Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player.

Back in Detroit, the family first lived with Mel's grandfather, then in a tenement on 8 Mile Road and finally in a house on McDougall Street.

Pershing also produced Spencer Haywood, Ralph Simpson, Kevin Willis, Ted Sizemore and Steve Smith.

Will Robinson, physical education teacher and basketball coach at Pershing High School, recalled Daniels being absent from PE class for a few weeks.

The way Mel Daniels, then a sophomore, remembered it, he was ordered by Coach Robinson to report to the gymnasium at 3:30 to join the basketball team.

[1] "Chief, I want you in the gym today," Daniels recalled Coach Robinson telling him.

"[1] Ted Sizemore, later a major league baseball player, was a high school basketball teammate of Daniels and recalled, "Will (Robinson) worked him.

"[1] After growing to 6'9", Daniels showed his potential as a senior and Robinson helped him secure a scholarship at Burlington Community College in Iowa.

[3] While at Burlington, Daniels was recruited to play for the New Mexico Lobos by coach Bob King.

[4] Starting as a sophomore in 1964–65, the 6–9 power forward played in 27 games and averaged 17.0 points and 11.2 rebounds as New Mexico finished 19–8.

[5] During the 1965–66 season, Daniels suffered a severe injury when he put his arm through a glass door at Johnson Gymnasium, requiring 352 stitches and almost ending his athletic career.

[6] The sutures notwithstanding, Daniels missed only one game and averaged 21.2 points and 10.3 rebounds as the Lobos finished 16–8.

[7] The 1966–67 team won a school-record 17 straight games to start the season as New Mexico climbed to No.

Daniels led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring at 21.5 points, along with 11.6 rebounds as New Mexico finished 19–8.

[11] After rejecting Cincinnati (with Oscar Robertson), Daniels became the first NBA first-round pick to snub the established league and go to the ABA.

He averaged 22.2 points and a league leading 15.6 rebounds in 78 games, as Minnesota finished 50–28 under coach Jim Pollard.

After the 1967–68 season, Daniels was traded to the Indiana Pacers for cash (reportedly, $75,000), Jimmy Dawson and Ron Kozlicki, as Minnesota was experiencing financial difficulty.

With Hall of Fame Coach Slick Leonard taking over from Larry Staverman as the Pacers coach early in the season, in the 1969 ABA Playoffs, Indiana, defeated the Kentucky Colonels 4–3, Daniels's former team, the Miami Floridians 4–1 before losing to the Oakland Oaks with Rick Barry 4–1 in the 1969 ABA Finals.

Hall of Famer Roger Brown, Bob Netolicky, John Barnhill and Freddie Lewis helped lead the Pacers to the ABA Title.

The Pacers were defeated by the Utah Stars 4–3 in the Western Division Finals in the 1971 ABA Playoffs.

Daniels averaged 19.2 points, 16.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists as Indiana finished the regular season 47–37.

Early in the season, Daniels suffered pulled stomach muscles and missed a month.

The Baltimore franchise was suddenly disbanded after three exhibition games due to financial difficulties.

The 31-year-old Daniels was passed over in the resulting dispersal draft, as other teams were likely wary of assuming the contract he had with Baltimore.

[2][32][18] After the 1976 ABA–NBA merger, the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, New York Nets and Indiana Pacers merged with the NBA.

"Had Mel not came to this team, I can guarantee you 100 percent we wouldn't be sitting down at (Bankers Life Fieldhouse).

The thing I hope people understand, they have no idea how important this guy was to the city (of Indianapolis).

There he coached future Hall of Famer Larry Bird and helped the Sycamores reach the 1979 NCAA Final, where they were defeated by Magic Johnson and Michigan State ending an undefeated season.

After seven seasons an assistant coach, he moved to scouting and eventually the front office and was the team's Director of Player Personnel until October 2009.

[35] A lover of horses, Daniels lived on a ranch in Sheridan, Indiana, at the time of his death.