The WNBA first game was played in 1997; there has been a lot of outstanding women to play in WNBA. From Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes all Hall of Fame basketball players that played in the league when it first started. These players paved the way for the current WNBA stars. If only the league had started earlier, we could have seen two of the best women basketball players play.
Carol Blazejowski
Carol Blazejowski played her college ball at Montclair State. In 1978, she set a Madison Square Garden record by scoring 52 points in a game against Queens College. Back then, there was no three-point line either. Also in 1978, Blazejowski averaged 38.6 points a game and was the College Player of the Year, while leading Montclair State to the AIAW Final Four.
In 1979, Blazejowski led team USA to a World Championship. She averaged 18.7 points per game in the Tournament. In the Women’s basketball league in the 1980-81 season, Blazejowski led the league in scoring with 29.6 points per game and was the MVP. The team she played on the New Jersey Gems. After watching the film on Blazejowski, she played like modern-day Diana Taurasi with her ability to shoot from anywhere on the court.
Ann Meyers
Ann Meyers was the 1978 college Player of the Year when she played at UCLA. She was the first four-time All-American and first division one player to record a quadruple-double. In her four year career at UCLA, Meyers averaged 17.4 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the field. Also in 1978, Meyers led UCLA to the AIAW National Championship.
Ann Meyers played in the Women’s’ Professional Basketball League and won MVP 1979-80 season. In 1979, she made history by signing a contract with the Indiana Pacers, but her tryout only lasted three days.
Cheryl Miller
Cheryl Miller was an outstanding basketball player. She once scored 105 points in a high school game. Miller was four-time All-American at USC. In 1983 and 1984, Miller led the USC Trojans to back to back National Championships. She was three-time college player of the year and averaged 23.6 points per game at USC. Also, she averaged 12 rebounds per game and shot 55 percent from the field. USC went 112-20 in Miller’s time at USC.
It sure would have been fun to see Miller in the WNBA; she probably would have been the best player if she could have remained healthy.
