Batman and Robin: Top 5 Star Duos in Minnesota Basketball History

Thompson (Klay’s dad for our Splash Brothers’ fans) was a 6’10 center who dominated the paint and Williams a 6’2 ultra-athletic guard who ran the show and brought fans to their feet with his spectacular dunks. In 1976-77, they led the Gophers to the best record in program history, 24-3 that included a road win over eventual national champion, Marquette. Unfortunately, the Gophers were ineligible for post season play because of NCAA sanctions (Editor’s note: the infractions the Gophers were guilty of would be child’s play in today’s NIL environment where anything goes but that’s a topic for another day). The 1976-77 team played before sellout crowds at Williams Arena and were so popular that up to 5,000 fans would pack into the adjacent Mariucci Arena (now the Sports Pavilion) to watch games on closed circuit TV. Thompson and Williams shared team MVP honors that year and both earned All-American honors. Thompson is the all-time leading scorer for the Gophers with 1992 points (apologies to Voshon Lenard who actually scored more points but guess what, NCAA sanctions wiped those from the record books) and second leading rebounder with 956. As a junior college transfer, Williams played just two seasons for the Gophers but has the second highest assist average (5.7) and 7th highest scoring average (18.9) in team history. Both went on to become first round draft picks in the NBA – Williams went 10th to the New York Knicks in 1977 and Thompson went first overall to the Portland Trail Blazers the following year. One final note and a bit of a personal pet peeve, in 1995 the University of Minnesota named Kevin McHale the greatest player in program history. Clearly not a great decision by a university that prides itself on being a top-notch research institution. Even rudimentary research (e.g. stats, facts and eye-witness accounts) would have revealed that Thompson is the best player in program history, and quite frankly it’s not even close. 

Minnesota has a strong history of excellence in Division 2 basketball and that was never more evident than last year when both the men’s and women’s teams from Minnesota State Mankato won national championships. But the program that really put Minnesota on the national map was the Winona State University men’s team with 2 national titles in 3 years sandwiched by a runner-up finish. The Warriors were led by the star duo ofJohn Smith, a dominant post player and Zach Malvik, a playmaking point guard. They led Winona State to the national championship in 2007 and followed that up with an undefeated season the following year until a heart-breaking loss in the national championship game to Barton, NC – one of the wildest finishes in Division 2 college basketball history (check it out on YouTube). During this two-year period, Winona State had a remarkable 57 game winning streak. Smith was able to lead Winona State to another championship in 2008 following Malvik’s graduation. Smith was a two-time National Player of the Year and is Winona State’s all- time leading scorer with 2,265 points and second leading rebounder with 1,334. Malvik was a 3-time all-conference performer, an honorable mention All-American and is 3rd on Winona State’s all-time scoring list with 1,971 points and second in assists with 549. 

The Miller twins were the buzz of the Minnesota basketball world in the mid to late 90’s. They led Rochester Mayo to two state championships, including an undefeated season in 1997. They also won 3 national AAU championships during their high school years. They were both named all state and, of course, shared the Ms. Basketball award. In addition, they were chosen to play in the WBCA all-star game (the precursor to the McDonald’s All-American Game). What captured everyone’s attention though was the dazzling display of shooting, passing and intensity that they brought to the game. They were doing things on the court that were simply unprecedented at that time in girls’ basketball. They played with a flair and style, dare I say it, very similar to Caitlin Clark (albeit without the logo 3s). Needless to say, as identical twins they were always on the same page on the court and the symmetry of their statistics is amazing. At Mayo, Kelly scored 2,151 points and had 549 assists while Coco scored 2,113 points with 603 assists. The twins were inseparable, and both signed to play college basketball with the University of Georgia, a national power at the time. They had outstanding college careers; both scored over 2,000 points and earned all SEC and All-American honors. Perhaps, most impressively, they shared the 1999 Sullivan Award (of course they did) for being the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States – the first twins to be so honored. Following their careers at Georgia, the twins were selected in the first round of the WNBA draft. Kelly was picked 2nd by the Charlotte Sting and Coco 9th by the Washington Mystics. They each played 12 years in the league (but of course). They were teammates for a brief time with the Atlanta Dream, becoming the first sisters to do so in league history. To give our younger readers a perspective on how good the Miller twins were – think Paige Bueckers times 2.

This duo helped lead Minnehaha to state and national prominence during their high school careers. Jalen was the athletic, do-it-all guard who was a varsity starter since the 7th grade and Chet was the late blooming, 7- footer who was an intimidating force on the defensive end. They teamed up for 3 state championships (undoubtedly a 4th was denied by the Covid year). Minnehaha games became must see events, routinely selling out and they were even featured on national TV a couple of times – ESPN games against Apple Valley and Tre Jones and a heavy weight matchup at a sold-out Target Center against national power Sierra Canyon featuring future NBA players Brandon Boston, Zaire Williams and Bronny James, yes, LeBron’s current Laker teammate. Both Jalen and Chet were named Mr. Basketball in Minnesota, recognized as McDonald’s All-Americans and ranked in the top 5 nationally in their respective classes – Chet was #1 in his class and named national high school player of the year. After high school, both took a 1-year stop at Gonzaga and earned All-American honors there before entering the NBA Draft. Jalen was selected 5th overall by the Orlando Magic in 2021 and Chet was selected second overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder the following year. Both have also been key membersof gold medal teams for USA basketball. In fact, a little prediction here – Chet will be part of the U.S.Olympic team in the 2028 games in Los Angeles.

This duo earned my top ranking based on several factors, the most notable being they were able to accomplish something no one thought possible – they literally turned around an entire program, one with a history of drawing sparse crowds and languishing at the bottom of the Big Ten. In Whalen’s freshman year the Gophers finished last in the Big Ten with a 1-15 record. McCarville joined the following year (along with new head coach Brenda Oldfield who also deserves a lot of credit for getting things jump started) and the Gophers made the NCAA tournament, the next year the Sweet Sixteen and in 2003-04, Whalen’s senior year, they made a magical run to the Final 4. Because of unprecedented fan interest, games were moved from the Sports Pavilion to Williams Arena and attendance records were shattered on a routine basis. They also captured the imagination of the next generation of hoopers and it’s no coincidence that Minnesota has become known as one of the best states in the country for producing high level girls’ basketball talent. On the court, Whalen was the daring, relentless attacking point guard and McCarville the under-sized but physical post player with extraordinary passing skills and court vision. The chemistry between the two was simply amazing, it was like they could read each other’s minds. Just as important, they played with an unbridled love and enthusiasm for the game and a sense of joy that is frequently missing with today’s players. Whalen finished her Gopher career #2 in both scoring and assists and McCarville is 7th in scoring and 2nd in rebounding. Both earned All-Big Ten and All-American honors while at Minnesota. Whalen was selected with the 4th pick in the 2004 WNBA draft by Connecticut and had a hall of fame career that incudes 2 Olympic gold medals and 4 WNBAchampionships with the Lynx. McCarville was thefirst overall pick in the 2005 WNBA draft by the Charlotte Sting and ultimately teamed up with Whalen again in 2013 to help lead the Lynx to thetitle that year.