Jim Krebs

James Krebs (September 8, 1935 – May 6, 1965) was an American basketball player. A power forward/center, he starred for the SMU Mustangs during the mid-1950s and later played with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He died in a tree falling accident at the age of 29.

Early life and college Krebs was born in Webster Groves, Missouri. While representing Webster Groves High School in a St. Louis-area all-star game, he attracted the attention of Doc Hayes, the men's basketball coach at Southern Methodist University in Texas. Hayes convinced Krebs to sign with SMU, and recruited two fellow Missourans to play alongside him.

Described as a "cautious, careful player" with an "unstoppable hook shot," Krebs became the star of the Mustangs and one of the best players in the nation. He scored 1,753 points in his three varsity seasons (1954–1957), led the Mustangs to three consecutive Southwest Conference championships, and was named to three All-SWC teams.

During Krebs' collegiate career, basketball became so popular at SMU that the school constructed a new, $2.25 million basketball arena in 1956 — Moody Coliseum, which the Mustangs use to this day. Other schools in the Southwest Conference, who had mainly emphasized college football, took notice of Krebs' success and increased funding for their own basketball programs. and committed a playoff-record five fouls in one quarter during the fifth game of the 1963 NBA Finals. Krebs also engaged in several fights with opposing players, including Boston's Bill Russell and St. Louis' Bob Pettit. Indeed, Russell once wrote, "Jim Krebs was known in the league as a man who was willing to go beyond the rules in getting his man."

Plane crash survivor On one evening in 1960, the Lakers' team plane experienced electrical problems and crashed into a field near Carroll, Iowa. All the passengers survived, and Krebs later wrote an account of the crash for Sports Illustrated. His article took a humorous tone. Describing a hearse which arrived at the scene, he wrote, "I'm positive I detected a slightly disappointed look when the driver found out everyone was all right." He also joked that his wife asked him, "Where have you been? Carol who?" when he called home to report what happened. His wife was pregnant with a son, who was born two months later.

Krebs was posthumously elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. His number 32 jersey was retired at SMU in 2002.

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG Minneapolis 68 18.5 .378 .767 7.4 .4 7.8 Minneapolis72* 21.9 .399 .748 6.8 .7 8.8 Minneapolis 75 16.9 .392 .721 4.4 .5 7.6 L.A. Lakers 75 22.1 .392 .806 6.1 .9 8.2 L.A. Lakers 78 25.2 .445 .750 7.9 1.4 10.0 L.A. Lakers 79 24.2 .434 .747 6.4 1.1 8.3 L.A. Lakers 68 14.3 .375 .765 4.2 .7 4.9Career 515 20.7 .405 .755 6.2 .8 8.0

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1959 Minneapolis13* 16.4 .350 .957 5.9 .4 7.2 1960 Minneapolis 9 17.4 .418 .500 5.2 .9 5.7 1961 L.A. Lakers12* 15.3 .340 .778 5.0 .8 3.8 1962 L.A. Lakers 11 29.7 .333 .846 9.3 1.9 7.5 1963 L.A. Lakers13* 15.3 .340 .667 3.1 .3 3.2 1964 L.A. Lakers 4 12.5 .667 .500 5.5 1.5 3.5Career 62 18.2 .362 .781 5.6 .9 5.3