Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

games on

TNT Sports TNT Sports is the brand name for sports television channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world that are owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The name originates from the American cable television ...

and also works for

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through TNT Sports. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular se ...

as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster for

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial America ...

, TBS Sports, and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. She was also head coach and general manager of the WNBA's

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

. Regarded as the greatest women’s basketball player of all time, in 1995 Miller was enshrined in the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. In 1999, she was inducted into the inaugural class of the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

, located in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. On August 20, 2010, Miller was also inducted into the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

for her success in international play. She is the sister of retired

star and fellow Hall of Famer

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

and former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

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 A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' 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 points scored in a high school career (3405).

University of Southern California

At the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), the Miller played the forward position. A four-year letter winner, she scored 3,018 career points (tenth all-time in NCAA history) and was a four-time All-American; her career rebounding mark of 1,534 ranks her third all-time in NCAA history. Miller was named

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

three times and earned the Wade Trophy (Player of the Year) once. At USC, Miller led the Trojans to a 112–20 record and NCAA champion titles in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and was named NCAA Tournament MVP both years. Miller's teammates included Cynthia Cooper, two-time WNBA MVP; Pamela McGee, 1984 Olympian and All-American, and Paula McGee, 1982 and 1983 All-American. Miller was coached by Linda K. Sharp, one of college basketball's winningest coaches. In her senior season, Miller picked up her third Naismith Award, the Broderick Award as the Female College Basketball Player of the Year and

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

named her the best player in college basketball, male or female. 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 Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is formerly the head coach for Triplets (basketball), Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando ...

topped her blocked shot record by one (321). In 1986, Miller was nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award, and in that same year, USC retired her #31 jersey, the first retired jersey of a basketball player, male or female, at USC. In 1993 she took the head coaching job at her alma mater, USC, after the university chose to fire coach Marianne Stanley.

USC statistics

USA Basketball

Miller played for the USA National team in the 1983 World Championships, held in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. 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. In 1984, the USA sent its National team to the 1984

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

competition in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. Miller led the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game, led the team in rebounding with 4.4 per game and led the team in steals with 27. Miller led the U.S. team to the gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and was also part of the gold medal team at the 1983

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Miller was selected to represent the US at the inaugural Goodwill games, held in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in July 1986. North Carolina State's

Kay Yow Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 ca ...

served as head coach. The team opened up with a 72–53 victory over Yugoslavia, led by 19 points from Miller, and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70. The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer. Miller was the scoring leader in this game, scoring 26 points to help the US to a 78–70 victory. The USA faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58. This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2

Uljana Semjonova Iulijana Larionovna Semjonova (; born 9 March 1952) is a retired Latvian basketball player of Russian descent who competed for the Soviet Union. Semjonova was the leading women's basketball player in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. Wearing a m ...

, considered the most dominant player in the world. The Soviet team had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships. The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the USA went on a scoring run to take a large lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the USA squad. For the entire event, Miller averaged 20.6 points to lead the team in scoring. Miller continued to represent the US with National team at the 1986 World Championships, held in Moscow, a month after the Goodwill games in Moscow. The USA team was even more dominant this time. The early games were won easily, and the semifinal against Canada, while the closest game for the USA so far, ended up an 82–59 victory. At the same time, the Soviet team was winning easily as well, and the final game pitted two teams each with 6–0 records. The Soviet team, having lost only once at home, wanted to show that the Goodwill games setback was a fluke. The USA team started by scoring the first eight points, and raced to a 45–23 lead, although the Soviets fought back and reduced the halftime margin to 13. The USA went on a 15–1 run in the second half to put the game away, and ended up winning the gold medal with a score of 108–88. Miller led all scorers in the game with 24 points.

Post-college career

After graduating from USC in 1986, she was drafted by several professional basketball leagues, including the United States Basketball League, a men's league. In the late 1980s, however, Miller suffered knee injuries that prevented her from continuing her playing career. From 1986 to 1991, she was an assistant coach at USC and a television sportscaster. Miller was named head coach at USC and 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

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 The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...

, where they lost to the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. She resigned after the 2000 season, citing fatigue. On April 30, 2014, she was named women's basketball coach at

Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...

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

Phoenix Mercury

, - , align="left" , PHX , align="left" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 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 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, 30, , 19, , 11, , .633, , align="center" , 2nd in West, , 6, , 3, , 3, , .500 , align="center" , Lost WNBA Finals , - , align="left" , PHX , align="left" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, 32, , 15, , 17, , .469, , align="center" , 4th in West, , -, , -, , -, , , align="center" , Missed WNBA Playoffs , - , align="left" , PHX , align="left" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 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 TNT The ''NBA on TNT'' is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by TNT Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports and later Warner Bros. Discovery Sports). In the United States, the TNT cable network held ...

''s Thursday night doubleheader coverage for

. She also made appearances on

during the 2008-09 NBA season as a reporter and analyst. Miller joined

Turner Sports TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery in the United States that is responsible for Sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service, Max (streaming service), Max, and primarily the TruTV, TBS (Americ ...

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 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several developmen ...

' ''

NBA 2K ''NBA 2K'' is a series of basketball sports simulation video games developed by Visual Concepts and released annually since 1999. The premise of the series is to emulate the sport of basketball and the National Basketball Association. The ser ...

'' Series. She left the company after her contract expired in 2013. Miller worked as a basketball commentator at the 1994

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

. Miller worked as a

reporter and called

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

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

from 1987 to 1993, where she served as a reporter for ''

ABC's Wide World of Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

'' and a commentator for the network's

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

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 The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

for basketball * 1984 – WBCA Player of the Year * 1984 – The Honda-Broderick Cup winner for all sports * 1985 – Winner of the Honda Sports Award for basketball * 1985 –

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State ...

winner * 1985 – WBCA Player of the Year * 1991 – International Women's Sports Hall of Fame * 2010 –

* 2024 –

California Hall of Fame The California Hall of Fame is an institution created in 2006 by Maria Shriver to honor important Californians. The award was designed by Californian artists Robert Graham (sculptor), Robert Graham. The hall is located in The California Museum i ...

References

;Sources * *

External links

Cheryl Miller
at the

(archived) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Cheryl 1964 births 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen African-American basketball coaches All-American college women's basketball players American television reporters and correspondents American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players American women television journalists Baptists from California Basketball coaches from California Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Riverside, California College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Goodwill Games gold medalists Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Langston Lady Lions basketball coaches Living people Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees NBA broadcasters Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Phoenix Mercury coaches Protestants from California Riverside Polytechnic High School alumni Small forwards United States Basketball League players United States women's national basketball team players USC Trojans women's basketball coaches USC Trojans women's basketball players Women's college basketball announcers in the United States Women's National Basketball Association general managers American women sports commentators