Gophers legend Mychal Thompson renews his support with help from Ben Johnson

Mychal Thompson meant so much to the Gophers men's basketball program that his No. 43 jersey was retired while he was still playing, as part of his last game at Williams Arena in March 1978.

Several decades later, the former No. 1 NBA draft pick is still the U's all-time leading scorer and continues to make an impact with the Gophers.

"It's awesome," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said about the support from a Gophers legend. "He's obviously a guy in the rafters but also a guy who still believes in the program and wants success for these guys."

Thompson, in town recently covering the Wolves game as a longtime Los Angeles Lakers radio analyst, feels as close to his alma mater as he's been in a long time. He explained why it was important for him to stay connected with the current program.

"Keeping that history and tradition alive," Thompson said. "Passing down the knowledge and the experiences that I had at the U. It was special to put on the Gophers colors and play in that historic building."

It had been tougher in past years to support the Gophers as deeply as he does now. He remembers when Tubby Smith wasn't too interested in recruiting his two oldest sons, Mychel and Klay, who played college ball at Pepperdine and Washington State, respectively.

Thompson's youngest son, Trayce, became a pro baseball player. But as a four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, Klay's arguably more well-known now than his father — and could've easily been a Gopher, too.

Klay didn't stop by the Chase Center to watch his dad's former Gophers program when they played San Francisco at the Warriors arena in late November.

"That was a big disappointment my two basketball boys didn't get a chance to play at Minnesota," Thompson said. "Klay would've very seriously considered Minnesota."

There are no hard feelings, though. The elder Thompson signed the wall of former Gophers men's hoops players in the U's Athletes Village facility. He narrated the Gophers basketball intro video during Johnson's first season in 2021-22.

"When I first got the job, he reached out," Johnson said. "Anytime I've called upon him to do anything, he's been like, 'Whatever you need coach.' "

Last year, Thompson — a 6-10 big man from Nassau, Bahamas — spoke to Johnson's team and toured the Gophers' facilities with his younger brother, Andy, an ex-Gophers forward and producer of the "Last Dance" documentary on Michael Jordan's championship Chicago Bulls' teams.

Thompson admitted to being "very jealous" of the Gophers facilities now compared to 40 years ago when he played for Bill Musselman and Jim Dutcher, with teammates like Kevin McHale and Flip Saunders.

"First class all the way," Thompson said. "Not only is it a great campus, great city and great people and everything, but now you have great facilities. It's a great selling point [to recruits]. Not just with the great tradition and fan support but the amenities."

During his NBA career with the Lakers from 1987 to '91, Thompson won two NBA titles. After some time working for the Timberwolves, he has been with his old franchise on radio broadcasts for more than 20 years, so Thompson's name is more associated with purple and gold than maroon and gold.

"I never talked about my [Gophers] accomplishments," Thompson said. "I never talked about setting all these records and what I did. I would just talk about how much fun I had as a player at Minnesota and what great teammates I played with."

Thompson congratulated former U standout Jordan Murphy for breaking his career program rebounding record in 2018, but he never applauded the Gophers publicly as he is now.

As sharp and knowledgeable as he sounds on NBA airwaves chatting about LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Thompson seems as excited talking about the Gophers under Johnson.

"Some of these guys on the Gophers are going to have a good chance to be in the NBA," Thompson said. "Coach Johnson has them headed in the right direction. They got the right man in place right now to take the Gophers to new heights."

FULLER'S FIVE

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Maggie Czinano, Gophers

The 6-foot junior had a season-high 12 points and 10 rebounds in last week's 100-45 win vs. Lindenwood with her sister, ex-Iowa star Monika, in the home crowd wearing Gophers gear.

Max Lorenson, Eden Prairie

The 6-2 junior had 22 points to lead the Eagles to an 81-80 overtime win at Cretin-Derham Hall last Friday. Erased a 16-point deficit with a putback to tie the game at the end of regulation.

Mike Mitchell Jr., Gophers

The Pepperdine transfer had a season-high 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, to go with five assists and three steals in last week's 80-63 win vs. Ball State.

Tori Oehrlein, Crosby-Ironton

The 5-11 sophomore who leads the state with 34.5 points per game had 31 points and 15 rebounds in a win vs. Duluth Marshall's eighth-grade sensation Chloe Johnson, who had 38 points.

Malik Willingham, Minnesota State Mankato

The 6-3 senior from Waseca had 29 points and eight assists for the No. 3-ranked Mavs in last week's 100-96 overtime win vs. Duluth to remain undefeated at 13-0 this season.

NUMBERS GAME

7.6: Assists per game for Gophers point guard Elijah Hawkins, who is tied for first among Division I players.

9: The Gophers men (9-3) already tied the win total from last season (9-22) after last Friday's victory vs. Ball State.

11: Projected NCAA tournament seed for the Gophers women's basketball team by ESPN bracket expert Charlie Creme this week.

76: Points combined for Totino-Grace's starting five in an 82-72 win vs. previously undefeated Park Center, including Tyler Wagner's 17 points and 10 rebounds.

460: St. Croix Lutheran senior Laura Hauge's career three-point field goals and counting to break the Minnesota girls state record earlier this month.

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Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on startribune.com. Don't be a stranger on X after reading — chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).