The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Basketball’s Booker named Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year
04.06.2024 | Women's Basketball
Booker is the first freshman to earn the Cheryl Miller Award.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas women's basketball's Madison Booker was named the winner of the Cheryl Miller Award, which goes to the top small forward in women's collegiate basketball and named after Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller. Booker becomes the first freshman to win the award and the first UT player to win the award. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame revealed this year's position award winners today on ESPN's College GameDay.
Booker helped Texas win 33 wins this season, their most in a season since the 1985-86 season. Booker became the first freshman in the history of Big 12 women's basketball to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year. Booker was also selected by the conference head coaches as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team. On Thursday Booker was named one of the best 10 players by head coaches to the WBCA All-America Team.
"It is an honor to be named the winner of the Cheryl Miller Award," Booker said. "This season has been a blessing. I couldn't have done it without my Lord and Savior. He has opened so many doors for me. I couldn't have done it without the love and support from my teammates and coaches. To be named the winner of an award named after the great Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller is very special. I wouldn't have the opportunities I have today in women's basketball without players like Cheryl paving the way."
In the Big 12 Championship, Booker led Texas to the conference title and was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player. In the Big 12 tournament Booker averaged 21.3 points, four rebounds and five assists per game. She shot 50 percent from the field and had three turnovers in the entire tournament, including zero turnovers in the championship game.
In Big 12 play, Booker averaged 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 48 percent from the field and 91.6 percent from the free-throw line. Booker set a UT freshman assist record with 185 assists and finished fourth on the UT freshman scoring list with 611 points. Booker scored in double figures in 32 games and had 14 games scoring 20 or more points. Against ranked opponents this season, Booker is averaged 21.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
Booker earned seven Big 12 weekly awards and three national weekly awards this season. On February 19, Booker was named both the Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Week, something that has only happened three other times in the last 15 years in the Big 12.
Cheryl Miller took women's basketball off the court and into the air above the rim. With tremendous grace and athletic dexterity, Miller established a legacy throughout her high school and college career that is unparalleled. Playing for Riverside (CA) Polytechnic High School, Miller set the single game record of 105 points in a 1982 game against Notre Vista High School. As a collegiate forward at the University of Southern California from 1982 to 1986, Miller helped bring women's basketball to the forefront of American sports. In 1984 she led the Olympic team to gold scoring better than 16 points per game. Her superior athletic ability and engaging persona placed her among the elite in the world of college and professional athletics. In 1986, Sports Illustrated named Miller as the best male or female player in college basketball. In a spectacular career, Miller scored 3,018 total career points and was a four-time All-America. Miller was named Naismith Player of the Year three times and earned the Wade Trophy once.
The Hall of Fame selection committees, which included media members, coaches, sports
information directors, and Hall of Famers, determined the preseason watch list of 20 candidates in October. The list was narrowed to 10 candidates in February and five candidates in mid-March before determining the winner. All season long, players were able to play their way into award consideration.
