Jeffrey Vincent Mullins (born March 18, 1942) is an American former basketball player and coach. He played college basketball with the Duke Blue Devils and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the St. Louis Hawks and San Francisco/Golden State Warriors. He was a three-time NBA All-Star. Mullins served as the head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1985 to 1996, being named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 1988, and taking his team to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament three times. As a college player, he was the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year and the ACC's athlete of the year (1963–64) and first-team All-ACC for three consecutive seasons (1961 to 1964). He was a consensus second-team All-American in 1964. His Duke teams twice reached the Final Four in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, and he was selected to the All-Tournament Team in 1964. He scored 43 points in one NCAA tournament game.
Mullins was born on March 18, 1942, in Astoria, Queens, New York. Mullins attended Lafayette High School in Lexington, Kentucky. He played on Lafayette's basketball team. He was a 6 ft 3½ in (1.92 m) or 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) forward in high school. As a senior, in March 1960, he was named all-city in a coaches' poll. In a later poll of sportswriters and coaches he was unanimously selected to Kentucky's All-State High School Basketball Team in 1960; and was regarded as the top high school basketball player and college prospect in Kentucky that year. He was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball. In Kentucky's East West high school all-star game, he scored 18 points and led the East team to an upset victory. He was selected to play in the 20th high-school all-star game between Kentucky and Indiana, held in June 1960.
After graduation, Mullins narrowed his college choices to Duke University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Kentucky. He turned down a college scholarship from future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Adolph Rupp, the first time Rupp had ever lost out on recruiting a Lexington, Kentucky high school player he strongly wanted to play at Kentucky. Instead, Mullins chose Duke, attending from 1960 to 1964, playing under head coach Vic Bubas.
He played forward at Duke, at 6 ft 4 in. As a sophomore (1961–62) he averaged 21 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), along with teammate Art Heyman. As a junior (1962–63), he averaged 20.3 points and eight rebounds per game. He and Heyman were again named first-team All-ACC.
As a senior (1963–64), he averaged 24.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and was a second team consensus All-American. Mullins was selected the ACC's Player of the Year. He was second in the ACC in scoring behind future Hall of Fame forward Billy Cunningham. Mullins was named first team All-ACC for the third consecutive year.
During his three seasons on Duke's varsity, the team went 20–5, 27–3, and 26–5. In 1961–62, Duke ended the season ranked No. 10 by the Associated Press. The following season (1962–63), Duke ended the season ranked No. 2. As a senior (1963–64), Duke ended the season ranked No. 3.
Duke won the ACC tournament in 1963. Duke defeated the University of Virginia, 89–70 in the first round. Mullins led the team with 29 points. Duke next defeated North Carolina State University, 82–65. Mullins' 25 points again led Duke in scoring. In the 1963 ACC championship game, Duke defeated Wake Forest University, 68–57, with Mullins scoring 20 points and Heyman 24. Mullins was selected to the ACC's All-Tournament first team.
Duke reached the Final Four in the 1963 NCCA men's basketball tournament, losing to eventual national champion, Loyola University of Chicago. Mullins scored 21 points in the 94–75 loss. He had led Duke with 24 points in winning the East Regional final over St. Joseph's University, and led Duke with 25 points in winning the East Regional semi-final over New York University. After losing to Loyola, Duke defeated Oregon State University to take third place in the tournament, with Mullins scoring 14 points. He was selected to the All-East Regional Team.
Duke won the ACC tournament again in 1964. Duke defeated North Carolina State in the first round, 75–44. Mullins scored 15 points in the game. Duke then beat the University of North Carolina, 65–49, with Mullins scoring 19 points. Duke again defeated Wake Forest in the ACC championship game, 80–59. Mullins led Duke with 24 points. He was selected Most Valuable Player in the ACC tournament, and was once more named to the first-team ACC All-Tournament Team.
Duke reached the championship game of the 1964 NCAA men's tournament, losing to UCLA 98–83. Mullins led all Duke players with 22 points. Duke had defeated Villanova University in the East Regional semifinals, 87–73, with Mullins leading all players with 43 points scored in the game. Duke defeated the University of Connecticut, 101–54, in the East Regional final, with Mullins scoring 30 points. Duke defeated the University of Michigan in the Final Four, 91–80, with Mullins scoring 20 points. Mullins was selected to the 1964 All-Tournament Team.
At Duke, he averaged 21.9 points and nine rebounds per game for his career. Bubas considered Mullins an inspiring leader, as well as a great player. He was class president in both his junior and senior years at Duke.
Mullins was a member of the United States Olympic basketball team that won the gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He played in eight games, averaging 2.3 points per game.
After the Los Angeles Lakers and Cincinnati Royals made territorial picks, the St. Louis Hawks took Mullins in the first round (5th pick overall) of the 1964 NBA draft. The Hawks moved Mullins from forward to guard, a difficult transition for Mullins. In two seasons with the Hawks he was a fourth guard under player-coach guard Richie Guerin, who never gained confidence in Mullins. Mullins played in 44 games as a rookie (1964–65), averaging 11.2 minutes and 4.9 points per game. The following season with the Hawks (1965–66) he suffered knee and ankle injuries, and again played 44 games, averaging 13.3 minutes and 5.8 points per game.
In the 1966 expansion draft he was selected by the Chicago Bulls. After some delay that was resolved by the NBA, in October 1966 Mullins and shooting guard Jim King were sent to the San Francisco Warriors in exchange for point guard Guy Rodgers. Rodgers had been traded earlier from the Warriors to the Bulls, who were seeking taller guards in place of the 6 ft (1.83 m) Rodgers.
San Francisco/Golden State Warriors
In the 1966–67 season, Mullins joined a Warriors team with two future Hall of Fame players: 22-year old forward Rick Barry and 25-year old center Nate Thurmond. The Warriors played under head coach Bill Sharman, later in the Hall of Fame as both a coach and a player. Mullins' playing time increased under Sharman. Mullins started his first NBA game in January 1967. Soon after, he scored over 20 points in three games over three consecutive days (January 29–31); playing over 30 minutes per game even when not starting.
Mullins played in 77 games for the Warriors in 1966–67, averaging 23.8 minutes per game. He averaged 12.9 points, five rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game, with a team-high .458 field goal percentage. The Warriors had a 44–37 record and finished first in the NBA's Western Division.
The Warriors swept the Lakers in three games to win the Western Division semifinal playoff series. Mullins averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in the series. The Warriors then defeated the Hawks in six games in the Western Division finals. Mullins averaged 38.5 minutes, 23.3 points, six rebounds and 4.5 assists per game against his old team. The Warriors lost the 1967 NBA championship in six games to the Philadelphia 76ers, who featured four future Hall of Fame players on their team (Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, Hal Greer and Chet Walker). Mullins averaged 32 minutes, 14 points, five rebounds and four assists per game in the series.