The 1951 BYU basketball team has accomplished a lot in life but they'd be the first to tell you that winning the National Invitational Tournament, which at that time what equivalent to today's NCAA Tournament, was not the most important. As champions they were able to represent not only their school but their faith as basketball playing missionaries. As they traveled to Brazil after the NIT tournament they didn't wear their normal BYU gear, they wore shirts with the word "Mormon" on them to represent the LDS church. In Brazil at that time there was only one mission, now there are 38. These players definitely had a part in the people of Brazil being interested not only in watching them play basketball but learning about their church. What a great way to represent their faith. I commend this team and these men for not only how they played the game of basketball but also their missionary mind set they had while doing it. As we jump ahead 60 years we see this team has accomplished a lot more since their victory in '51. Their team over the years has consisted of seven LDS Bishops, four of them have served in Stake Presidencies, one was a General Authority, one a Patriarch, and one served as a mission president. We see that this team have kept true to their faith, have kept their missionary mind set, and have all found a love for serving the Lord.
Watch this video from Mormon Times to learn more.
This video and statistics about the 1951 BYU basketball team came from the above video produced by Mormon Times.
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