The University of Minnesota men's basketball team hasn't had a ton of success in the postseason, but it has reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times and got to the Final Four in 1997. It also won the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1993 and 2014.
Hall of Famers Lou Hudson and Kevin McHale once played for the Golden Gophers, as did former Los Angeles Lakers players Archie Clark and Mychal Thompson. Overall, 56 players from the University of Minnesota were drafted into the NBA.
Of those 56 men, the Lakers took 14 of them in the draft, mostly during their days in Minneapolis. Here is a look at each of them.
Bud Grant -- forward
Grant spent four years with the Gophers before the Lakers selected him in the fourth round of the 1950 draft. He played two seasons with the Lakers and
averaged 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds a game while winning one NBA championship with them.
He is perhaps best known as the longtime head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He was at their helm from 1967 to 1983 while serving a short second stint in that role during the 1985 NFL season. Under his leadership, the Vikings reached the Super Bowl four times, only to lose there on each occasion.
Whitey Skoog -- guard
Skoog averaged 15.2 points a game in his three years at the University of Minnesota. He went to the Lakers as the No. 10 pick in the 1951 draft, and in six NBA seasons, all of them coming with the Lakers, he averaged 8.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game while winning three championships.
Dick Means -- guard
Means registered 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game in his three years at the University of Minnesota. The Lakers took him in the 10th round of the 1952 draft, but he never played in the NBA.
Bob Gelle -- guard
After averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a game with the Gophers, Gelle went to the Lakers in the 13th round of the 1953 draft. He never played in the NBA.
Dick Garmaker -- guard
Garmaker spent two years at the University of Minnesota and put up 22.9 points and 7.7 rebounds a game during his time there. The Lakers initially took him in the ninth round of the 1954 draft, and again with the No. 6 pick the following year.
He played six years in the NBA, four and a half of them with Minneapolis, and he averaged 13.3 points a game for his career while making the All-Star team four times.
Buzz Bennett -- forward
After three years with the Golden Gophers, Bennett came to the Lakers as a fifth-round pick in 1954. He never played in the NBA.
Ed Kalafat -- forward
Kalafat was the No. 9 pick in the 1954 draft by Minneapolis. He spent three years in the NBA, with all of them coming as a member of the Lakers, and averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.9 minutes a game.
Chuck Mencel -- guard
A second-round pick in the 1955 draft, Mencel played in the NBA for two seasons, with both of those seasons coming as a member of the Lakers. He averaged seven points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 20 minutes a game.
George Kline -- forward
Kline averaged 16.8 points and 8.7 rebounds a game during his time at the University of Minnesota. While the Lakers took him in the fourth round of the 1958 draft, he didn't play in the NBA.
Roger Johnson -- guard
Johnson averaged nine points and 4.5 rebounds a game at the University of Minnesota. After being selected in the 10th round of the 1959 draft, he didn't play in the NBA.
Bill Mattson -- forward
Mattson went in the ninth round of the 1962 draft, but he didn't play in the NBA.
Archie Clark -- guard
After averaging 16.7 points and 5.1 rebounds a game in three years with the Gophers, Clark came to the Lakers as a fourth-round pick in 1966. He emerged as a potent backcourt mate for Jerry West and averaged 15.4 points a game in his first two NBA seasons.
The Lakers sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968 as part of the deal that brought them Wilt Chamberlain. Clark ended up playing 10 years in the NBA and had career averages of 16.3 points and 4.8 assists a game.
Larry Mikan -- forward
Mikan, the son of Lakers legend George Mikan, recorded 14 points and 10.2 rebounds a game in his four years at the University of Minnesota. Los Angeles took him in the fourth round of the 1970 draft, and in his lone season in the NBA, which came with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he averaged three points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.1 minutes a game.
Sam Jacobson -- guard
Jacobson averaged 13.1 points a game with the Gophers and was then selected by the Lakers with the No. 26 pick in the 1998 draft. In his three NBA seasons, he averaged 4.2 points in 11.1 minutes a game, including 3.6 points in six minutes a game while with L.A.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Every University of Minnesota player drafted by the Lakers
