Nationality American Name Roland Minson Number 11 Weight 82 kg | Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg) Height 1.83 m Listed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Role Basketball Player | |
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NBA draft 1951 / Round: 2 / Pick: 15th overall College BYU Cougars men's basketball | ||
Mel hutchins and roland minson 1951 nit champions
Roland T. Minson is a retired American basketball player. He is best known for his college career at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he led the Cougars to the 1951 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship.
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Minson came to BYU from Idaho Falls High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He became a three-year starter and was a first team All-Conference pick for each of his varsity seasons. In his senior season, Minson averaged 16.7 points and along with teammate Mel Hutchins, led the Cougars the 1951 National Invitation Tournament title at a time where the NIT winner was considered a national champion on par with the NCAA Tournament titlists. Minson averaged 26 points per game in the tournament to take MVP honors. In his BYU career, Minson scored 1,407 points. At the time of his graduation, this made him the all-time leading scorer in Cougar history - a mark that would stand until Krešimir Ćosić broke it in 1973.
Following the close of his college career, Minson was drafted by the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1951 NBA draft (15th pick overall). However, he was drafted into active duty in the United States Navy for the Korean War. Upon returning, he passed on an offer to join the Knicks to go into the banking industry, continuing his basketball career with the Denver Bankers in the Amateur Athletic Union.
On February 16, 2013, Minson's jersey was retired by BYU alongside his former teammate Mel Hutchins.