James Kirby Minter (born November 23, 1929 – August 11, 2009) was an American basketball player. At a height of tall, he played at the forward position. He was the

FIBA World Cup MVP The FIBA Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player is an award, that is given by FIBA, to the Most Valuable Player of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The inaugural award was handed out in 1950, to Oscar Furlong. Winners See also * FIBA Wo ...

at the

1954 FIBA World Championship The 1954 FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship (also called the 2nd World Basketball Championship – 1954) was the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was held by the International Basketball ...

College career

Minter, who was born in

Marietta, Oklahoma Marietta is a city and county seat in Love County, Oklahoma, Love County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,719 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, a 3.5% increase over the 2,626 reported at the 2010 census, which it ...

, attended and graduated from Durant High School in 1947, where he also played high school basketball. After high school, Minter played

College basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern or SE) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had a total enrollment of 5,376 in 2022. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an act designating Du ...

, with the Savage Storm, from 1947 to 1950.

National team career

As a member of a Peoria Caterpillars AAU team, which was composed of the

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

company's employees, he represented the

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as Team USA and the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. It is the most successful men's team in international competition, ...

at the

, and he was named the Most Valuable Player of the competition. Minter scored a total of 100 points (11.1 points per game) during the tournament.

Death

Minter died on August 11, 2009, in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Minter, Kirby 1929 births 2009 deaths 1954 FIBA World Championship players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oklahoma FIBA World Championship–winning players Forwards (basketball) People from Durant, Oklahoma People from Marietta, Oklahoma Peoria Caterpillars players Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players