Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen (October 21, 1928 – November 21, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. One of the National Basketball Association's first power forwards in the 1950s, he was known for his tenacious defense and durability, playing 699 out of a possible 704 games during his career. He was a six-time All-Star and four-time Second Team All-Pro, and was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame
College career
Mikkelsen entered Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota on a basketball scholarship at the age of 16. In his senior year, Mikkelsen led NCAA Division II in field goal percentage. Hamline won the 1949 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament He later coached and was general manager of the Minnesota Pipers of the American Basketball Association.
Personal life and family
Mikkelsen's wife Jean died in 2002 after 47 years of marriage. Their two sons are named Tom and John. In 2006 a biography was published by John Egan titled The Vern Mikkelsen Story.
Mikkelsen died on November 21, 2013, in Wayzata, Minnesota surrounded by his family.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
{| class="wikitable sortable" text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1949–50†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|68
|–
|.399
|.752
|–
|1.8
|11.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1950–51
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|64
|–
|.402
|.676
|10.2
|2.8
|14.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1951–52†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|66
|35.5
|.419
|.761
|10.3
|2.7
|15.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1952–53†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|70
|35.2
|.435
|.752
|9.3
|2.1
|15.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1953–54†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|72
|31.2
|.374
|.742
|8.5
|1.7
|11.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1954–55
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|71
|36.0
|.422
|.747
|10.2
|2.0
|18.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1955–56
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|72
|29.2
|.386
|.804
|8.4
|2.4
|13.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1956–57
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|72
|30.5
|.377
|.807
|8.8
|1.7
|13.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1957–58
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|72
|33.2
|.410
|.786
|11.2
|2.3
|17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1958–59
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|72
|29.7
|.390
|.806
|7.9
|2.2
|13.8
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|699
|32.5
|.403
|.766
|9.4
|2.2
|14.4
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |All-Star
|6
|18.3
|.386
|.650
|8.7
|1.3
|11.2
|}
Playoffs
{| class="wikitable sortable" text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1950†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|12
|–
|.369
|.767
|–
|1.5
|13.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1951
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|7
|–
|.406
|.660
|9.6
|2.4
|15.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1952†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|13
|38.1
|.432
|.828
|8.5
|1.5
|13.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1953†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|12
|33.3
|.331
|.848
|8.7
|2.0
|12.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" |1954†
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|13
|28.8
|.459
|.861
|5.6
|1.3
|10.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1955
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|7
|29.9
|.353
|.783
|11.1
|1.9
|13.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1956
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|3
|30.0
|.423
|.900
|5.7
|0.7
|13.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1957
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|5
|32.4
|.398
|.647
|8.6
|3.4
|17.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |1959
| style="text-align:left;" |Minneapolis
|13
|28.5
|.412
|.767
|7.2
|1.8
|15.5
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|85
|31.8
|.396
|.783
|8.0
|1.8
|13.4
|}
Head coaching record
ABA
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 12||6||6|||| style="text-align:center;"|(interim)||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
Source
References
External links
- Vern Mikkelsen profile @ LakersWeb.com
- Vern Mikkelsen career stats at Basketball-Reference.com