Cheryl Miller Has Surgery on Injured Knee

Former USC All-American and Olympic star Cheryl Miller suffered a serious knee injury while practicing last week and will miss the Pan American Games this summer in Indianapolis.

Miller, who was preparing for the Pan Am trials, underwent major reconstructive surgery on her right knee at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena this week and will be unable to play basketball for 6 to 12 months, doctors said.

She hopes to be ready for the Olympic Games, which start in mid-September of 1988 at Seoul, South Korea.

Miller was under sedation and unavailable for comment Wednesday night, but her father, Saul Miller, said: “We expect her to be back a little sooner than that because she’s always bounced back quickly from injuries before. We expect her back in record time. She’s a quick healer.”

Her father said Miller was injured while playing a pickup game in the USC campus gym.

Miller pivoted and attempted to split two defenders but got her feet tangled and was accidentally tripped by one of the other players.

“It’s traumatic for her right now,” Saul Miller said. “There’s a long time to go, and we just want her to relax. She’s been taking medicine and is a little groggy.

“But she’ll be back.”

Miller was a high school All-American at Riverside Poly High School before going to USC.

At USC, Miller was a four-time All-American and led the Trojans to national championships in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons.

A star on the gold medal-winning United States team in the 1984 Olympics, Miller is considered by many observers to be the best women’s player in history.