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 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 ...

(BYU), where he led the Cougars to the 1951

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) championship. Minson came to BYU from

Idaho Falls High School Idaho Falls High School (IFHS) is a four-year public secondary school in central Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA. The current building opened in 1952, though the school itself has been in operation since 1897. Idaho Falls is the older of the two tradition ...

Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

. 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 Melvin Ray Hutchins (November 22, 1928 – December 19, 2018) was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1951 to 1958. Hutchins was selected by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks with the ...

, led the Cougars to the

1951 National Invitation Tournament The 1951 National Invitation Tournament was the fourteenth edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Held in New York City at Madison Square Garden, its championship was on Saturday, March 17, and BYU defeated Dayton by nineteen ...

title at a time when 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. Following the conclusion of the NIT and NCAA Tournaments, Minson was selected to represent the West in the College East-West All-Star game. 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 Krešimir "Krešo" Ćosić (; 26 November 1948 – 25 May 1995) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian professional basketball player and coach. He was a collegiate All-American at Brigham Young University. He revolutionized basketball in Yugoslavia and w ...

broke it in 1973. Following the close of his college career, Minson was drafted by the

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 ...

in the second round of the 1951 NBA draft (15th pick overall). However, he was drafted into active duty in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. 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 The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

. He was on the All-Navy team in 1952. He served as an assistant coach at BYU from 1961 to 1963 under Stan Watts. Following his coaching stint, Minson returned to banking. On February 16, 2013, Minson's jersey was retired by BYU alongside his former teammate Mel Hutchins. Alongside his wife Carol, Minson raised seven children. Carol died in 2017. Minson died in his home in

Afton, Wyoming Afton is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,911 at the 2010 census. Afton is home to the world's largest arch made of elk antlers. Spanning across the four lanes of U.S. Highway 89, the arch consists of 3,011 ...

on January 1, 2020. He was 90 years old.

References

External links

BYU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minson, Roland 1929 births 2020 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Idaho Basketball players from Idaho BYU Cougars men's basketball coaches BYU Cougars men's basketball players Military personnel from Idaho New York Knicks draft picks People from Idaho Falls, Idaho Small forwards United States Navy personnel of the Korean War