Current:Home > FinanceCaitlin Clark is astonishing. But no one is better than USC's Cheryl Miller. -Elevate Capital Network
Caitlin Clark is astonishing. But no one is better than USC's Cheryl Miller.
View
Date:2025-04-15 18:11:50
In February for Black History Month, USA TODAY Sports is publishing the series "29 Black Stories in 29 Days." We examine the issues, challenges and opportunities Black athletes and sports officials continue to face after the nation’s reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. This is the fourth installment of the series.
Let's be clear from the jump: Caitlin Clark is an all-time great player. Some people have tried to say she's not. Oh yeah. She is. A legendary, devastating player. Anyone who says otherwise is a goofball hater.
Yet something has happened when it comes to Clark that's been interesting to watch. There's been a classic case of recency bias. It's been all over the place in the Clark coverage and analysis. She's been anointed as the greatest player ever by some and there's an argument for that but it ignores what is a plethora of greats ... and I mean a staggering number of stunning players who are at least as good as Clark.
We saw this recency bias when Shaquille O'Neal declared Clark as "the best female collegiate player ever."
Again, it's okay, and also fun, to have this debate, as long as there's some historical perspective, which doesn't seem present. That's because you cannot have the discussion about greatest women's college player ever without mentioning one name: Cheryl Miller.
Some of you may know about Miller, some of you might not. For historical, basketball old heads, no woman player is better than Miller, and I mean no one.
There are a number of greats like Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi, among others. But to me Miller tops them all.
I believe Miller, at her height, would have destroyed almost any other woman college player at theirs. And some men, too. She was generally viewed as better than her brother, Reggie Miller. That's not an exaggeration. That's how good she was.
Cheryl played at 6 foot 2 and was fast, physical and could shoot. She handled the ball like a point guard but also physically dominated the interior. Almost no one could stop her.
It's true that the women's game is far deeper and more athletic than when Miller played at USC from 1982-1986 but it doesn't matter. If you took Miller from the 1980s, placed her in a time machine, and put her in today's game, she would obliterate everyone.
Miller averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists a game. She was a two-time NCAA champion, a two-time tournament Most Outstanding Player, three-time player of the year, and four-time All-American.
Again, Clark is terrific, and none of this is about diminishing what she's accomplished. It's also true we're allowed to just let Clark enjoy her moment. But what's been lacking since Clark broke the scoring record is historical context. This is where people are failing.
Because they're forgetting all about Miller.
veryGood! (96)
Related
- Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
- Kate Spade Flash Deal: This $538 Tote & Wallet Bundle Is on Sale for Just $109
- Former Myanmar colonel who once served as information minister gets 10-year prison term for sedition
- Report: Belief death penalty is applied unfairly shows capital punishment’s growing isolation in US
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- Lionel Messi, Inter Miami announce El Salvador friendly; say 2024 season tickets sold out
- House passes resolution to block Iran’s access to $6 billion from prisoner swap
- Blake Lively’s Inner Circle Shares Rare Insight on Her Life as a Mom to 4 Kids
- Maine will give free college tuition to Lewiston mass shooting victims, families
Ranking
- Clay Aiken's son Parker, 15, makes his TV debut, looks like his father's twin
- College football head coaches at public schools earning millions in bonuses for season
- J.J. Watt – yes, that J.J. Watt – broke the news of Zach Ertz's split from the Cardinals
- Meg Ryan Defends Her and Dennis Quaid's Son Jack Quaid From Nepo Baby Label
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Connecticut woman claims she found severed finger in salad at Chopt restaurant
- Who run the world? Taylor Swift jets to London to attend Beyoncé's movie premiere
- Phish is the next band to perform at the futuristic Sphere Las Vegas: How to get tickets
Recommendation
$1 Frostys: Wendy's celebrates end of summer with sweet deal
Russian missile strikes in eastern Ukraine rip through buildings, kill 2 and bury families in rubble
A Dutch court orders Greenpeace activists to leave deep-sea mining ship in the South Pacific
Cristiano Ronaldo faces $1B class-action lawsuit for promoting for Binance NFTs
Michigan lawmaker who was arrested in June loses reelection bid in Republican primary
NFL Week 13 picks: Can Cowboys stay hot against Seahawks?
Southern California's Bronny James cleared by doctors for 'full return to basketball'
UAW begins drive to unionize workers at Tesla, Toyota and other non-unionized automakers