Current:Home > MarketsCaitlin Clark is astonishing. But no one is better than USC's Cheryl Miller. -StockSource
Caitlin Clark is astonishing. But no one is better than USC's Cheryl Miller.
View
Date:2025-04-19 07:59:35
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! (1535)
Related
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Joe Burrow injury updates: Bengals QB active for 'Monday Night Football' vs. Rams
- Fatal Florida train crash highlights dangers of private, unguarded crossings that exist across US
- South Korea’s Constitutional Court strikes down law banning anti-Pyongyang leafleting
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Canada House speaker apologizes for praising veteran who fought for Nazis
- 3 northern Illinois sheriff’s deputies suffer burns in dynamite disposal operation
- King Charles III and Queen Camilla to welcome South Korea’s president for a state visit in November
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Horoscopes Today, September 25, 2023
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Call for sanctions as homophobic chants again overshadow French soccer’s biggest game
- Woman accidentally finds Powerball jackpot ticket worth $100,000 in pile of papers
- 3 Top Tech Stocks That Could Help Make You Rich by Retirement
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Alabama inmate opposes being ‘test subject’ for new nitrogen execution method
- Missing toddler found 3 miles from Michigan home, asleep and using her dog as a pillow
- Kathy Hilton Shares Paris Hilton's Son Phoenix's Latest Impressive Milestone
Recommendation
Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Spotted Together for First Time After Kansas City Chiefs Game
Journey to celebrate 50th anniversary with 30 shows in 2024: See where they're headed
Deal to end writers' strike means some shows could return to air within days
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
US military captures key Islamic State militant during helicopter raid in Syria
Manslaughter charges thrown out in Michigan prisoner’s death
How Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton Became Each Other's Sweet Escapes