Milutin Minja

Milutin Minja (Serbian Cyrillic: Милутин Миња) was a Yugoslav basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally.

Milutin Minja

Personal information
Nationality	Serbian
Career information
Playing career	1952–1960
Position	Shooting guard
Number	9
Career history
As player:
1952	Radnički Zrenjanin
1952–1957	Proleter Zrenjanin
1957–1960	Crvena zvezda
As coach:
1973–1974	Vojvodina (Men's team)
1973–1974	Vojvodina (Women's team)
Career highlights and awards
As player Yugoslav League champion (1956)
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games 1959 Lebanon Team

Playing career

Minja started his basketball career with Radnički Kristal from Zrenjanin. In 1953, he signed for a Zrenjanin-based team Proleter.

During his stint with Proleter, Minja won the National Championships in the 1956 season.[1] Minja was a part of the group of players known as the Proleter's Five, which included himself, Lajos Engler, Ljubomir Katić, Dušan Radojčić, and Vilmos Lóczi.[2][3]

In 1957, Minja moved to a Belgrade powerhouse Crvena zvezda where he played for two seasons. In the 1958 season, Minja averaged 12.9 points per game while appearing in 15 games. In the 1959 season, he averaged 13.4 points per game while appearing in 17 games.[4] In 1960, he got two-year suspension after had got caught smuggling on the Poland tour.[5]

National team career

Minja was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that participated at the 1955 FIBA European Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 6.5 points per game.[6] At the 1957 FIBA European Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria, he averaged 10.9 points per game over nine tournament games.[7] At the 1959 FIBA European Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, he averaged 9.7 points per game over six tournament games.[8]

Minja was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1959 Mediterranean Games in Lebanon.

Coaching career

Minja coached both Vojvodina men's and women's team from Novi Sad during 1970s.[9]

Career achievements and awards

• Yugoslav League champion: 1 (with Proleter Zrenjanin: 1956).
• Plaque of the Basketball Federation of Serbia (2016, posthumous)[10]

In popular culture

• The 2016 Serbian documentary, Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste (transl. The 1956 Champions), portrays Minja and the achievements of the Proleter basketball team in the mid 1950s and how they won the Yugoslav Championship in 1956.[11][12][13]

References

1. "Košarkaška prvenstva Jugoslavije (1945-91) – treći deo". strategija.org. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
2. "DISKRETNI ŠARM ŠAMPIONA I VIRTUOZA POD OBRUČIMA". sportinfo.rs. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
3. "Košarkaško prisećanje: Proleter Zrenjanin 1956". utakmica.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
4. "KK Crvena zvezda History". kkcrvenazvezda.rs. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
5. "1960: Šampion OKK Beograd, superstar Korać". kosmagazin.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
6. "1955 Yugoslavia 4 - Mulitin Minja". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
7. "1957 Yugoslavia 9 - Mulitin Minja". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
8. "1959 Yugoslavia 9 - Mulitin Minja". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
9. "Šest decenija Košarkaškog kluba Vojvodina 1948-2008" (PDF). kkvojvodina.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
10. "Zrenjanin u znaku košarke". kss.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
11. "Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste". kss.rs. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
12. "Film Šampioni iz pedeset šeste prikazan u Ljubljani". zrenjanin.org.rs. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
13. "ŠAMPIONI IZ PEDESET I ŠESTE". on YouTube. Retrieved 13 January 2019.