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Great Athletes

Cheryl Miller

by Cathy M. Buell

Sport: Basketball

Early Life

Cheryl DeAnne Miller was born on January 3, 1964, in Riverside, California. Cheryl’s father, a career Air Force man and professional musician, had been a prep all-American basketball player and college all-conference player. A registered nurse, Cheryl’s mother considered her first daughter her “little nurse.”

Cheryl Miller gives the number one sign after leading the U.S team to victory and a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics.

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(NBAE/Getty Images)

Cheryl was the middle of five children. Her oldest brother, a talented athlete with little patience, became a musician. The other children all became athletes. The second brother was a professional baseball player; a younger brother, Reggie, became a professional basketball player; and the youngest daughter chose volleyball as her sport.

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The Road to Excellence

At the age of five, Cheryl began playing basketball with her older brothers. Throughout elementary school, she played with boys. She learned to be aggressive and hold her own against players who were bigger and stronger. In her first game, when she was only in third grade, she scored 40 points.

Cheryl’s father schooled Cheryl and Reggie in basketball basics. He built a practice court in the family’s yard and coached and practiced with his children daily. Throughout her career, Cheryl continued to call her father her coach, her trainer, and her best friend.

Cheryl and Reggie were like twins, as well as each other’s greatest fan. During their early teen years, Reggie challenged other players to games with him and his sister while Cheryl hid. Then Cheryl would come out from hiding and surprise their prey.

During her four years as a high school basketball star, Riverside Poly won eighty-nine straight games. Cheryl scored 3,026 total points. On January 27, 1982, Cheryl scored a record 105 points and made history by becoming the first girl to slam-dunk in a high school game.

The first male or female four-time prep all-American and four-time member of the all-American junior national team, Cheryl received playing offers from more than two hundred colleges and universities. Cheryl, a B-average student who enjoyed drawing and often read before a game to calm herself, looked for a school with a strong communications program. She chose to attend the University of Southern California (USC) and to play basketball for the Trojans.

The Emerging Champion

In 1983, as a 6-foot 3-inch first-year student at USC, Cheryl distinguished herself with an aggressive style of play formerly attributed to male basketball stars. She demonstrated high-flying tip-ins, full-court passes, and a jumping ability unusual for a woman. Setting freshman records in scoring average, rebounds, free throws, steals, blocked shots, and points per game, Cheryl led the already strong Trojan team to its first national championship. For Cheryl, this was the biggest thrill of her life.

In 1984, the team won a second championship. With her intense, high-caliber play, Cheryl continued to demonstrate that women’s basketball had begun a new era. Her exuberant antics, such as her “hotdog wrist”—a showy modification of a follow-through training technique used by Cheryl’s father—and cartwheels on the court, raised the eyebrows of conservative coaches and fans. Although Cheryl was called a “hotdog,” she argued that her conduct was not an act but a spontaneous reaction to the emotion and stress of the game.

Some people, including several well-known former women basketball players, said that Cheryl was a star only because women’s sports were finally acknowledged and supported. Others, however, recognized her hard work to excel in all phases of the sport and the 100 percent effort she gave in every game.

Training for the 1984 Olympics was the most challenging time in Cheryl’s career, mentally and physically, but the work paid off as she led the team—considered the greatest ever to play women’s basketball—to a gold medal. Cheryl was flattered by the comparisons to the Soviet star Ulyana Semenova and to male players like Magic Johnson, but she resented the expectation that she improve each time she stepped onto the court. Cheryl played basketball because she loved it.

During her last two years as a player at USC, Cheryl was sometimes discouraged by seasons that did not result in national championships. Even though her game continued to improve, she was getting burned out and even considered retiring after her junior year. She did not quit, but her impulsive style of play was somewhat tempered by the circumstances.

Continuing the Story

Although Cheryl was already a four-time all-American, three-time winner of the Naismith Trophy, winner of the Wade Trophy, and player of the decade for the 1980’s, her basketball legacy did not end with her final USC game in 1986. She was drafted by the United States Basketball League, a men’s league, as well some other professional leagues. Though injuries kept her from playing pro ball or on the 1988 Olympic team, she continued to be involved with basketball as a Trojans assistant coach from 1986 to 1991. In addition, Cheryl pursued a career in telecommunications by working as a color commentator for ABC Sports college basketball telecasts.

In 1993, Cheryl was appointed the head coach of the women’s basketball team at USC. During her two seasons there, Cheryl coached the team to a 44-14 record. In 1994, her team won the Pac-10 Conference title. Cheryl was the first basketball player to have her uniform number retired by USC.

Cheryl gave up her coaching position at USC so she could resume her broadcasting career. Initially she worked for the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), handling a variety of assignments for Wide World of Sports. In 1995, she joined Turner Sports as an analyst and an NBA reporter on Turner Network Television (TNT). The same year, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Off of the court, Cheryl served as the commissioner of the 1985 Los Angeles Olympic Committee Summer Youth Games. She has also been a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Literacy Campaign; the Muscular Dystrophy Association; and the American Lung, Diabetes, and Cancer Associations. In 1997, Cheryl became the head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). During four seasons at Phoenix, Cheryl led the team to the playoffs three times. At the end of 2000, she resigned and turned her attention to full-time broadcasting work.

Summary

Cheryl Miller finished her college career with virtually every USC record as well as with a National Collegiate Athletic Association academic award. Cheryl’s influence extended beyond the boundaries of the basketball court. She revolutionized basketball by demonstrating that it was possible and acceptable for girls and women to play hard, be physical, be competitive, and still have fun. Little girls sported the Cheryl haircut, and no longer were playground hoops only for their brothers.

Additional Sources

1 

Bjarkman, Peter C. The Biographical History of Basketball. Lincolnwood, Ill.: Masters Press, 2000.

2 

Hubbard, Jan, and David J. Stern. The Official NBA Encyclopedia. New York: Doubleday, 2000.

3 

Smith, Ron, Ira Winderman, and Mary Schmitt Boyer. The Complete Encyclopedia of Basketball. London: Carlton, 2002.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Buell, Cathy M. "Cheryl Miller." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_1318.
APA 7th
Buell, C. M. (2009). Cheryl Miller. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Buell, Cathy M. "Cheryl Miller." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.