court after home games. She occasionally stood on the scorer's table, grabbed a microphone, and addressed the fans. To their disappointment, Miller resigned as the Mercury coach in 2000, choosing to focus her energy on her sports broadcasting career.

Miller brought new dimensions to the game of women's basketball. She helped to usher in a faster, quicker, more exciting brand of play with her athleticism and intensity. Her engaging and flamboyant personality as a player and a coach helped to promote and popularize women's basketball. Miller was elected to the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (1991), the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1995), and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (1999).

For details about Miller's college career, see Curry Kirkpatrick, "Lights! Camera! Cheryl!" Sports Illustrated (20 Nov. 1985). Miller's statistics in international competition can be found on the website http://www.usabasketball.com. Several photographs of and anecdotes about Miller are in Kelly Whiteside, WNBA: A Celebration: Commemorating the Birth of a League (1998).

Kelly Nelson