Biography.guide
Home › People › Basketball player › Don Mills
Portrait of Don Mills

Don Mills

1937 – 2023

American basketball player

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Don Mills

Lived 1937 – 2023 (aged 86). Don Mills was an American basketball player.

Don Mills is a former American college basketball player. He is best known as a key reserve on the University of Kentucky's 1958 NCAA championship team.

College career Mills was recruited to play basketball at the University of Kentucky by head coach Adolph Rupp following an All-American season at Berea Community High School. As a sophomore (the first season he was eligible to play), Mills was the first player off the bench for the "Fiddlin' Five" during the 1957-58 season. He played a significant role in the 1958 Championship Game against Seattle after starting center Ed Beck was sidelined due to foul trouble. Mills scored nine points off the bench, including a hook shot over Seattle's Elgin Baylor with 5:50 minutes left in the second half to give Kentucky the lead.

Mills became the Wildcats' starting center the following season. As a senior, he averaged 12.8 points and 12.9 rebounds per game and was named second team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) by the Associated Press and first team All-SEC by the conference's coaches. He finished his collegiate career with 699 rebounds (9.4 per game) and 664 points (9.4 per game) in 71 total games played.

Post-Kentucky Mills was selected in the 18th round (92nd overall) by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1960 NBA draft but never played in an NBA game.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Berea Independent Schools, University of Kentucky
Awards
List of NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Champions

People in Don Mills's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Don Mills's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Don Mills?

American basketball player (1937-2023)

When was Don Mills born?

Don Mills was born on 8 April 1937 in Berea.

When did Don Mills die?

Don Mills died on 1 December 2023 in Lexington.

What was Don Mills's occupation?

Don Mills was a basketball player.

What nationality was Don Mills?

Don Mills was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Don Mills

· Wikidata: Q63314400

· DBpedia: Don Mills (basketball)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Don Mills. https://biography.guide/don-mills-basketball-player/

MLA: "Don Mills." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/don-mills-basketball-player/.

Chicago: "Don Mills." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/don-mills-basketball-player/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:57 UTC