A Big 8 Conference basketball star, McArthur led the 1958 Tiger team to a 28-0 undefeated regular season before going on to be a standout in the Mississippi All-Star game, pulling down 28 rebounds in a winning effort for the South team. The 6’5” basketball center held the single game scoring record of 53 points for more than 50 years and was recruited by several major universities but chose to play for Perkinston Junior College (now Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College), and then Southeastern Louisiana University.