Former BYU basketball great Roland Minson passes away at the age of 90

PROVO, Utah – Former BYU men’s basketball great Roland Minson passed away Wednesday morning, Jan. 1, in Afton, Wyoming. Born Feb. 18, 1929, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Minson was 90 years old when he died.

Considered one of the ‘cleverest floor men of his time who had uncanny court vision and deadly shooting ability (1950-51 BYU Basketball Media Guide),’ Minson donned the white and blue for the BYU varsity from 1948 to 1951. He led the Cougars to three-straight 20-win seasons, back-to-back conference titles in 1950 and 1951 and the 1951 NIT National Championship.

Minson’s No. 11 jersey was retired on Feb. 16, 2013, along with his teammate Mel Hutchins’ No. 14. Hutchins passed away in 2018. Their jerseys hang from the Marriott Center rafters along with those of Kresimir Cosic (No. 11) and Danny Ainge (No. 22).

The guard from Idaho Falls, Idaho, earned first-team All-Skyline Conference honors three-straight seasons and as a senior received All-America accolades and was named the MVP of the NIT. As a sophomore in 1948-49, Minson was voted the most outstanding newcomer in 11 western states.

Known as ‘The Cat’ during his playing days, Minson concluded his career as BYU’s all-time scoring leader with 1,407 points, a record he held for 22 years until Cosic surpassed him in 1973. As a senior Minson set the BYU single-season scoring record with 619 points, a record that stood for 27 years, broken by Ainge in 1978. Minson averaged a team-best 16.7 points per game that season en route to earning NIT MVP honors and a selection to the East-West All-Star game.

Following his BYU career, the New York Knicks selected Minson with the 16th pick in the first round of the 1952 NBA Draft. He chose to forego an NBA career to serve as an officer in the Navy during the Korean War. Minson’s basketball career continued as he played on the All-Navy basketball team in 1952, for the Denver Bankers of the National AAU league and served as an assistant coach to Watts at BYU from 1961 to 1963.

Minson worked in the banking industry for 40 years and served as the vice president of Union Bank of California in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1994. Following his retirement, he and his wife Carol served three missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England.

Carol preceded Roland in death as she passed away in 2017. Roland and Carol had seven children and a multitude of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral services for Minson will be held Saturday, Jan. 11, at noon in Afton, Wyoming.

For more information visit KSL.com for a story about Minson's passing.