Tom Meschery
Power forward | |
Number | 14 |
---|---|
Coaching career | 1971–1972, 1974–1976 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1961–1967 | Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors |
1967–1971 | Seattle SuperSonics |
As coach: | |
1971–1972 | Carolina Cougars |
1974–1976 | Portland Trail Blazers (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 9,904 (12.7 ppg) |
Rebounds | 6,698 (8.6 rpg) |
Assists | 1,331 (1.7 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Thomas Nicholas Meschery (
Early years
Meschery was born as Tomislav Nikolayevich Meshcheryakov in
After the war, Meschery and his parents emigrated to the United States. It was also in this phase of his life where his father renamed the family "Meschery" due to the anti-Communist/anti-Soviet
After graduating in 1957, he went to Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga. Meschery helped Saint Mary's reach the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight in 1959. Two years later, he was chosen as a First Team All-American, and was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year.[4] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961.
Professional basketball career
After graduating from St. Mary's, he was drafted by the
In the SuperSonics' inaugural season, Meschery led the team in rebounds (10.2 per game) as well as personal fouls.[7] He retired following the 1970–71 season, having played four seasons for the SuperSonics.
After retiring as a player, Meschery became head coach of the ABA's Carolina Cougars, which he guided to a record of 35–49 in the 1971–72 season before being replaced by Larry Brown.[8]
Meschery has been inducted into the San Francisco High School Hall of Fame; Saint Mary's College Hall of Fame (his college jersey #31 retired); and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Post-basketball life
Meschery published his first book of poems in 1970, and returned to school after his coaching stint, receiving his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1974. He studied poetry with Mark Strand, U.S. poet laureate, at the University of Washington. After receiving his teaching credentials at the University of Nevada, Reno, Meschery taught high school English at Earl Wooster High School and Reno High School in Reno, Nevada, until his retirement from teaching in 2005. He is also a poet, whose works often relate to basketball, teaching, and being a Russian immigrant. In 2002, Meschery was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.[9]
Meschery is now living in
His blog 'Meschery's Musings' discusses a variety of controversial subjects relating to sports. Each blog ends with a sports poem. Meschery says he wishes to introduce the public to fine contemporary poems whose subject is sports in the same way Garrison Keillor makes poetry in general available to his listeners on his morning radio broadcasts.[10]
NBA career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1961–62 | Philadelphia
|
80 | 31.6 | .404 | .824 | 9.1 | 1.8 | 12.1 |
1962–63 | San Francisco
|
64 | 35.1 | .425 | .728 | 9.8 | 1.6 | 16.0 |
1963–64 | San Francisco
|
80 | 30.3 | .458 | .702 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 13.5 |
1964–65 | San Francisco
|
79 | 30.5 | .394 | .751 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 12.7 |
1965–66 | San Francisco
|
80 | 29.8 | .448 | .765 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 12.8 |
1966–67 | San Francisco | 72 | 25.6 | .415 | .717 | 7.6 | 1.3 | 10.6 |
1967–68 | Seattle | 82 | 34.8 | .469 | .707 | 10.2 | 2.4 | 14.5 |
1968–69 | Seattle | 82 | 32.6 | .453 | .736 | 10.0 | 2.4 | 14.0 |
1969–70 | Seattle | 80 | 28.7 | .482 | .790 | 8.3 | 2.0 | 12.3 |
1970–71 | Seattle | 79 | 23.1 | .463 | .750 | 6.1 | 1.4 | 9.3 |
Career | 778 | 30.2 | .441 | .745 | 8.6 | 1.7 | 12.7 | |
All-Star | 1 | 8.0 | .333 | .500 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1962
|
Philadelphia
|
12 | 42.3 | .397 | .863 | 11.5 | 2.7 | 20.1 |
1964
|
San Francisco
|
12 | 33.8 | .442 | .778 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 16.8 |
1967
|
San Francisco | 15 | 27.2 | .451 | .761 | 7.9 | 1.7 | 12.9 |
Career | 39 | 33.9 | .428 | .809 | 8.8 | 2.0 | 16.3 |
Works
- Over the Rim (1970), New York: McCall Publishing.
- Caught in the Pivot: a Diary of a Rookie Coach in the Exploding World of Pro Basketball (1973). Dell.
- Nothing We Lose Can Be Replaced (1999), Black Rock Press, University of Nevada, Reno.
- Some Men (2012), Black Rock Press, University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, Nevada.
- Sweat: New and Selected Poems About Sports (2015), Black Rock Press, University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, Nevada.
- The Case of the '61 Impala (2022), Camel Press, Kenmore WA.
- The Case of the '66 Mustang (2023), Camel Press, Kenmore WA.
References
- ^ Pomerantz, Gary M. Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era. New York City: Crown Publishing Group, 2005. Retrieved October 28, 2021
- ^ a b TOM MESCHERY: THE FIRST RUSSIAN IN THE NBA Archived January 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "A retired number tribute like no other". December 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c Oedven, Ed (September 15, 2017). "Eclectic Meschery has lived rich life in NBA, literature". The Japan Times.
- ^ Oedven, Ed (October 13, 2017). "Memories of war have had profound effect on Meschery". The Japan Times.
- ^ "basketball-reference.com: Tom Meschery". Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ "basketball-reference.com: Seattle SuperSonics 1967-68". Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ Oedven, Ed (September 29, 2017). "Love of poetry, books made Meschery unique in NBA". The Japan Times.
- ^ Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Archived April 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
- The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
External links
- Meschery's Musings on Sports, Literature and Life
- St Mary's College Hall of Fame Members Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- BasketballReference.com: Tom Meschery (as player)
- BasketballReference.com: Tom Meschery (as coach)
- Black Rock Press Info on his book of poetry, "Nothing We Lose Can Be Replaced" (Wayback Machine archive)
- Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Archived April 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Oedven, Ed (September 15, 2017). "Eclectic Meschery has lived rich life in NBA, literature". The Japan Times.
- Oedven, Ed (September 29, 2017). "Love of poetry, books made Meschery unique in NBA". The Japan Times.
- Oedven, Ed (October 13, 2017). "Memories of war have had profound effect on Meschery". The Japan Times.