Five Trojans land on Pac-12 All-Century Women’s Basketball Team


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The Pac-12 unveiled the conference’s women’s basketball All-Century team on Monday night with a starting group of eight guards, twelve centers, one player of the century and one coach of the century. USC came second in the group with five All-Century starters, including the All-Century Player of the Year.

Former Trojan forward Cheryl Miller was named All-Century Player of the Year. At USC, she took home two NCAA titles and was named NCAA Tournament MVP for both of those years. She was a four-time All-American and won the Naismith College Player of the Year three times. She is currently in the top ten in the NCAA records for career points with 3,018 points and career rebounds with 1,534 rebounds. She ended her career scoring a school record average of 22.3 points per game and also set school records in total field goals with 1,150 and total free throws with 700. Miller won gold in the Los Angeles Olympics with the 1984 team. She is now a coach at Langston University.

Four other Trojans besides Miller were named to the team as well. Current head coach Cynthia Cooper was the only USC guard to make the team. A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, Cooper won a pair of NCAA championships, four WNBA titles and an Olympic gold medal before becoming a coach. Since joining the USC coaching program, she has helped to turn the team around.

Former forwards Lisa Leslie, Pam McGee and Tina Thompson were also named to the All-Century team. Leslie was a three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player of the Year with the Los Angeles Sparks and a four-time Olympic gold medalist. In 2015, she was also named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The second overall pick in the 1997 WNBA draft, McGee won Olympic gold in Los Angeles alongside Miller before playing around the world in Brazil, France, Italy and Spain.

The first draft pick in WNBA history, Thompson won four WNBA championships with the Houston Comets and two Olympic gold medals. She is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and in 2011 was voted as one of the top 15 players in WNBA history. These five players represent a century of women’s basketball excellence at USC, which Cooper hopes to continue this weekend as her current team heads to Seattle for the Pac-12 Tournament.