Milutin Minja ( sr-cyr, Милутин Миња) was a Yugoslav basketball player and coach. He represented the

Yugoslavia national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; sl, Jugoslovanska košarkarska reprezentanca; mk, ...

internationally.

Playing career

Minja started his basketball career with Radnički Kristal from

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous pro ...

. In 1953, he signed for a Zrenjanin-based team Proleter. During his stint with Proleter, Minja won the National Championships in the 1956 season. Minja was a part of the group of players known as the Proleter's Five, which included himself,

Lajos Engler Lajos "Lala" Engler ( sr-cyr, Лајош "Лала" Енглер; 20 June 1928 – 1 May 2020), also credited as Lajoš Engler, was an ethnic Hungarian teacher and basketball player, who represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team interna ...

Ljubomir Katić Ljubomir "Ljuba" Katić ( sr-cyr, Љубомир "Љуба" Катић; born 25 April 1934) is a Serbian former basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Playing career Katić started h ...

, Dušan Radojčić, and

Vilmos Lóczi Vilmos Lóczi ( sr-cyr, Вилмош Лоци; 19 January 1925 – 12 July 1991), also credited as Vilmoš Loci, was a Yugoslav basketball coach and player. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Lóczi was one o ...

. In 1957, Minja moved to a Belgrade powerhouse

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in B ...

where he played for two seasons. In the 1958 season, Minja averaged 12.9 points per game while appearing in 15 games. In the 1959 season, he averaged 13.4 points per game while appearing in 17 games. In 1960, he got two-year suspension after had got caught smuggling on the Poland tour.

National team career

Minja was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that participated at the 1955 FIBA European Championship in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 6.5 points per game. At the 1957 FIBA European Championship in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgaria, he averaged 10.9 points per game over nine tournament games. At the 1959 FIBA European Championship in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey, he averaged 9.7 points per game over six tournament games. Minja was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the

1959 Mediterranean Games The 1959 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the III Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Beirut 1959, were the 3rd Mediterranean Games. After visiting Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean Games were for the first time held in Asia in ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Coaching career

Minja coached both Vojvodina men's and women's team from

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

during 1970s.

Career achievements and awards

Yugoslav League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

champion: 1 (with

Proleter Zrenjanin Fudbalski klub Proleter Zrenjanin () is a football club from the city of Zrenjanin, Vojvodina, Serbia. History Early period Soon after World War II, the club almost achieved promotion to the Yugoslav Second League after finishing top of the ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

). * Plaque of the

Basketball Federation of Serbia The Basketball Federation of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашки савез Србије, Košarkaški savez Srbije) is a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body for basketball in Serbia. The organization represents Serbia in ...

(2016, ''posthumous'')

In popular culture

* The 2016 Serbian documentary, ''Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste'' (), portrays Minja and the achievements of the Proleter basketball team in the mid 1950s and how they won the Yugoslav Championship in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minja, Milutin 1930s births Competitors at the 1959 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia KK Crvena zvezda players KK Proleter Zrenjanin players KK Vojvodina coaches Serbian men's basketball players Serbian men's basketball coaches Yugoslav men's basketball players Yugoslav basketball coaches Date of birth missing Date of death missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Shooting guards