The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Chris Mihm (1999-2000)
06.22.2006 | Men's Basketball
One of the top players in school history ... ranks first on UT's all-time blocks list (264), second in double-doubles (47), second in rebounds (945) and 13th in scoring (1,404 points) ... owns the school record in EVERY blocked shot category: single-game (eight), single-season (90), career and career average (2.80) ... the 264 career blocks marks the most blocked shots by any player from a Big 12 member school ...first person in Texas history to record 1,100 points, 800 rebounds AND 200 blocks ... recorded a double-double in 47 of his 96 career games ... second player in Texas history to post 300 rebounds in back-to-back seasons (LaSalle Thompson)... played in all 96 games during his first three years ... just the third 7-footer in school history.
As a Junior in 1999-00
Starting center ... consensus first-team all-America, becoming just the second person in Texas history to earn the honor (Jack Gray, 1935) ... first-team all-America choice by Associated Press, NABC, CNNSI.com and College Hoops Insider ... became the first AP first-team all-American in school history ... Wooden Award all-America Team choice (one of the top 10 players in the nation) ... second-team all-America pick by Basketball Times,USBWA and The Sporting News ... consensus first-team all-Big 12 choice ... also named to the Big 12 all-Defensive team ... first-team NABC All-District 9 pick ... one of 15 finalists for the Naismith Award ... led the Big 12 in double-doubles (20), rebounding (10.5) and blocks (90) ... ranked fifth in the league in scoring (17.7) ... tied his own single-season school record with 90 rejections ... his 20 double-doubles tied for the second-best single-season mark in school history ... his 338 rebounds marked the fourth-best single-season total in Texas history ... led Texas in scoring 23 times, rebounding 26 times and blocks 25 times ... reached double-figures in scoring in all but one of his 33 games ... registered 21 double-digit board performances ... earned Tournament MVP honors at the Puerto Rico Shootout, averaging 20.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg and 3.3 bpg in leading Texas to the title ... also claimed Big 12 Player of the Week (Nov. 29) and ESPN.com and College Hoops Insider National Player of the Week honors ... posted 23 points, 13 boards and three blocks in the victory over #18 DePaul (Nov. 26), before recording 19 points, 11 rebounds and five rejections in the upset of #3 Michigan State (Nov. 27) ... had 20 points, 13 boards and tied the school record with seven swats vs. Houston (Jan. 2) ... named Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 31) while averaging 21.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg and 2.0 bpg in two contests ... had 14 points and five boards in 19 minutes vs. Nebraska (Jan. 25), then recorded a season-high 28 points (10-of-11 FTs) and tied a career high with 17 boards vs. Colorado (Jan. 29) ... registered 18 points (10-of-10 FTs), 12 boards and set a school record with eight blocks at Massachusetts (Feb. 5) ... named ESPN.com National Player of the Week (Feb. 20), averaging 16.0 ppg and 14.0 rpg in games vs. #8 Oklahoma State (Feb. 16) and at Baylor (Feb. 19) ... had 15 points and 16 rebounds in the upset of Oklahoma State, before totaling 17 points and 12 boards at Baylor ... earned Big 12 all-Tournament team honors for the second straight year, averaging 19.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 3.5 bpg in two games ... posted 13 points and 10 rebounds in the NCAA Second Round game vs. #10 LSU (Mar. 18) ... named to Playboy's preseason all-America team.
The Summer of 1999
One of 12 collegians (two centers, Brendan Haywood, North Carolina) to compete for USA Basketball's World University Games team this summer (July 3-12 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain) ... averaged 6.8 ppg and 2.8 rpg for the gold medal-winning squad over the eight-game tourney ... led the squad in free throws (26) and free throws attempted (37) and ranked second in blocks (7), despite playing just 7.8 minutes per contest ... posted a team-high 19 points, including a 13-of-16 effort from the line in the team's preliminary round win over Nigeria ... the 13 free throws made set a U.S. World University Games single-game record, surpassing Karl Malone's mark (12-of-17 vs. Cuba) in 1983.
As a Sophomore in 1998-99
Starting center ... developed into one of the top big men in the nation ... Associated Press honorable mention all-America choice ... Basketball Times all-Southwest ... Big 12 Conference Player of the Year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram ... consensus first-team all-Big 12 pick ... first-team NABC all-District 9 selection ... USBWA all-District 7 choice ... named to the Big 12 all-Improved and all-Defensive squads by the media ... tied for the NCAA lead in double-doubles with 19 (Washington's Todd MacCulloch, Southeast Missouri State's Bud Eley) ... ranked fourth nationally in rebounding (11.0 rpg) and 17th in blocked shots (2.6 bpg) ... the only player on the Texas squad to start all 32 games ... averaged a double-double on the year with 13.7 ppg and 11.0 rpg ... came on strong during Texas' three postseason games in the Big 12 and NCAA tourney, averaging 21.0 ppg, 14.0 rpg and 2.3 bpg ... led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding, blocked shots, offensive rebounds (4.06 avg.) and defensive rebounds (6.91 avg.) ... also led the team in free throws made (149) ... became just the sixth player in school history to average at least 10.0 rpg in a single season, and the first full-season player since LaSalle Thompson led the nation at 13.5 rpg in 1981-82 (Albert Burditt averaged 14.1 rpg thru the first 12 games in 1992-93, before being dismissed from the team) ... his 351 rebounds ranked third on the UT single-season list, while his 11.0 rebound average was tied for third-best on the single season chart ... his 84 blocks ranked second on the school's single-season chart (behind his own record of 90 set as a freshman) ... posted 16 double-doubles over the last 21 games of the season ... averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg during the first 11 games of the year (Texas at 3-8) ... was a dominant player over the last 21 games of the season, posting 14.8 ppg and an eye-opening 12.6 rpg (leading UT to a 16-5 mark in those games) ... averaged a double-double in league play with 13.6 ppg and 11.8 rpg ... led UT in scoring nine times, in rebounding 25 times, and in blocks 26 times ... had 22 double-figure rebounding efforts ... posted at least one block in 30 of the 32 games, including 15 games with at least three rejections ... tied his own school single-game record with seven blocks in the season-opener at Houston (Nov. 17) ... became the fastest player in Texas history to reach 100 career blocks (33 games) with his three rejections against South Florida (Nov. 21) ... earned his first career Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honor (Feb. 1), averaging 18.5 ppg and 14.0 rpg in wins over Oklahoma (Jan. 25) and UMass (Jan. 31) ... dominated UMass senior center and projected NBA first-round pick Lari Ketner, posting 20 points while tying a career high with 17 rebounds ... earned a spot on the five-man Phillips 66 Big 12 all-Tournament team, averaging 21.0 ppg, 14.0 rpg and 2.5 bpg in UT's two games ... recorded a season-high 24 points to go along with 14 boards and three blocks in the quarterfinal win over Colorado (Mar. 5) ... returned to post 17 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks against Oklahoma State (Mar. 6) ... gave the nation a glimpse of what he can do in the future by posting 21 points, 14 boards and two blocks in the first-round NCAA loss to Purdue (Mar. 12).
The Summer of 1998
One of 11 players (and just three sophomores along with Kansas center Eric Chenowith and Iowa State forward Martin Rancik) selected to represent the Big 12 Conference in a tour of England, Belgium and Germany on August 7-13 ... ranked second on the all-star team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) while leading the squad to a 4-2 mark ... also led the team with 17 blocks over the six games ... his best effort of the tour was in the opening game vs. Stevenage (England), when he posted 12 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks ... also spent time as a counselor at the prestigious ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J. in mid-July (6-11) and made two trips to the Hawaiian islands ... from May 31-June 10, he took a vacation with friends to Hawaii, then returned to this islands in late August (17-21) to take part in Pete Newell's Big Man Camp ... his last trip to Hawaii left the morning after he returned from Europe, letting him experience a 14-hour time difference from Europe to Hawaii in the 24-hour window.
As a Freshman in 1997-98
Played in all 31 games, including 28 straight starts to end the season ... put together the top season by a Longhorn freshman center since LaSalle Thompson in 1979-80 ... named to the Big 12 all-Freshman team ... earned honorable mention all-Big 12 and honorable mention Academic all-Big 12 honors ... was a three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 15, Jan. 25 & Feb. 9) ... named third-team all-Freshman choice by Basketball Weekly ... led the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg.) and set a new school record with 90 blocked shots ... his 2.9 blocks per game average ranked eighth nationally ... topped the 20-point mark four times with 29 vs. Nebraska and 25 each vs. Texas A&M, at Fresno State and at North Texas ... added 12 rebounds and a school record-tying seven blocks at North Texas ... posted seven more rejections at Oklahoma State ... tied the UT freshman record for rebounds in a game (LaSalle Thompson, 1979-80) with 17 boards at Texas Tech ... recorded a team-high eight double-doubles, and pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game 10 times ... his put-back of a Kris Clack miss with 15 seconds left proved to be the game-winner in UT's 81-80 Big Monday victory at Texas A&M ... got a piece of Rayford Young's last second shot to preserve an 82-80 win at Texas Tech ... hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to provide the final margin in an 86-83 UT win over Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament ... blocked at least one shot in 29 of 31 games ... missed the first month of practice (his foot was in a plastic boot for three weeks) while recovering from a mild stress injury in his right foot ... was limited to four practices prior to the season opener ... spent time in the summer prior to his freshman year working out with Spurs center David Robinson in San Antonio.
High School
Westlake High School in Austin, Texas (head coach Clifton McNeely) ... averaged 22.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots per game while earning third-team Parade all-American honors as a senior ... shot 64.8% from the field and 73.5% from the line in his senior season ... posted five triple-doubles and 26 double-doubles as a senior ... topped the 30-point mark seven times with a career-best 36 vs. Austin Crockett ... blocked 11 shots in a game five times and pulled down a career-best 19 rebounds vs. Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei ... cited as the No. 1 center prospect in the nation by Recruiting USA, the No. 2 center prospect by Basketball Weekly and the No. 5 center prospect by recruiting analyst Clark Francis ... Francis also tabbed Mihm as the 27th-best player in the nation, regardless of position ... named second-team all-American by Basketball Weekly ... named honorable mention all-American by SLAM magazine ... 1997 Centex Player of the Year ... scored 13 points, pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds and blocked a game-high five shots for the winning South team at the Reebok Big 12 Classic at Ames, Iowa on April 6 ... his South teammates included fellow recruit Wendell Carter ... missed his first four three-point shots, then hit 15 in a row before missing his last attempt on the way to winning the pre-game three-point shooting contest ... competed on the Westlake tennis team for three season before concentrating solely on basketball as a senior ... attended Pete Newell's Big Man Camp at Hawaii prior to his senior season in high school.
Personal
Full name is Christopher Steven Mihm ... son of Gary and Nina Mihm ... father, Gary, played tennis at Marquette ... born July 16, 1979 in Milwaukee, Wisc. ... is the Horns' tallest player since 7-1 George Muller took the floor for UT from 1987-90 ... was ranked among the state's top age-group tennis players as a 14-year-old ... also was an avid swimmer as a youth ... moved to Austin in 1984 ... majoring in kinesiology.
