PHOENIX — Cheryl Miller watched closely Star weekend practice on Friday, when Caitlin Clark started the offense, passing the ball around the perimeter before a pass to center Jonquel Jones led to an easy layup. So they did it again – this time it was Angel Reese who finished with a bucket.
The future of the WNBA was right in front of her. And the sight was glorious.
The 60-year-old coach smiled: “The possibilities are endless.”
Miller — a pioneer of women’s basketball and one of the game’s first stars in the 1980s — will coach the WNBA team when it faces the United States national team in the league’s All-Star Game on Saturday. For Miller, it is the culmination of more than 40 years of work to develop women’s football.
“It’s a unique collaboration of the best players in the world,” said Miller. “What coach on this planet wouldn’t want to be in that situation? Now my job is to just step back, throw the ball and be the cheerleader. It will be very fun.”
It’s a unique opportunity for Miller as she trains Clark and Reese, who were intertwined in a rivalry this lasted from her college days at Iowa and LSU to her first year in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky.
Miller said he doesn’t take sides, but he loves the fact that even casual fans participate in the competition.
“I was able to step back and watch from afar,” Miller said. “I love and appreciate the rivalry. I love what they’ve done for women’s soccer at the college level so far. It’s working. It was just a matter of time. Great narratives, great stories.”
“Now the bottom line comes down to one thing: it’s about basketball. It’s about winning.”
Miller said the early returns are promising. The Fever and Sky became much more competitive as the season progressed.
“Both these young women and their teams — people don’t want to face them down the stretch,” Miller said. “Because now it’s starting to click. It’s starting to work in Chicago and it’s starting to work in Indiana.”
Miller was one of the early stars of women’s soccer, a 6-foot-5 forward who dominated Southern California, winning two national titles and earning All-America honors in all four seasons with the Trojans. She averaged 23.6 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.5 blocks.
Knee injuries limited her career, but she left her mark on every aspect of the game, from coaching to broadcasting. Now she is relishing her role as a mentor.
Miller felt right at home in Phoenix for All-Star weekend. The place brings back fond memories — she was head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury in the late 1990s, leading the team to the WNBA Finals in 1998. On Thursday night, she was there while the Mercury unveiled a new $70 million practice facility.
“It’s not just a facility for women, it’s a facility that is arguably better than — and I’m not exaggerating this number — 98 percent of the NBA,” Miller said. “It has all the bells and whistles – and all the bells and whistles that make sense.”
Miller obviously didn’t have those advantages during her playing days, but she said she won’t be the one telling players how difficult things were in her day. Facilities change, strategies change and women’s football has undoubtedly made a cosmic leap in the last 40 years.
“I don’t do it because it’s very selfish,” Miller said. “What worked then may not always work now. Some things happen, others don’t. But for me, it was better to serve.
“If you want my opinion, I’ll give you my opinion, but I don’t force anything on anyone.”
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