Last year, around this time, I wrote an article titled, “Something You Can’t Find at the National.” This article created a lot of buzz in the collecting community, as I talked about how at the time, there were no female athletes scheduled to sign at the 2023 National. It became a big topic of discussion, especially as the hobby community continues to try and push for a bigger and more inclusive atmosphere for all, it was a major miss. Luckily, the NSCC team were responsive to the initiative, and partnered with Leaf to bring LSU women’s basketball phenomenon, Angel Reese.
Seeing her autograph line at the show last year, filled with all ages, male and female, proved the point. Essentially it fits the mold of the tagline from Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” Valuing female athletes and what they mean not only to young females, but to the sports community as a whole, will never be a miss. We’ve seen that with how NCAA Women’s basketball broke all kinds of records this previous season, with viewership carrying over to the WNBA.
I want to commend the NSCC crew for listening to the consumer and valuing each collector's experience. This year, there will be no wait to see if a female athlete gets added to the list of signers, because there already is. And it’s a big one!
Cheryl Miller is Set to Sign
Cheryl Miller; considered to be one of the GOATs of women’s basketball. Miller is making her first NSCC Show appearance this summer, and I couldn’t be more stoked! Personally, I had heard her name floated around in different conversations I’d had, but didn’t truly understand the prowess of her career. Getting into women’s basketball roughly 6 years ago, I still have a lot of work to do on improving my knowledge of players pre my viewership, but Miller is someone every basketball fan should know. Here are some fun stats to hopefully get you as excited as I am.
Cheryl Miller once hit 105 points in a single highschool game
In 1986, Sports Illustrated named Miller the best player in college basketball (men’s or women’s)
A three-time winner of the Naismith POTY
Led USC to an NCAA title as a freshman, and followed it up the next year with another one!
First player (male or female) to have their number retired for USC basketball
1984 Olympic Gold Medalist
If this doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will! To showcase my enthusiasm, here’s my latest pickup.
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