Minneapolis Lakers draft picks

Eugene Albert Schwinger (August 20, 1932 – January 16, 2020) was an American basketball player, known for his All-American college career at Rice University in the 1950s.
A native of Houston, Texas, Schwinger committed to play for Rice on a full athletic scholarship in his junior year at John H. Reagan High School. He entered the school in the fall of 1950. Due to NCAA rules at the time, freshmen were ineligible to compete for varsity sports, so Schwinger's college basketball career began as a sophomore in 1951–52.
His three years as a Rice Owl proved to be one for the record books. At the time of his graduation, the 6'6" forward held four school records (all since eclipsed): points and rebounds in a single season (604 and 344), and points and rebounds for a career (1,328 and 810). He was twice a first-team All-Southwest Conference selection while leading the league in points per game both years. In all three seasons he led Rice in scoring and rebounding. As a junior in 1952–53 Schwinger was named a second-team All-American by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and as a senior in 1953–54 the Associated Press named him an honorable mention All-American. In 1953–54 he led the Owls to a share of the Southwest Conference regular season title and a berth in the 1954 NCAA tournament, where the team finished in third place in their region.
In the spring of 1954 Schwinger was selected by the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA draft. He was taken in the fourth round (36th overall). Schwinger opted instead to pursue a career in business, bypassing the NBA. He attended Harvard Business School and earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1959. Schwinger spent his business career in various roles within banking, securities trading, and investment firms until his retirement in 2003.

Carl Edwin McNulty (February 14, 1930 – January 14, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, and later played for the Milwaukee Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Howard Earl "Howie" Williams (October 29, 1927 – December 25, 2004) was an American basketball player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. Williams played collegiately at Purdue University where he was a 2x All-Big Ten guard (1948–49, 1949–50); he was selected as the Purdue team MVP in his junior and senior seasons and as Team Captain in 1949-50; posting a career total of 735 points (10.0 game avg). He led the Big Ten Conference in Free Throw Percentage (85.7%) for the 1948-49 season.
He was a 3rd Round pick of the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1950 NBA draft but chose instead to sign a contract with the Peoria Caterpillars of the American Athletic Union and the National Industrial Basketball League. The Caterpillars finished 4th in the NIBL but won the National AAU title (the first of three consecutive titles), knocking off the regular season champions, the Phillips Oilers in the semi-finals on Williams last second bucket. Williams and the rest of the Caterpillar team defeated the NCAA Champion Kansas Jayhawks in the AAU Title game. Following the title game, the Los Angeles Times named Williams the AAU Player of the Year; Williams then led Peoria to another AAU National title in 1953.
The 1952 win placed Williams as well as Peoria teammates; Ronald Bontemps, Marcus Freiberger, Frank McCabe and Dan Pippin on the U.S. Olympic squad. That team, led by fellow native Hoosier Clyde Lovellette won the gold medal. He played all eight games and finished #8 in scoring for the squad.
Williams spent four seasons playing for the Caterpillars and finished with 1,235 career points, eighth on their career scoring list.
He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. He died in Phoenix, Arizona in 2004; following a 35-year career with the Caterpillar Corporation.

Joseph Richey (March 30, 1931 – April 4, 1995) was an American basketball player. He was an All-American at Brigham Young University (BYU) and later played in the Amateur Athletic Union.
Joe Richey, a 6'1 (1.85 m) forward from St. Johns, Arizona, played at BYU from 1950 to 1953. Richey was a three-year starter and led the Cougars to berths in both the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and NCAA tournament as a sophomore in 1951. While the Cougars bowed out in the second round in the NCAAs, they won the NIT – defeating Dayton 62–43 in the final. This team is regarded one of the best in BYU history.As a junior and senior, Richey led the Cougars in scoring at averages of 14.6 and 17.6 points per game respectively. He was known for his quickness and was a strong rebounder for his size, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game for his career. As a senior in the 1952–53 season, Richey again led the Cougars to the NIT, though this time the Cougars stay was a short one, ending with a first round loss to Niagara. Richey was named a second team consensus All-American at the conclusion of the season. Richey finished with 1,178 points for his BYU career.Joe Richey was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1953. He instead played for several years in the AAU for Kirby's Shoes entry in the league.
After his playing days were over, Richey became a paving contractor. He also remained active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, becoming an Elder. In 1992, Richey was diagnosed with leukemia. He lived for three more years, during which time he performed a Mormon mission in Birmingham, England. Joe Richey ultimately died of leukemia on April 4, 1995.