Alberto Almanza

Albert Almanza played basketball for Mexico at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and at the 1959 Pan American Games. Unusual for that era, he played at the University of Texas (1958-61) where he lettered for three years and often started at forward. He led the Longhorns in rebounding in 1958/59 and 1960/61 and helped them win the 1960 Southwest Conference regular season title. Almanza had immigrated to the United States in 1954, settling in El Paso with his family.

Almanza was selected in the 1961 NBA Draft with the fourth pick of the seventh round by the Los Angeles Lakers but he never played in the NBA. He was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2004 and the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. Forever loyal to the University of Texas, his son noted that when he died, he was wearing a Texas basketball shirt.