University of Minnesota Athletics
Whitey Skoog - M Club Hall of Fame
Myer 'Whitey' Skoog
Men’s Basketball, 1949-51
HOF Class of 1993
Whitey Skoog was one of the Golden Gophers’ quickest guards ever, earning All-Big Ten honors in 1950 and 1951, plus All-America honors the latter year.
The two-time team MVP finished second in free throw percentage over his Big Ten career. He’s more famous, though, for inventing at the U of M what is now called the jump shot, a technique that revolutionized basketball.
Brainerd-born Skoog, first-round draft pick of the Minneapolis Lakers, took his “jumper” to that NBA team after his Gopher career. In six seasons with the Lakers he averaged 8.2 points per game and helped lead his team to three consecutive NBA championships, 1952 to 1954. A back injury forced his 1957 retirement.
Skoog became head basketball and golf coach at Gustavus Adolphus, posts he held for nearly a quarter-century. The Gophers retired his No. 41 in 2010.