| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1930-10-30)October 30, 1930 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 3, 2013(2013-09-03) (aged 82) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 208 lb (94 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Wilbur Wright (Dayton, Ohio) |
| College | Dayton (1949–1952) |
| NBA draft | 1952: 2nd round, 12th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Playing career | 1952–1958 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 54, 17, 5, 22 |
| Career history | |
| 1952–1955 | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1955–1958 | Rochester / Cincinnati Royals |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 2,338 (6.8 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,626 (4.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 433 (1.3 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Don "Monk" Meineke (October 30, 1930 – September 3, 2013) was an Americanbasketball player. He playedcollege basketball for theUniversity of Dayton and was a consensus second-teamAll-American in 1952. He later played professionally in theNational Basketball Association and won the inauguralRookie of the Year award in 1953.[1][2]
Meineke averaged 20.6 points as a junior for theDayton Flyers, carrying the team to anNIT runner-up finish in 1951. He averaged 21.1 points per game as a senior and led the team to anothersecond-place finish in the NIT in 1952.[3] Meineke was an AP second-team All-American selection after his senior year.[4]
Meineke received theNational Basketball Association's firstRookie of the Year Award after the1952–53 NBA season while playing for theFort Wayne Pistons. He led the league in personal fouls and disqualifications the same season. The 26 disqualifications he had in his first year is still the NBA single-season record. His 334 personal fouls in only 68 games gave him an average of more than 4.9 fouls per game.[5]
Meineke played for theRochester Royals in the1955–56 season, and after sitting out the1956–57 season, rejoined the relocatedCincinnati Royals in1957–58.
Meineke was married to Mary Jane (Hautman) and they had four children.[2]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952–53 | Fort Wayne | 68 | 33.1 | .381 | .783 | 6.9 | 2.2 | 10.7 |
| 1953–54 | Fort Wayne | 71 | 20.9 | .344 | .805 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| 1954–55 | Fort Wayne | 68 | 15.1 | .372 | .700 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 5.8 |
| 1955–56 | Rochester | 69 | 18.1 | .372 | .700 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 7.1 |
| 1957–58 | Cincinnati | 67 | 11.8 | .356 | .647 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 4.9 |
| Career | 343 | 19.8 | .367 | .756 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 6.8 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Fort Wayne | 8 | 28.4 | .375 | .682 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 7.5 |
| 1954 | Fort Wayne | 4 | 21.8 | .261 | .636 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 4.8 |
| 1955 | Fort Wayne | 11 | 14.7 | .450 | .920 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 5.4 |
| 1958 | Cincinnati | 2 | 16.0 | .091 | .750 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| Career | 25 | 20.3 | .351 | .750 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 5.8 | |
