Mel Hutchins
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Sacramento, California, U.S. | November 22, 1928
Died | December 19, 2018 Encinitas, California, U.S. | (aged 90)
Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Monrovia (Monrovia, California) |
College | BYU (1947–1951) |
NBA draft | 1951: 1st round, 2nd overall pick |
Selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks | |
Playing career | 1951–1958 |
Position | Power forward / center |
Number | 14, 2, 9, 4, 10 |
Career history | |
1951–1953 | Milwaukee Hawks |
1953–1957 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
1957–1958 | New York Knicks |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 4,851 (11.1 ppg) |
Rebounds | 4,186 (9.6 rpg) |
Assists | 1,298 (3.0 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
Melvin Ray Hutchins[1] (November 22, 1928 – December 19, 2018) was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1951 to 1958. Hutchins was selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks with the second pick in the 1951 NBA draft and was a four-time NBA All-Star.
Early life
[edit]Hutchins was born in Sacramento, California, and attended high school at Monrovia High School in Monrovia, California.[2][3][4]
College career
[edit]A 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) power forward–center, Hutchins attended Brigham Young University in 1946–47 and 1947–48 as a freshman and sophomore, playing for coach Floyd Millet. After a one-year absence where he worked in Southern California, he returned to BYU in 1949–50 and 1950–51. As a senior, he led BYU to the 1951 NIT National Championship.[5]
In 1950–1951, Hutchins averaged 15.4 points and 12.7 rebounds, as BYU finished 22–9 under coach Stan Watts. His 471 rebounds that season remain a BYU record.[6][7]
At the conclusion of the 1951 season, Hutchins played in the annual East-West College All-Star game, where he was named MVP after leading the West to victory.
Professional career
[edit]Hutchins was selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (later, the Milwaukee Hawks) with the second pick in the 1951 NBA draft.[5] The first overall pick, Gene Melchiorre (Baltimore Bullets), received a lifetime ban from the NBA for gambling, therefore Hutchins was given a $7,000 bonus that was awarded to the top pick in the NBA Draft.[8]
In 1952, as a rookie, Hutchins was the co-leader of the NBA in total rebounds with 880, averaging 13.3 rebounds per game, which is on the List of National Basketball Association rookie single-season rebounding leaders. As of 2018, Hutchins and Wilt Chamberlain are the only rookies in NBA history to lead the league in total rebounds. Hutchins and Bill Tosheff were named co-NBA Rookie of the Year by newspaper writers—a designation not currently recognized by the NBA, although it has appeared in the official NBA record book as recently as 1998.[9][10]
Hutchins helped lead the Pistons to back-to-back NBA Finals in 1955 and 1956. During his career, Hutchins appeared in four NBA All-Star Games, (1953, 1954, 1956, and 1957), and finished fourth in MVP voting in 1956.[11] He played for the Milwaukee Hawks, Fort Wayne Pistons, and New York Knicks.
Along with being one of the top rebounders in the NBA, Hutchins was renowned for his defense.[12] During his Hall of Fame induction speech in August 2011, Satch Sanders said that Hutchins was one of the great defenders who inspired him to play defense at a high level: "He (Hutchins) was so smooth defensively, always in the right place", Sanders told CSNNE.com moments after delivering his acceptance speech. "I thought to myself, 'I sure hope one day I can play like that.'"[13]
Hutchins suffered a severe knee injury that forced his retirement in 1958.[8]
For his NBA career, he averaged a near double-double of 11.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists over 437 games, totaling 4,851 career points and 4,186 career rebounds in seven seasons.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Hutchins is the brother of 1952 Miss America winner Colleen Kay Hutchins. Hutchins' brother-in-law was NBA player Ernie Vandeweghe, the father of former two-time NBA All Star Kiki Vandeweghe.[15]
An avid golfer, Hutchins gained recognition in amateur golf in northern California.[15][2]
Following his NBA career, Hutchins worked in real estate.[5]
Hutchins was married to the former Lorene Hardy, who died in 2010, with whom he had four children. Hutchins died on December 19, 2018, in Encinitas, California, at the age of 90.[16]
Honors
[edit]- In 1976, Hutchins was induced into the Brigham Young University Athletics Hall of Fame.[8]
- Hutchins was inducted into the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame.[17]
- On February 16, 2013, Hutchins and his BYU teammate Roland Minson had their jerseys retired during a ceremony at half-time of a BYU and University of Portland basketball game.[18][19]
NBA career statistics
[edit]GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
* | Led the league |
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1951–52 | Milwaukee | 66 | 39.7 | .365 | .644 | 13.3* | 2.9 | 9.2 |
1952–53 | Milwaukee | 71 | 40.7 | .379 | .654 | 11.2 | 3.2 | 11.7 |
1953–54 | Fort Wayne | 72 | 40.8 | .401 | .677 | 9.7 | 2.9 | 10.3 |
1954–55 | Fort Wayne | 72 | 39.7 | .378 | .708 | 9.2 | 3.4 | 12.0 |
1955–56 | Fort Wayne | 66 | 33.9 | .425 | .643 | 7.5 | 2.7 | 12.0 |
1956–57 | Fort Wayne | 72 | 36.8 | .387 | .738 | 7.9 | 2.9 | 12.4 |
1957–58 | New York | 18 | 21.3 | .389 | .558 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 7.0 |
Career | 437 | 37.9 | .389 | .673 | 9.6 | 3.0 | 11.1 | |
All-Star | 4 | 28.5 | .282 | .500 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 6.5 |
Playoffs
[edit]Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Fort Wayne | 4 | 40.5 | .326 | .706 | 9.3 | 1.5 | 10.5 |
1955 | Fort Wayne | 11 | 37.9 | .417 | .679 | 8.1 | 2.8 | 14.4 |
1956 | Fort Wayne | 10 | 37.7 | .304 | .610 | 8.8 | 2.3 | 9.3 |
1957 | Fort Wayne | 2 | 34.0 | .300 | .714 | 11.5 | 5.0 | 11.5 |
Career | 27 | 37.9 | .355 | .661 | 8.8 | 2.6 | 11.7 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Melvin Ray Hutchins was born on November 22, 1928 in Los Angeles County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ a b "Former BYU basketball great Mel Hutchins dead at 90". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ Basket, Peach (September 19, 2017). "Peach Basket Society: Mel Hutchins".
- ^ "Melvin Hutchins Statistics". Justsportsstats.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ a b c Goldstein, Richard (December 21, 2018), "Mel Hutchins, B.Y.U. All-American and N.B.A. All-Star, Dies at 90", The New York Times
- ^ "Mel Hutchins College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "1950–51 BYU Cougars Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Friedman, David (March 2, 2009). "Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers". 20 Second Timeout. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ Goldstein, Allan (October 30, 1994). "NBA forgot it honored Hoffman". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ Bradley, Robert. "All-Time Most Valuable Player Voting". The Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ Ramsey, David (April 9, 2010). "When the Dust Settled". NBA Playoff Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ Blakely, A. Sherrod (August 13, 2011). "Satch's induction honors contributions on, off the court". Celtics Insider. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ "Mel Hutchins Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (November 9, 2014). "Ernie Vandeweghe, Knick and Physician, Dies at 86" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Drew, Jay (December 20, 2018), "Former BYU basketball great Mel Hutchins dead at 90", The Salt Lake Tribune
- ^ "sactosports-hof – Mel Hutchins". Sactosports-hof.
- ^ Harmon, Dick (February 16, 2013). "Dick Harmon: BYU retires jerseys of two storied basketball players, Minnie and Hutch". Deseret News. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ^ Herald, Daily. "BYU to retire the jerseys of Mel Hutchins and Roland Minson". Daily Herald.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Mel Hutchins at BYUCougars.com
- 1928 births
- 2018 deaths
- All-American college men's basketball players
- Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball players from Sacramento, California
- BYU Cougars men's basketball players
- Centers (basketball)
- Fort Wayne Pistons players
- Milwaukee Hawks players
- NBA All-Stars
- New York Knicks players
- Power forwards
- Tri-Cities Blackhawks draft picks
- Vandeweghe family