Melvyn J. Garland (June 23, 1942 – March 5, 1983) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and player. Born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, he emerged as a star dual-sport athlete in basketball and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Arsenal Technical High School Arsenal Technical High School, commonly referred to as Tech or Arsenal Tech, is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which is run by the Indianapolis Public Schools district. The school is located on a , multiple buildin ...

. Garland attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and played for the

Boilermakers A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

on the

and baseball teams. He was a member of all-conference teams in both sports but excelled at basketball, where he was an Honorable Mention All-American during his junior season. Garland turned to coaching after his graduation and began his career at

Greenfield-Central High School Greenfield-Central High School is a secondary school (grades 9-12) located in the city of Greenfield, Indiana. Under the management of the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation. It had 1,363 students in 2009–2010. The high scho ...

as the coach of the basketball, baseball and cross country teams. He joined the Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team as an assistant coach in 1967. Garland also served as the head coach of the Sycamores

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

team for four seasons until his resignation from the university in 1975. He returned to high school coaching when he served as head basketball coach at Evansville Harrison High School for four seasons. Garland was hired as the head coach and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

of the IUPUI Jaguars men's basketball team in 1979. He led the team to its first winning season in school history during the 1980–81 season but his career was prematurely ended when he stepped down due to health issues midway through the 1981–82 season. Garland continued to serve as athletic director until his death from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

on March 5, 1983.

High school and college career

Melvyn J. Garland was born on June 23, 1942, in

. He attended

in Indianapolis, where he played basketball and

. Garland was the Indiana Athlete of the Year and led the basketball team to a regional title during his senior season. He graduated in 1960. Garland played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

and

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

and earned All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honors for both sports. He was voted the Most Valuable Player for the Boilermakers basketball team during his junior and senior seasons. Garland was an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Honorable Mention Basketball All-American in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

Coaching career

Garland began his coaching career in 1964 at

Greenfield, Indiana Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Indiana, United States, and a part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The population was 20,602 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 23,006 in 2019. It lies in Center Township. ...

. While he worked as a teacher, he coached the basketball, baseball and cross country teams. In 1967, Garland was hired to join the Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team to serve as assistant coach. He also served as the head coach of the Sycamores

team for four years. On March 7, 1975, Garland resigned from Indiana State alongside head coach Gordon Stauffer and assistant coach Jim Morris after the basketball team posted a second straight losing season. Garland joined Evansville Harrison High School as head coach of the basketball team from 1975 to 1979. In 1979, Garland was appointed the head coach and

of the IUPUI Jaguars men's basketball team. He compiled the first winning season in Jaguars history during the 1980–81 season. He amassed a 31–38 record over two-and-a-half seasons coached. Garland stepped down as coach mid-way through the 1981–82 season due to health problems but continued to serve as athletic director. He recommended that Robert Lovell serve as his replacement and remained close to the team.

Death and honors

Garland died on March 5, 1983, aged 40, of

at the

Indiana University Hospital Indiana University Health University Hospital is a teaching hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health. With nearly 1,100 physician faculty members a ...

. He was buried at the Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. He was posthumously inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 1993 and the IUPUI Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995. IUPUI established the Mel Garland Memorial Scholarship that is awarded annually to an athlete who embodies the spirit of Garland. Former IUPUI Athletics Director Hugh Wolf stated of Garland: "In many respects Mel Garland was the person who first caused the Indianapolis community to take notice of the IUPUI athletic program."

Notes

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garland, Mel 1942 births 1983 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indianapolis Deaths from leukemia Guards (basketball) High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Indiana Indiana State Sycamores athletic directors Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball coaches IUPUI Jaguars men's basketball coaches Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Arsenal Technical High School alumni