Through high school and college, Coco Miller of the Washington Mystics has been one half of a pair. With her twin sister, Kelly, they won a Minnesota 4A state championship, then went to the University of Georgia together, even choosing the same majors, pre-medical biology.

In college, Kelly got more attention. She was named a first-team Kodak All American in 2000 and 2001, and was The Women's Basketball Journal National Player of the Year as a junior in 2000. They were both on the All-Southeastern Conference Team that year, when the Lady Bulldogs won the conference title and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.

After graduation, though, the Millers were separated, Kelly drafted by the Charlotte Sting and Coco by the Mystics. Last year, the Sting made it to the WNBA finals, while the Mystics suffered through a losing season and Coco saw little playing time.

This year, things are different. Coco has started every game for the Mystics, which are in first place in the Eastern Division. In this interview, Miller talks about the turnaround for her and the team, growing up in a sports-oriented family, and what it's like being a twin playing together--and apart.

GBall: What's the difference between this year and last?
Miller: I think coming into this year I felt a lot more comfortable with the whole situation. I knew what to expect the second time around. Marianne [Stanley, the Mystics' head coach] has been a great coach and she's given me an opportunity to go in there and show what I can do. I'm very fortunate for that. I just needed playing time on the court. That's been the main thing.

What did you do in the off-season?
I worked out pretty hard. I did a lot of weight training and cardio kinds of things to be in top shape. And I also played in the NWBL for a couple months, January and February. Their season goes into early March, but it's basically January and February. That really helped, I think. I could be out there and get a lot of playing in.

How does that compare with going into the 2001 season, when you left school and started playing right away?
Last year was kind of like a whirlwind. It was pretty hectic there at the end. I graduated and then I came right here to play. And I was pretty disappointed. It didn't work out the way I would have liked. So I came back this year and vowed not to go through something like that. I just worked really hard.

Do you prepare differently now that you're starting all the time?
Yeah, my preparation is a little bit different. I rest a little bit more. I've got to take care of my body a little better to withstand the rigors of the game and the schedule. We play a lot of games, so I take good care of myself.

Is that easier being a pro, because you don't have to go to class?
Oh, I think it definitely is. It was really tough in college because you had to worry about your studying on the road. You'd be tired, you'd be flying in, you'd get home at 2 or 3 in the morning after the game and you had to wake up and go to class the next morning. That was very, very grueling. I don't miss the homework at all.

What's it like having Pat Summitt [who has won six national championships as head coach at the University of Tennessee, and is the Mystics' player personnel consultant] involved with the team? Does her presence create more pressure?
Just knowing that a person like Pat Summitt is involved in the organization tells how first-class it is, how we want to excel and raise our standard of play and get to that championship level. No, I don't think anyone feels extra pressure. We're just excited. We want to do well, for her, for our coaches, for each other, for our whole organization. We want to bring it up to that top caliber of play and we want to be one of the top teams. Having her involved just kind of accentuates all that.

It looks like you had a big game against Minnesota on July 30, when you scored 22 points. What happened then?
I shot pretty well that game. I think I was kind of in a rhythm that game. I had some good looks at the basket early on and I found the rhythm early and hung with it. That was fun going home and playing there for friends and family.

You grew up in Minnesota. Had you been at the Lynx' arena before?
Last year, but I didn't play that much last year. This time I played a lot. That was fun.

When Chamique Holdsclaw and Annie Burgess were out with injuries, did you feel a responsibility to step up and take their places?
I knew that I would have to elevate my game somewhat, but I knew also that we have a lot of other great players on the team that were also able to step up at any given time. Other people had to step up. I think that it can be a way to see how deep we are, how many good players we have.

Did you play point then? How do you like playing point?
Yeah, I played point the last couple games when Annie was out. I don't mind it. I never really played it in college. I never got the chance to, so that's what I kind of worked on in the off-season. I worked a lot on my ball handling so I could be more versatile in that way. You just handle the ball more. I've enjoyed that.

The Mystics have been leading the league in attendance. Does that make a difference to the players?
Definitely. It's always great to play in front our fans. The fans have always been great. Even when we've had losing seasons in the past, they've still been there supporting us. It's nice to be able to win for them and hopefully produce a winning team.

You're in first place, but it's close. What's up next for the rest of the season?
Well, hopefully, Chamique will be back soon. We have 10 games left, so we need to finish up the season strong, and we have five road games left. We've played pretty well on the road so far, so hopefully we'll keep playing well the road.

The Mystics' media guide says that if you weren't playing basketball, you'd like to be a professional soccer player. When did you last play competitive soccer?
I played it in high school. I took it almost as seriously as basketball for a while. I went to the Olympic development training program and that whole thing, kind of like AAU basketball. High school was the last time I played. I thought about playing both in college, but that was a little tough. I chose basketball.

It says you started playing basketball at age 3. Do you have any memories from that?
Not from that far back. I know I used to shoot in the driveway and go to my brother's basketball games and bring my own basketball with me and shoot on the floor after the games, things like that. I can remember playing in the driveway a lot, me and Kelly.

Have you and Kelly covered one another in a game?
In the second game this year, we did end up guarding each other. I think it was toward the end of the game, too, and it ended up getting pretty close. It was kind of weird. I'd rather not guard Kelly, just because sometimes I don't feel like I'm as intense as I normally would be if I'm guarding someone else. I'd much rather not think of her as my sister. I'd just go out there and play. But sometimes it's kind of difficult.

Did you foul one another?
No, at one point we had a jump ball we got tied up and had a jump ball. The crowd liked that.

What do you think of Venus and Serena Williams? Would you be able to play Kelly in an individual sport?
We actually did play tennis quite a bit when were younger, and we had to play each other then. It's kind of funny watching the Williams sisters because they react kind of like how I think I would react. They don't get overly excited if they do a good point or whatever. You can kind of tell they hold back their excitement a little bit because I think they want each other to do well, as with me and Kelly. We both want each other to do well, yet we want to win. You're kind of torn in the middle there.

Coming out of high school, were you and Kelly looking at colleges with the idea of going together?
We definitely wanted to play together. Actually, all the schools we looked at wanted both of us. That wasn't really even a problem. We have a lot of the same thoughts and opinions, so we both loved Georgia. We didn't have different opinions about where we wanted to go.

Is your family sports-oriented?
Yeah. My brother played football at the University of Wisconsin. And my dad played a lot of sports when he was younger. My sisters all did sports as well. I have two older sisters. We're all pretty good at sports.

Have you ever heard of the Burge twins [Heidi and Heather, who played together at the University of Virginia, then separately in the WNBA]?
Oh, yes, blond-haired, tall. Yes. I never got a chance to meet them. I never saw them in person.

How did you feel when Kelly was getting a lot of attention, such as being named Kodak Player of the Year?
That's just one of those twin things. You know they're going to pick one twin. I was just glad they picked Kelly. I was just happy for her even though at times I may have felt I got a little bit overlooked. That's just going to happen, that's part of it all. A little politics are involved, but I was always happy for Kelly anytime she got anything. I was really proud of her.

You seem to be having a better year than Kelly. Is there a sibling rivalry?
We're on different teams. I think Kelly has a more veteran team. She probably has a different role on the team, and to compare like that is kind of tough. We're in two different situations, two different coaches, with probably a little different style of coaching and playing and what not. But people do like to compare you a lot.

Does that add to the pressure?
I don't think it bothers us. We're kind of used to it because it's happened our whole lives. And I think that's just in the nature of it. You're twins and people like to pick little things apart and see who's better at what, and to find those little things.

How do you think you compare as players?
Seriously, I think our styles of basketball are very similar. Even when I'm watching scouting film or something and Kelly's out there, it almost looks like me. So it's kind of funny watching her because she plays very similarly to me. Kelly played more point guard at Georgia but actually she's playing more of a two guard now in Charlotte. It's kind of odd that I've been playing the point and Kelly's been playing the two. We've kind of switched from what it was in college. But we're very, very similar.

Are you still close?
Oh, yes. We're very close. We call each other sometimes two or three times a day.

Do you have any advice for sisters who play together?
There's nothing better than to play with your sister, just to get a share some of the same experiences. It's so much fun. You can remember your whole life the experiences you shared at one time. I kind of miss that now. I look back at Georgia: I never really appreciated it then, but it was a lot of fun to get into games and play with Kelly.

Interview conducted by Gball Editor Shelly Wilson.


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