Coco and Kelly Miller
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Colleen Mary "Coco" Miller and Kelly Miller (both born September 6, 1978 in Rochester, Minnesota) are identical twin sisters and professional basketball players. They both play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
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Early careers
Although Kelly initially was interested in playing volleyball and not basketball at high school, soon she joined her sister Coco and they made it to a championship in New York, where they lost in the finals. They also helped their school go 27-0 and win the Minnesota state's class 4A championship.
University of Georgia
The twins went to University of Georgia, where they both won a series of awards, including the James E. Sullivan Award, given to the best collegiate players of all sports combined. They earned that award in 1999, becoming the first pair of twins to earn the award, and joining such luminaries as Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Bill Walton, Bill Bradley, Kurt Thomas, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Janet Evans as receivers of that award.
Kelly Miller ranked second in points among University of Georgia women players with 2,177; second in assists with 639; fourth in steals with 379 and tenth in rebounds with 711. She is the only player in UGA women's basketball to rank among the top ten in points, assists, steals and rebounds. She became the third player in that university's history to pass over 2,000 points, and the third player in the Southeastern Conference's (SEC) history to garner "Player of the Week" awards three years in a row.
Coco Miller, meanwhile, was also among the top ten in that school's list among women basketball players in assists and steals. She participated in the World University Games, helping her team to a silver medal. She finished her college career fifth among SEC women in scoring at 16.6, second in free throw percentage at .743% from the free throw line, and eight in steals with 160. She was a finalist for the Naismith award as the player of the year during her final college season.
WNBA
In 2001, Coco and Kelly both entered the WNBA Draft.
Coco was selected by the Washington Mystics, where she averaged 6.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in her rookie season.
Kelly was selected by the Charlotte Sting, where she averaged 4.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in her rookie year. In Coco's second season, she won the WNBA's Most Improved Player award.
Kelly spent three seasons with the Sting as a utility player before she was traded to the Indiana Fever prior to the 2004 season. It was with the Fever that Kelly finally became a first-string player on the team, starting on all 34 games she played in the 2004 season.
Miscellaneous
Like many other WNBA players, the Miller sisters play in other leagues during the offseason.
After the 2002 WNBA season, both sisters played for the Birmingham Power of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL).
After the 2003 WNBA season, they both played for a professional basketball team in Turkey.
External Links
- Coco Miller's WNBA Profile page (http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/coco_miller/index.html?nav=page)
- Kelly Miller's WNBA Profile page (http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/kelly_miller/index.html?nav=page)
- WNBA Article and interview with both sisters (http://www.wnba.com/features/millers_georgia.html)
- Article on Coco's 2002 "Most Improved Player" Award (http://www.wnba.com/mystics/news/Miller_Named_Most_Improved_Pla-51277-230.html)