Back in the 70s and 80s, Kevin McHale, Mychal Thompson, and Lou Hudson were all Minnesota Gopher players that had lucrative careers and solid NBA performances. Today, the Gophers are not churning out top NBA prospects like they used to, but don’t count them out just yet. Coach Rich Pitino’s recruiting efforts are paying off. It’s just a matter of time before history repeats itself, and the Gophers have NBA potential again.
In the meantime, here are some NBA past and present players who proved themselves worthy as Minnesota Gophers.
The six-foot-nine-inch power and small forward weighs in at 235 pounds. Humphries graduated from Hopkins High School in Minnesota and went on to attend the University of Minnesota. He was a first-round draft pick for the Utah Jazz in the 2004 NBA draft and moved around a bit before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2010. He came into his own with the Nets where he averaged double digits per game. Kris went on to play for the Celtics and is now with Washington. He is the only current NBA player representing the Gophers. According to an April matchup article from one of Doc’s NBA predictions experts we can expect much bigger things from this Minnesotan in the 2016 season.
Bobby “Action” Jackson
Bobby Jackson was a first-round draft pick for the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1997 NBA draft. The six-foot-one-inch point and shooting guard seems small when compared to other players in the NBA. But don’t let his size fool you. After leading the Gophers to the Final Four in 1997, he signed with Seattle but was traded to the Denver Nuggets. He played 68 games his rookie year. In 2000, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings where he quickly became a crowd favorite known as “Action Jackson.” He retired from the NBA in 2009 and became an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings soon afterward.
Sam Jacobson
Jacobson and Jackson were teammates on the 1997 Gopher team that lost to the University of Kentucky in the Final Four. Jacobson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft. After playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2001, he found his niche playing with overseas teams. He played for professional teams in Greece, Italy, and France before calling it quits in 2007.
Quincy Lewis
The six-foot-seven-inch shooting guard and small forward weighed in at 215 pounds of pure muscle when drafted to the Utah Jazz in 1999. He remained on the team from 1999-2002. In 2003, he left the Jazz as a free agent and signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played one year with the Timberwolves before following the footsteps of Jacobson and leaving the U.S. to play for overseas teams.
John Thomas
Thomas towered over teammates with his six-foot-nine-inch, 265-pound frame. The center and power forward played in the NBA from 1997 to 2006. Starting his career with the New York Knicks as a first-round draft pick, he never played a game with them. He went on to play for the Toronto Raptors, but it was not until he signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves that Thomas came into his own. He appeared in 44 games in the 2004 season. In 2006, Thomas appeared in a couple of games for the New Jersey Nets, then he too went overseas. His most recent team is the Jeonju Kcc Egis in South Korea.
Randy Breuer
A giant at seven-foot three-inches and 230 pounds, Breuer was drafted as the 18th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1983. He played for 11 years in the NBA and had his best year in the 1987-88 season where his average was 12 points per game. During his NBA career, he played in 681 games and scored 4,599 points.
These players represent the Minnesota Gophers well. They are just a sampling of the great talent produced by the Big Ten team. Make sure to keep up with top prospects for the future, as well as keep tabs on current players and team predictions. Who do you think will be the next Gopher to go pro?