Albert "Chorrito" Almanza González (3 January 1940 – 27 January 2023) was a Mexican

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athlete and

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player for

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. Almanza came to the United States from Mexico in 1954 and began attending Jefferson High School in

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that year. Almanza was a three-year starter for the

Texas Longhorns men's basketball The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents the University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball competition. The Longhorns competed in the Big 12 Conference through the 2023–24 sea ...

team from 1958 to 1961 under head coaches Marshall Hughes (1958–59) and

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(1959–61). He led the 1958–59 and 1960–61 Texas teams in rebounding, with season averages of 8.0 and 9.2 rebounds per game, respectively. Almanza was also second in scoring on the 1958–59 team with an average of 11.0 points per game, fourth in scoring in 1959–60 with an average of 10.8 points per game, and second in scoring in 1960–61 with an average of 14.0 points per game. With Almanza as starting

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, the 1959–60 Longhorn team finished with an overall record of 18–8, won the

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championship, and competed in the Sweet 16 game of the 1960 NCAA Tournament. Almanza competed for

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on the

Mexico national basketball team The Mexico national basketball team () represents Mexico in men's international basketball competitions, The team has made 6 appearances in FIBA World Cup and 5 appearances in the Basketball at the Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics. The governing ...

in the Olympics of

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. He served as team co-captain in 1960 and led the team in scoring with an average of 19.8 points per game; he returned in 1964 to lead the Mexico national team in scoring for a second time with an average of 14.7 points per game.2014-15 Texas Basketball Fact Book, p. 153 Mexico placed twelfth in basketball in both Olympics. Almanza was selected with the fourth pick of the seventh round of the

1961 NBA draft The 1961 NBA draft was the 15th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 27, 1961, before the 1961–62 NBA season, 1961–62 season. In this Draft (sports), draft, nine NBA teams took turn ...

(63rd overall pick) by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

.2014-15 Texas Basketball Fact Book, p. 147 He retired after 35 years of employment with

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Notes and references

External links

* 1940 births 2023 deaths Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1960 Summer Olympics Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Mexican men's basketball players Basketball players from Chihuahua City Olympic basketball players for Mexico Texas Longhorns men's basketball players American men's basketball players Power forwards 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Mexican sportsmen {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub