Former BYU Men’s Basketball Star Mel Hutchins Passes Away At 90

Former BYU Men’s Basketball Star Mel Hutchins Passes Away At 90

PROVO, Utah-Late Wednesday evening, former BYU men’s basketball star Mel Hutchins passed away at 90 near his home in Encinintas, Calif.

Hutchins is one of only four Cougars in program history to have his jersey retired with the others being Danny Ainge, Kresimir Cosic and Roland Minson.

Hutchins and Minson had their jerseys retired together February 16,2013. Hutchins was enshrined in the BYU Hall of Fame in 1976.

Hutchins led the Cougars to three Skyline Conference titles (1948, 1950, 1951) and the 1951 NIT National Championship with a 62-43 rout of the Dayton Flyers.

Hutchins was named as a first-team All-American in 1951 by Look Magazine, Converse, Helms and Sporting News.

In his senior campaign, Hutchins netted 15.4 points per game and set a BYU single-season record for rebounds with 471 (or 12.7 rebounds per contest).

Hutchins was then drafted second overall in the 1951 NBA Draft and after #1 overall pick Gene Melchiorre was given a lifetime ban from the NBA for point shaving as a collegian, Hutchins was recognized as the #1 overall pick. For this, he was given a $7,000 bonus which was awarded to the top pick in the NBA Draft at that time.

While with the Milwaukee Hawks, Hutchins was named as the 1951-52 NBA Rookie of the year and led the league in rebounds (880) and rebounds per game (13.3).

He was named as a 5-time All-Star (1953 through 1958) and led three NBA teams to Western Division titles.

From 1951-1958, Hutchins amassed 4,851 points, 4,186 rebounds and 1,298 assists while starring for the Hawks (1951-1953), Fort Wayne Pistons (1953-1957) and New York Knickerbockers (1957-1958).

Upon his retirement, Hutchins worked in real estate and gained recognition as an amateur golfer in northern California.