Quick Facts
Biography
Carlos Quintanar (2 June 1937 – 14 October 2010) was a Mexican basketball player from Chihuahua who was the Captain of the Mexico national team in the 1960 Summer Olympics, the 1964 Summer Olympics, and the 1968 Summer Olympics.
He also competed in the 1959 World Championship, the 1963 World Championship, the 1967 World Championship, and the 1970 World Championship; and represented Mexico in 4 Pan American Games: Chicago 1959, Sāo Paulo 1963, Winnipeg 1967, and Cali 1971
Carlos Quintanar was nicknamed "Aguja", "Pistolitas" and "The Yokohama Sensation" after being the Most Valuable Player of the 1964 Pre-Olympics, held in Yokohama, Japan. He won the Silver medal in the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. "Aguja" Quintanar is considered to be the greatest Mexican player ever to step into the court.
Quintanar is the second Mexican to be drafted by a National Basketball Association team (after his Olympic teammate Manuel Raga); he was drafted in 1971 by the San Diego Rockets in the 18th round (234th overall pick) of that year's NBA draft (his surname was misspelled Quintar). However, he never played professionally to maintain his amateur status.