Famous Mormons
Basketball Players and Coaches Page 2
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Coach Bob King | He was the Head Coach for the UNM Lobo Men's Basketball team with the second most wins, and is also the coach who drafted Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics into collegiete basketball at Indiana State. In 1993 the UNM Athletics Department christened the floor of the Pit after him and it is now called the Bob King Court. He was also baptized in the early 80's after marrying an LDS woman years earlier. New Mexico Athletic Director Rudy Davalos says the success New Mexico basketball programs enjoy is the result of the foundation King laid. |
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Greg Kite |
Played for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers Kite, a 6' 11" center played for BYU, He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1983 NBA Draft, 21st overall. |
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 Photo: NBA |
Travis Knight Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics New York Knicks |
Selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round (29th pick overall) of the 1996 NBA draft. ' Plays basketball for the LA Lakers as a center and lives in Utah during off seasons. | NBA Profile |
 Photo: NBA |
Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves |
Selected by Los Angeles Lakers in first round (29th pick overall) of the
2000 NBA Draft.
He goes to church every Sunday, refuses to swear and won't even drink
coffee.
Can Mark Madsen make it in the high-flying, hard-living NBA?
Sure.
Just ask his mother.
Although basketball consumes much of his life, it's not his first
priority.
"Going on a mission has given me a much broader perspective on where
basketball fits," he said.
"In the big scheme of life, basketball is a very small part of things."
Source: "This Guy's Good" by Kerry Shaw, Stanford Magazine, Mar-Apr 2001 |
NBA Profile |
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Larry H. Miller Utah Jazz |
He became a co-owner of the Utah Jazz when he purchased a half interest in
the team on 11 April 1985 for $8 million.
Just over a year later, in order to prevent the sale and subsequent move of
the Utah Jazz to Minnesota, on 16 June 1986 he bought the remaining
fifty-percent interest from Sam Battistone for $14 million.
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"To be successful, start by taking responsibility for your actions, Jazz owner says" by Debbie Lamb, Utah State University, 07 Mar 2001 |
 BYU |
Roland T. Minson
New York Knicks |
Roland was the first-round draft choice of the New
York Knicks in 1951, but he put aside his basketball career for three years of
service as an officer in the Navy during the Korean War. Following his release
from active duty, the Knicks again offered him a contract, but he chose to work
in the banking industry, which allowed him more time with his family.
Roland was an assistant basketball coach at BYU for two years and officiated basketball games in the WAC. He received his B.S. degree from BYU in 1951. |
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 Photo: CJ Online |
Scott Pollard Detroit Pistons Atlanta Hawks Sacramento Kings Indiana Pacers |
Son of Pearl Pollard the a legendary player at the University of Utah known
as "Poison" for his deadly hook shot.
He was a first-round pick by Detroit in 1997, traded to Atlanta a season
later, then waived, then signed by the Kings in 1999.
Source: "Dude & Rube: Former Kansas teammates a study in contrasts" by Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr 2003
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NBA Profile |
 Photo: NBA |
Mark Pope Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks Denver Nuggets |
He played college basketball at the University of Kentucky.
Selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round (52nd pick overall) of
the 1996 NBA Draft.
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NBA Profile |
 Photo: WNBA |
Kristen Rasmussen Miami Utah Indiana Fever |
WNBA Forward, Miami signed her as a free agent on June 13, 2000. Holds Michigan State career blocks record (194). Named All-Big 10 First Team (2000). Led the Big Ten in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and double-doubles (16) in 2000. | WNBA Profile |
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Fred Roberts Milwaukee Bucks Boston Celtics |
He was drafted in the second round in 1982 by the Milwaukee Bucks. He appeared in 66 career playoff games, averaging 6.2 points per game in 16.1 minutes per game. He reached the 1987 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics. | |
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Michael SmithBoston Celtics
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Served a mission from 84-86 In the 1989 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics selected Michael Smith of BYU with the 13th selection in the First Round. |
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John Ashworth "Cat" Thompson (1906-1990) |
The three-time All-America led Montana State to a Helms Athletic Foundation national championship in 1928-29
and averaged 15.4 points a game at a time when the national team scoring average was 40 points. In
1952, the Helms Athletic Foundation designated Cat an All-American in
basketball for four years (1927, 28, 29 and 30) and awarded him player
of the year status for 1929. He was an all-American for four years and
player of the year in 1929. In three seasons, "Cat" scored an amazing 1,539 points. He got the name "Cat" from his quickness in stealing the ball from opponents. After his graduation "Cat" played semi-pro ball in California for a year, then coached high school basketball in Montana and Idaho. He was enshrined in the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame and named "Best Player of the first half century." He was one of the first players inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. From an interview to his Son-in-Law: I spent lots and lots of hours shooting baskets on the gym floor. That's how you get to be good, you practice a lot. President Grant, when he came down in our country one time spoke of this. I remember I was only about ten years old, but I remember what he said about whatever you wanted to do. He said, "What you persist in doing becomes easy for you to do. Not that the nature of the thing has changed, but your ability to do has increased." That was the key that I'd been looking for, up to that part of my life, and I said, "Well, that's it! You just practice, and practice, and practice and, if you practice enough, why it is easy for you to do." |
Go to this site catthompsonbasketball.com it has a series of seven audio clips taken from a 1974 interview. Episode 6, deals with the importance of practice. In that interview segment, John outlines how he was influenced by a speech given by President Heber J. Grant |
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Erin Thorn WNBA |
Drafted in the second round by the New York Liberty, Thorn is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints playing in the Women's National Basketball Association. The 5-foot-10 guard averaged 4.6 points in her six season in New York. The best was 2007, with 9.7 points while starting all 29 games. | |
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Stan Watts Coach BYU |
He coached BYU Basketball from 1949 to 1972 He was a pioneer in the fast break style of play and called by some the "father of the jump shot". Stan graduated in 1938, but returned to BYU in 1947 and served at various times as a football, baseball, basketball, and track coach. He became head basketball coach in 1949, and his teams won two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles, one Mountain States Conference title, and five WAC championships. They played in four NIT and seven NCAA tournaments, winning the NIT championship in 1951 and 1966. Stan was named BYU athletic director in 1970 and served in that position until 1976. He and his wife Emily had three daughters and a son. |
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