Gale McArthur was an All-American

NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are honorary teams made up of those NCAA basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations.-History:...

 basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player at Oklahoma A&M University

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act...

 (now Oklahoma State).

McArthur, a 6'2 (1.88 m) guard from Mangum, Oklahoma

Mangum, Oklahoma

Mangum is a city in Greer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,010 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Greer County....

, attended Oklahoma A&M

Oklahoma State Cowboys men's basketball

The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team represents Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Cowboys currently compete in the Big 12 Conference.Since 1938, the team has played its home games in Gallagher-Iba Arena...

 and played basketball for Hall of Fame coach Henry Iba

Henry Iba

Henry Payne "Hank" Iba was an American basketball and baseball coach.-Early life:Iba was born and raised in Easton, Missouri...

 from 1948-51. During his time in Stillwater

Stillwater, Oklahoma

Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...

, McArthur played on two Final Four teams, playing in the NCAA championship game in 1949

1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1949 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1949, and ended with the championship game on March 26 in Seattle, Washington...

 (a 46-36 loss to Kentucky

1948-49 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky. The Head Coach was Adolph Rupp. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum.-NCAA tournament:*East...

) as a sophomore and the national semifinals as a senior in 1951

1951 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The Consensus 1951 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of five major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, Look Magazine, The United Press International,...

.

In that senior year of 1950–51, McArthur averaged 11.6 points per game and led the Aggies to a 29-6 record. The team won the Missouri Valley Conference

Missouri Valley Conference

The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...

 for the second time in McArthur's career.

After graduation from Oklahoma A&M, McArthur was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1951 NBA Draft

1951 NBA Draft

The 1951 NBA Draft was the fifth annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 25, 1951 before the 1951–52 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse...

. However, McArthur opted for dental school instead, ultimately starting his own practice in Ponca City, Oklahoma

Ponca City, Oklahoma

Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...

.