:''This is an article about the basketball player. For the physicist, see

Erwin Wilhelm Müller Erwin Wilhelm Müller (or ''Mueller'') (June 13, 1911 – May 17, 1977) was a German physicist who invented the Field Emission Electron Microscope (FEEM), the Field Ion Microscope (FIM), and the Atom-Probe Field Ion Microscope. He and his s ...

.'' Erwin Louis Mueller (March 12, 1944 – June 7, 2018) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, he attended the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

where he was All-Coast, All–Conference and All-America and was selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

in the second round (10th pick overall) of the

1966 NBA draft The 1966 NBA draft was the 20th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 11 and 12, 1966, before the 1966–67 season. In this draft, ten NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball ...

Early life

Mueller was born on March 12, 1944, in

Livermore, California Livermore is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley, giving its name to the Livermore Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisc ...

. He attended

Livermore High School Founded in 1891, Livermore High School is a public high school located in the city of Livermore, California, United States. It is one of two comprehensive high schools in the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, with Granada High S ...

, where he excelled on the basketball team under coach Leon "Lee" Williford. He led the team to two Diablo Valley Athletic League (DVAL) championships and Tournament of Champion (TOC) berths in 1960-61 and 1961-62. As a junior, he was DVAL scoring champion, and was named to the all-TOC team for averaging nearly 20 points a game.

College basketball

Mueller played college basketball at the University of San Francisco (1963—66), at both center and forward. His nickname, "Mr. Inside", came from his defensive prowess in protecting the basket at the rim. He was selected All-Coast, All-Conference and was an All-American. During his senior year, Mueller averaged 18.4

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

and 11.9

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

. Over his three years at San Francisco, he averaged 12.1 points per game on a 50.2

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

, and 8.5 rebounds per game. As a junior, his 24–5 USF team was in the 1965 NCAA tournament, winning the first game of the Western Regionals before losing to eventual national champion

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 101–93. As a senior, the team participated in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT), and Mueller was named to the all-NIT Team. He was also selected by coaches to the All-Coast team and was selected to the all- WCAC team that year.

Professional basketball

Mueller was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 1966 NBA draft (20th overall). It was the expansion Bulls' first college draft. During his first season, Mueller averaged 26.7 minutes, 12.7 points, and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Bulls. He earned

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

honors, along with

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring at ...

Lou Hudson Louis Clyde Hudson ("Sweet Lou") (July 11, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player, who was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and a six-time NBA All-Star, scoring 17,940 total points in 1 ...

Jack Marin John Warren Marin ( ; born October 12, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) small forward from Duke University, Marin was named to the 1967 NBA All-Rookie Team and spent 11 seasons in the National Ba ...

, and

Cazzie Russell Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with t ...

. He was traded midway through his second season to 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 ...

for

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English professional golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) t ...

and a draft choice on January 9, 1968. After playing 39 games for the Lakers in 1968, Mueller would return to the Bulls for the start of the 1968–69 season by way of another trade between the Lakers and the Bulls, exchanging Keith Erickson for Mueller on September 23, 1968. However, his tenure in Chicago would not last through the season. On January 31, 1969, Mueller was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for a draft choice and cash. He averaged only 7.5 points per game in 1967-68, and 4.8 points per game in 1968-69. He played all or part of four more years in the NBA, chiefly with the Detroit Pistons. His best season during this time came in 1969-70 with the Pistons, when he averaged 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 74 games. In his seven-season (1966–1973) NBA career, he scored 3,248 total points, averaging 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He spent part of the 1972–73 and 1973–74 seasons in the rival

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

as a member of the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

and

Memphis Tams Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

, playing in only 20 games over those two seasons.

Post basketball

Mueller worked as a draftsman developing irrigation systems after retiring from basketball.

Death

Mueller died on June 7, 2018, in North Las Vegas. He was survived by Karen Mueller, after 40 years of marriage; four children and six grandchildren.

Career statistics

NBA/ABA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! STL ! BLK ! PPG , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 80 , , 26.7 , , .441 , , , , .658 , , 6.2 , , 1.6 , , , , , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 23.3 , , .387 , , , , .561 , , 4.8 , , 2.2 , , , , , , 6.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

L.A. 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 of the Western Conference. The Lakers play their hom ...

, 39 , , 24.9 , , .520 , , , , .592 , , 5.7 , , 2.0 , , , , , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 52 , , 16.8 , , .335 , , , , .511 , , 3.7 , , 2.4 , , , , , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 26 , , 18.6 , , .431 , , , , .597 , , 4.0 , , 2.4 , , , , , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 17.3 , , .406 , , , , .444 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , , , , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 74 , , 30.9 , , .467 , , , , .728 , , 6.3 , , 2.7 , , , , , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 52 , , 23.5 , , .408 , , , , .556 , , 4.3 , , 2.2 , , , , , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 42 , , 14.4 , , .345 , , , , .581 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , , , , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 21 , , 3.8 , , .290 , , , , .714 , , .7 , , .3 , , , , , , 1.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

(ABA) , 17 , , 12.1 , , .321 , , , , .300 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , , , , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

(ABA) , 3 , , 6.6 , , .000 , , , , .400 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .7 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (NBA) , 425 , , 22.4 , , .429 , , , , .627 , , 4.8 , , 2.0 , , , , , , 7.6 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (ABA) , 20 , , 11.2 , , .298 , , , , .333 , , 2.5 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 445 , , 21.9 , , .426 , , , , .623 , , 4.7 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 7.4

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG , - , align="left" ,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 28.0 , , .308 , , , , .714 , , 4.7 , , 3.0 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" ,

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, align="left" ,

, 14 , , 17.9 , , .339 , , , , .357 , , 3.9 , , 1.3 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" ,

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, align="left" ,

(ABA) , 5 , , 22.4 , , .278 , , 1.000 , , .857 , , 3.8 , , 3.0 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (NBA) , 17 , , 19.6 , , .329 , , , , .536 , , 4.0 , , 1.6 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 22 , , 20.3 , , .320 , , 1.000 , , .600 , , 4.0 , , 1.9 , , 4.0

References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Erwin 1944 births 2018 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Alameda County, California Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Detroit Pistons players Los Angeles Lakers players Memphis Tams players Sportspeople from Livermore, California Power forwards San Francisco Dons men's basketball players Seattle SuperSonics players Virginia Squires players