PHOENIX — Cheryl Miller watched intently at All-Star weekend practice on Friday as Caitlin Clark initiated the offense, whipping the ball around the perimeter before a pass to center Jontay Jones led to an easy layup. Then they did it again — this time it was Angel Reese who finished with a bucket.
The WNBA’s future was right in front of her. And the sight was glorious.
The 60-year-old coach beamed: “The possibilities are endless.”
Miller — a women’s hoops trailblazer and one of the game’s early stars in the 1980s — will be the coach for Team WNBA when it faces the U.S. National Team in the league’s All-Star game on Saturday. For Miller, it’s the culmination of more than 40 years of working to grow the women’s game.
“It’s a unique collaboration of the best players in the world,” Miller said. “What coach on this planet wouldn’t want to be in that situation? Now it’s my job is just to stand back, roll out the ball and be the cheerleader. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
It’s a unique opportunity for Miller in that she gets to coach both Clark and Reese, who have been intertwined in a rivalry that’s spanned from their college days at Iowa and LSU to their first year in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky.
Miller said she’s not taking sides, but loves the fact that even casual fans are into the competition.
“I’ve been able to step back and watch from afar,” Miller said. “I love and appreciate the rivalry. I love what they’ve done for the women’s game at the collegiatete level to now. It’s working. It was only a matter of time. Great narratives, great storylines.”
“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 have become much more competitive as the season has progressed.
“Both these young ladies 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 click in Chicago and starting to click in Indiana.”
Miller was one of the early stars of the women’s game, a 6-foot-2 forward who dominated at Southern California, winning two national titles and earning All-America honors in all four of her 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’s made her mark everywhere in the game from coaching to broadcasting. Now she’s relishing her role as a mentor.
Miller’s felt at home in Phoenix for All-Star weekend. The place brings fond memories — she was the head coach and general manager for the Phoenix Mercury in the late 1990s, leading the team to the WNBA Finals in 1998. On Thursday evening, she was on hand as the Mercury unveiled a new $70 million practice facility.
“It’s not just a facility for women, it’s a facility that is hands down better than — and I’m not inflating this number — 98% of the NBA,” Miller said. “It’s got 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 said she’s not going to be the one who tells players about how tough things were back in her day. Facilities change, strategies change and the women’s game has undoubtedly made a cosmic leap in the past 40 years.
“I don’t do that because it’s too self-serving,” Miller said. “What worked then might not always work now. Some things do, some thing don’t. But for me, it’s been better served for me to be of service.
“If you want my opinion, I’ll give you my opinion, but I don’t force anything on anyone.”