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Mel Hutchins Season 1950-1951

#14
PositionCenter
Weight190 lbs
Height6-5
HometownArcadia
ProvinceCalifornia

Career Highlights

  • Known for his defensive prowess, Hutchins long arms made him adept at blocking shots and rebounding
  • Named to several All-America teams after he led the Cougars to the 1951 NIT championship, including first-team honors by Look, Helms, and Sporting News and third-team honors by UPI
  • Set the BYU career record for rebounds (900) in just two seasons of recorded rebounding statistics; Kresimir Cosic broke the record in 1973 
  • Hutchins went on to star in the NBA, being named to five all-star teams during his seven years in the league ... named rookie of the year in 1952.

After BYU

  • Drafted with the second pick in the first round by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks
  • An avid golfer Hutchins gained recognition in amateur golf in northern California
  • After basketball Hutchins worked in real estate

Post BYU Honors and Societies

  • Selected as the No. 2 overall pick of the 1951 NBA Draft (when No. 1 pick Gene Melchiore was given a lifetime ban from playing in the NBA, Hutchins was recognized as being the No. 1 overall pick and was given the $7,000 bonus that was awarded to the top pick in the NBA Draft)
  • Played his NBA rookie season for the Milwaukee Hawks (now Atlanta)
  • Named the 1952 NBA Rookie of the Year
  • Led the NBA in rebounding (880) and was second in rebounding average (13.3) as a rookie (Hutchins and Wilt Chamberlain in 1960 are the only two players in NBA history to lead the league as a rookie)
  • Held the NBA single-season record for rebounds for a player under 6-6 until 1987 when Charles Barkley broke the record
  • Starter and Co-Captain of two Western Conference Championship teams (Fort Wayne, now the Detroit Pistons, 1955 and 1956). Fort Wayne lost in the Finals in 1955, and again in 1956
  • Played in four NBA All-Star games (1953, 1954, 1956, 1957), started in three (1953, 1954, 1956); also named an all-star in 1958 but was injured and did not play
  • Finished fourth in NBA MVP voting in 1956, behind Bob Pettit, Paul Arizin and Bob Cousy
  • Retired from the NBA following a severe knee injury in 1958
  • NBA career totals: 4,851 points, 4,186 rebounds and 1,298 assists
  • In 2010, ESPN’s Dave Ramsey called Mel one of the “greatest defenders in NBA history”
  • While playing for the Fort Wayne Pistons, his team won the Western Division title three times
  • Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1976

Stats

Year G FGM FTM P-AVE47-48 26 67 36 170-6.549-50 34 153 94 400-11.850-51 37 227 117 571-15.4Totals 97 447 247 1141-11.8
hutchins_m

1949-1950

Center
6-5 / 190 lbs
hutchins_m

1947-1948

Center
6-5 / 190 lbs
hutchins_m

1946-1947

Center
6-5 / 190 lbs
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