1951 NBA Draft Information & 1951 NBA Draft Links at HealthHaven.com

The 1951 NBA Draft was the fifth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 25, 1951, prior to the 1951–52 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win-loss record in the previous season. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Milwaukee Hawks prior to the start of the season.^[1] The draft consisted of 12 rounds with 87 players selected.

Gene Melchiorre from Bradley University was selected first overall by the Baltimore Bullets. However, he never played in the NBA due to his involvement in a point shaving scandal while playing college basketball.^[2] Myer Skoog from University of Minnesota was selected before the draft as Minneapolis Lakers' territorial pick.

[edit] Draft

G	Guard	F	Forward	C	Center

^	Denotes player who has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame
*	Denotes player who has been selected for (an) All-Star Game(s) and (an) All-NBA Team(s)
⁺	Denotes player who has been selected for (an) All-Star Game(s)
^x	Denotes player who has been selected for (an) All-NBA Team(s)

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team	College
0T	00–	Skoog, MyerMyer Skoog	G	United States	Minneapolis Lakers	Minnesota
1	01	Melchiorre, GeneGene Melchiorre	–	United States	Baltimore Bullets	Bradley
1	02	Hutchins, MelMel Hutchins⁺	F/C	United States	Tri-Cities Blackhawks	BYU
1	03	Freiberger, MarcMarc Freiberger	–	United States	Indianapolis Olympians	Oklahoma
1	04	Sinicola, ZekeZeke Sinicola	G	United States	Fort Wayne Pistons	Niagara
1	05	McConathy, JohnJohn McConathy	F	United States	Syracuse Nationals	Northwestern State
1	06	Smith, EdEd Smith	F	United States	New York Knicks	Harvard
1	07	Barrett, ErnieErnie Barrett	G/F	United States	Boston Celtics	Kansas State
1	08	Ranzino, SamSam Ranzino	G	United States	Rochester Royals	NC State
1	09	Sunderlage, DonDon Sunderlage⁺	G	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	Illinois
2	10	Stone, JackJack Stone	–	United States	Baltimore Bullets	Kansas State
2	11	Gossett, BillBill Gossett	–	United States	Tri-Cities Blackhawks	Colorado A&M
2	12	Steagall, ScottyScotty Steagall	–	United States	Indianapolis Olympians	Millikin
2	13	Kiley, JackJack Kiley	G	United States	Fort Wayne Pistons	Syracuse
2	14	Savage, DonDon Savage	G/F	United States	Syracuse Nationals	Le Moyne
2	15	Minson, RolandRoland Minson	–	United States	New York Knicks	BYU
2	16	Garrett, BillBill Garrett	–	United States	Boston Celtics	Indiana
2	17	Ragelis, RayRay Ragelis	F	United States	Rochester Royals	Northwestern
2	18	Payton, MelMel Payton	G/F	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	Tulane
2	19	Hitch, LewLew Hitch	F/C	United States	Minneapolis Lakers	Kansas State

The following list includes other draft picks who have appeared in at least one NBA game.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team	College
3	23	Fendley, JakeJake Fendley	F	United States	Fort Wayne Pistons	Northwestern
3	24	Govedarica, BatoBato Govedarica	G	United States	Syracuse Nationals	DePaul
3	27	Diute, FredFred Diute	G	United States	Rochester Royals	St. Bonaventure
4	31	Slaughter, JimJim Slaughter	C	United States	Tri-Cities Blackhawks	South Carolina
4	32	Tosheff, BillBill Tosheff	G	United States	Indianapolis Olympians	Indiana
4	37	Behnke, ElmerElmer Behnke	C	United States	Rochester Royals	Bradley
5	45	Smith, TomTom Smith	G	United States	New York Knicks	Saint Peter's
5	48	Kearns, MikeMike Kearns	G	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	Princeton
6	51	Rennicke, JohnJohn Rennicke	G	United States	Tri-Cities Blackhawks	Drake
6	55	McGuire, AlAl McGuire	G/F	United States	New York Knicks	St. John's
6	56	Luisi, JamesJames Luisi	G	United States	Boston Celtics	St. Francis (NY)
7	68	Dempsey, GeorgeGeorge Dempsey	G	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	King's (NY)
8	77	Phelan, JamesJames Phelan	G	United States	Philadelphia Warriors	La Salle

^ "Hawks: Franchise History". NBA.com/Hawks. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. http://www.nba.com/hawks/history/00400483.html. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
^ Goldstein, Joe (November 19, 2003). "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. http://espn.go.com/classic/s/basketball_scandals_explosion.html. Retrieved September 26, 2009.