Melvin Ray Hutchins (November 22, 1928 – December 19, 2018) 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 ...

player. He played professionally in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) from 1951 to 1958. Hutchins was selected by the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

with the second pick in the

1951 NBA draft The 1951 NBA draft was the fifth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 25, 1951, before the 1951–52 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basket ...

and was a four-time NBA All-Star.

Early life

Hutchins was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and attended high school at

Monrovia High School Monrovia High School is a public high school located in Monrovia, California, a northeastern suburb of Los Angeles, United States. Monrovia High School is the only grades 9–12 comprehensive high school in the Monrovia Unified School Distric ...

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

College career

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

–

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, Hutchins attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

in 1946–47 and 1947–48 as a freshman and sophomore, playing for coach

Floyd Millet William Floyd Millet (October 17, 1911 – June 17, 2000) was an American football and basketball player, track and field athlete, coach of various sports, and college athletics administrator. Millet served as the head football coach at Brigham Y ...

. 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. In 1950-1951, Hutchins averaged 15.4 points and 12.7 rebounds, as BYU finished 22-9 under coach

Stan Watts Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

. His 471 rebounds that season remain a BYU record. 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

Hutchins was selected by the

(later, the Milwaukee Hawks) with the second pick in the

. The first overall pick,

Gene Melchiorre Eugene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (August 10, 1927 – September 27, 2019) was an American basketball player. He was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets and was the first overall pick in the 1951 NBA draft. Melchiorre never played an NBA game due to his l ...

( 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. In 1952, as a rookie, Hutchins was the co-leader of the NBA in total

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

with 880, averaging 13.3 rebounds per game, which is on the

List of National Basketball Association rookie single-season rebounding leaders This list exhibits the National Basketball Association's top rookie single-season rebounding averages based on at least 70 games played ''or'' 800 rebounds. The NBA did not record rebounds until the 1950–51 season. External linksBasketball ...

. As of 2018, Hutchins and

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

are the only rookies in NBA history to lead the league in total rebounds. Hutchins and

Bill Tosheff William Mark Tosheff (June 2, 1926 – October 1, 2011) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'1" guard, Tosheff played at Indiana University from 1947 to 1951 after a stint with the U.S. Army Air Corps.Michael Schumacher. ''Mr. Bas ...

were named co-

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

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. 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 Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

s, (1953, 1954, 1956, and 1957), and finished fourth in MVP voting in 1956. He played for the

Milwaukee Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Along with being one of the top rebounders in the NBA, Hutchins was renowned for his defense. During his Hall of Fame induction speech in August 2011,

Satch Sanders Thomas Ernest "Satch" Sanders (born November 8, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played his entire professional career as a power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

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.'" Hutchins suffered a severe knee injury that forced his retirement in 1958. For his NBA career, he averaged a near

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

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.

Personal life

Hutchins is the brother of 1952

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

winner

Colleen Kay Hutchins Colleen Kay Hutchins (May 23, 1926 – March 24, 2010) was Miss America 1952. Early life Hutchins was a native of Arcadia, California. Her brother, Mel Hutchins, later became a basketball player for the Milwaukee Hawks, Fort Wayne Pistons, and N ...

. Hutchins' brother-in-law was NBA player

Ernie Vandeweghe Ernest Maurice Vandeweghe Jr. (September 12, 1928 – November 8, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. He was best known for playing for the New York Knicks of the NBA and for the athletic successes of his family. He and his wife ...

, the father of former two-time

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

All Star Kiki Vandeweghe. An avid golfer, Hutchins gained recognition in amateur golf in northern California. Following his NBA career, Hutchins worked in real estate. 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 Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego, between ...

, at the age of 90.

Honors

* In 1976, Hutchins was induced into the Brigham Young University Athletics Hall of Fame. * Hutchins was inducted into the Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame. * On February 16, 2013, Hutchins and his BYU teammate

Roland Minson Roland T. Minson (February 18, 1929 – January 1, 2020) was an American basketball player and coach, best known for his college career at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he led the Cougars to the 1951 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ch ...

had their jerseys retired during a ceremony at half-time of a BYU and

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

basketball game.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchins, Mel 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 National Basketball Association All-Stars New York Knicks players Power forwards (basketball) Tri-Cities Blackhawks draft picks Vandeweghe family