Tom Meschery

Thomas Nicholas Meschery ( ; born Tomislav Nikolayevich Meshcheryakov ; October 26, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in China to parents who had fled Russia, he spent his childhood in a Japanese internment camp during World War II before he moved to the United States with his family in 1946. Meschery was a power forward with a 10-year National Basketball Association career from 1961 to 1971. He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors and the Seattle SuperSonics. Meschery played in the 1963 NBA All-Star Game as the first foreign-born NBA All-Star. After his playing retirement, he worked as a basketball coach and then a high school teacher. Meschery has written poetry, memoirs and novels.

Early years Meschery was born as Tomislav Nikolayevich Meshcheryakov in Harbin, Manchukuo. His parents were Russian emigrants who fled from the October Revolution in 1917. Meschery's mother worked for the American consulate in Harbin and aided in the release of White Russian soldiers imprisoned by the Chinese; one of them was Meschery's father, Nicholas Vasily Meshcheryakov, who was a family friend from Russia. His maternal grandfather, Vladimir Nikolaevich Lvov, was a Russian politician. However, their plans were disrupted by the outbreak of World War II as Meschery's family were taken from China by Japan and moved to an internment camp in Tokyo. It was also in this phase of his life where his father renamed the family "Meschery" due to the anti-Communist/anti-Soviet Red Scare under Joseph McCarthy, and Tomislav Nikolayevich was renamed Thomas Nicholas, which later was abbreviated to Tom. During a sixth grade kickball game, he was celebrated by his teammates for making a huge kick and "from that point on, [he] worked very hard to be an athlete." he wrote the poem "Wilt" about the moment. Meschery was nicknamed "The Mad Russian" during his playing career because of his hard-nosed style which included fights with other players. He retired following the 1970–71 season, having played four seasons for the SuperSonics. 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.

Coaching career After retiring as a player, Meschery joined the Peace Corps as a basketball coach in Venezuela but his position was dismantled after a few months.

Writing career Meschery published his first book of poems in 1970, and returned to school after his coaching stint. His friend Mark Strand recommended him for the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Meschery has written five books of poetry, two memoirs and six novels.

Personal life Meschery lives in Sacramento, California, He was previously married to Joanne Meschery, with whom he has three children: Janai, Megan, and Matthew. Matthew Meschery is the former lead vocalist of OPM.

Meschery was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2005 and was told that he had only five years to live. His cancer has been in remission since 2008.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

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.