Greatest Gophers: Introducing your maroon-and-gold dream team
Elected Players
Starters
Kevin
McHale
Mychal
Thompson
Bobby
Jackson
Trent
Tucker
Willie
Burton
Bench
Lou
Hudson
Voshon
Lenard
Randy
Breuer
Jordan
Murphy
Ray
Williams
Coach
Bill
Musselman
Top starter / Team captain
Kevin McHale
1976-80
From Hibbing, to the Gophers, to world championships with the Celtics, and back, eventually, to Minnesota, to run the Wolves. Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball to many.
Second starter
Mychal Thompson
1975-78
Broke school records for points (1,992) and rebounds (956) and was first-team All-America his senior year.
Third starter
Bobby Jackson
1995-97
The heart of Clem Haskins’ 1997 Final Four team, this guard was the Big Ten player of the year that season as well.
Fourth starter
Trent Tucker
1978-82
Perhaps the best shooter in Gophers history, Tucker scored 1,445 points and led the team to a Big Ten title his senior year in 1982.
Final starter
Willie Burton
1986-90
Number 34 threatened Mychal Thompson’s school scoring record, finishing with 1,800 points. Led the U to the Sweet 16 his junior year and Elite 8 his senior year.
Sixth man
Lou Hudson
1964-66
Sweet Lou was part of the Gophers’ first black recruiting class and went on to become an All-America, averaging nearly 25 points a game his junior year.
Bench player
Voshon Lenard
1991-95
The guard scored more points (2,103) than any Gopher, but his records were wiped out by the academic scandal.
Bench player
Randy Breuer
1979-83
Top-10 all-time for the Gophers in rebounding and scoring, the 7-3 center from Lake City was a fan favorite.
Bench player
Jordan Murphy
2015-19
Richard Pitino’s best player broke the school’s rebounding mark, with 1,305.
End of the bench
Ray Williams
1975-77
His former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher, among others, believe the 6-3 Williams was the greatest athlete to call Williams Arena home. He was an All-America in 1977.
Coach
Bill Musselman
1971-75
He reinvented Gophers basketball and had sellout crowds coming to Williams Arena his first season.
