Jimmy McNatt

Who was Jimmy McNatt?

James Carlos "Jimmy" McNatt was an All-American basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners and the AAU’s Phillips 66ers. At Oklahoma, McNatt led his team to the first-ever NCAA Final Four in 1939, and at Phillips 66, McNatt guided the 66ers to four consecutive AAU national championships. He was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma and a four-time AAU All-American for Phillips 66. The speedy player came to be known by his nickname “Scat” McNatt, a moniker originally traced back to the term “Boy Scats” which sportswriters had used to describe McNatt’s fast-breaking, sophomore-led 1937-38 Oklahoma Sooners basketball team. McNatt grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, attended Norman High School, and then opted to stay in his hometown to play basketball for the University of Oklahoma.

During his collegiate career at Oklahoma, McNatt broke the Big Six Conference single-game scoring record on two occasions. As a junior, he set the mark with 29 points against Iowa State University on February 18, 1939. Then as a senior, he broke his own record with 30 points against Nebraska on February 9, 1940. Another of Oklahoma’s conference rivals in the Big Six was the University of Kansas, coached by the legendary Phog Allen. McNatt’s Sooners teams were coached by Hugh McDermott and Bruce Drake and won back-to-back Big Six Conference championships in McNatt's junior and senior seasons. McNatt was the conference's leading scorer during the 1939-40 season.