USU basketball: Former Aggie basketball great Jim Boatwright passes away

Former Utah State men’s basketball player Jim Boatwright passed away Monday in Hailey, Idaho, after a short battle with liver cancer. He was 61 years old.

Originally from Rupert, Idaho, Boatwright was a three-year letterwinner for Utah State from 1972-1974 and still ranks 17th all-time in school history in scoring with 1,238 career points. For his career, he averaged 15.9 points per game to rank 17th all-time at USU. Boatwright also recorded 537 rebounds during his three-year career, which still ranks 22nd all-time in school history.

During his senior year, Boatwright averaged 18.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.5 percent from the field (199-379) and 80.6 percent from the free-throw line (83-103). As a junior, Boatwright averaged 18.7 points and 7.8 rebounds, while shooting 52.0 percent from the field (205-394) and 81.7 percent at the free-throw line (76-93). During his sophomore season, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds, and shot 51.5 percent from the field (106-206) and 77.6 percent at the line (59-76).

Overall, Boatwright played in 78 games during his Utah State career and started 67. He led the team in scoring as a junior and senior, and in field goal percentage during his sophomore and senior seasons. In all, Boatwright scored in double-figures in 51 of his final 53 games, including all but one game in each of his junior and senior seasons.

Boatwright’s single-game scoring high was 28 points against New Mexico State during his sophomore season and Southern Mississippi during his junior year. His best rebounding outing was against Portland as a sophomore and UC Santa Barbara as a junior, grabbing 15 boards in each contest.

During his junior year, Boatwright set the USU single-game school record by going 14-of-14 from the free-throw line in a 104-83 win against LSU.

Following his collegiate career, Boatwright played professionally oversees before serving as an assistant coach at Utah State for Kohn Smith for three years (1989-91). Most recently, Boatwright coached junior high basketball in Idaho.

Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.