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James Wesley Darden (June 19, 1922 – April 29, 1994) was an American professional basketball player and coach.[1]

Jimmy Darden

Personal information
Born	(1922-06-19)June 19, 1922 Cheyenne, Wyoming
Died	April 29, 1994(1994-04-29) (aged 71)
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Cheyenne Central (Cheyenne, Wyoming)
College	Wyoming Denver
NBA draft	1947 / Round: – / Pick: –
Selected by the Chicago Stags
Playing career	1947–1951
Position	Point guard
Number	25
Career history
As player:
1946–1950	Denver Nuggets
1950–1951	Denver Refiners
As coach:
1949–1950	Denver Nuggets
1950–1951	Denver Refiners
Career NBA statistics
Points	211 (8.1 ppg)
Assists	67 (2.6 apg)
Games played	26
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Darden played college basketball at the University of Wyoming and University of Denver. He was a member of the Wyoming Cowboys team that won the 1943 NCAA championship, but did not play in the actual tournament because he was serving in World War II at the time.[2] After his discharge in 1946, Darden joined the Denver Nuggets, which was then part of the Amateur Athletic Union. The team joined the National Basketball League in the 1948–49 season, and Darden averaged 10.3 points per game in his first year of playing professional basketball.[1] The Nuggets became a part of the National Basketball Association in the league's inaugural 1949–50 season, and Darden served as a player-coach for the team. He coached 62 games that season, but only played 26 games before suffering an injury midway through the season.[1] He averaged 8.1 points as a player, and coached the team to an 11–61 record. The Nuggets left the NBA after one season to become a part of the National Professional Basketball League, and Darden coached the team, who were renamed the Refiners, to an 18–16 record while also having to play three games after some players left the team during the season.[1] The Refiners disbanded due to financial constraints in early 1951.

Darden became the coach of the basketball and baseball teams at Colorado School of Mines in 1954, and coached both sports at the university until he retired in 1992 at the age of seventy.[1] CSM's baseball field was renamed Darden Field in his honour.[2][3] Darden was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.[2]

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played
FG%	Field-goal percentage
FT%	Free-throw percentage
APG	Assists per game
PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	FG%	FT%	APG	PPG
1949–50	Denver	26	.321	.688	2.6	8.1
Career		26	.321	.688	2.6	8.1

Head coaching record

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Denver	1949–50	62	11	51	.177	6th in Western	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Total		62	11	51	.177		—	—	—	—

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Basketball-Reference.com
• NBA career statistics as a coach from Basketball-Reference.com

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