Richard Melzer

Last updated
Richard Melzer
Personal information
Born (1979-12-08) December 8, 1979 (age 44)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight224.4 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school River Falls (River Falls, Wisconsin)
College Wisconsin–River Falls (2000–2004)
NBA draft 2004: undrafted
Playing career2004–2012
Position Power forward / center
Career history
2004–2005 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2005Club San Carlos
2005–2006 New Zealand Breakers
2006 Albuquerque Thunderbirds
2006 ASVEL Basket
2006 JL Bourg-en-Bresse
2007 Hapoel Gilboa/Afula
2007 Artland Dragons
2009–2010 Cairns Taipans
2010 Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2010–2011 Hapoel Holon
2011–2012 New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig
2012Le Portel
Career highlights and awards

Richard Melzer (born December 8, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the Australian National Basketball League, the German Bundesliga, NBA D-League, [1] Continental Basketball Association, as well as stints in France and Israel. He primarily played power forward.

Melzer is a 1999 graduate of River Falls High School in Wisconsin. His brother Michael Grinnell was also a basketball prospect. Grinnell played for Carleton College in Minnesota since the Fall of 2008.

Melzer was named NCAA Division III Player of the Year [2] by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the D-III News as a senior at Wisconsin–River Falls. He earned First Team All-America honours from the NABC his junior and senior seasons. He was named All-WIAC his last three seasons and was named league MVP his final two years and finished his career as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 2, 363 points, the third all-time leading rebounder with 821 boards, and the all-time leading shot-blocker with 186 rejections.

Melzer spent time trying out with the NBA's Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic. He also earned a spot on the San Antonio Spurs but was not named to the team's final roster. He led the Sioux Falls Skyforce to the Continental Basketball Association Championship in 2005. He also won a title with San Carlos in the Dominican Republic League and was voted MVP of the National Finals.

Melzer spent the 2005–06 season with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL, [3] earning NBL Player of the Week in Week 20.

On July 14, 2006, Melzler signed a two-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs. [4] He appeared in four preseason games, averaging 2.8 points in 7.8 minutes. He was released by the Spurs on October 20, 2006. [5]

Melzer signed a month contract with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France. He then moved to play for Hapoel Gilboa/Afula of Israel in January 2007.

Melzer also played for Artland Dragons in the German Bundesliga.

In July 2009, it was announced that Melzer would return to Australia, to play for the Cairns Taipans. He again won a Player of the Week award, but his form declined during the year [6] and he returned to the United States to play for Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA Development League. [7] [8]

Prior to the 2010–11 season Melzer returned to Israel, and signed with Hapoel Holon, which was coached by Dani Franco (who coached him when he played for Hapoel Gilboa/Afula).

In June 2011, he signed a contract with the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in the German Bundesliga. [9]

He is now coaching youth basketball, as well as making guest appearances on local sports television and radio shows.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk Penney</span> New Zealand basketball player

Kirk Samuel Penney is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He is the all-time leading scorer for New Zealand's national team and he ranks 12th all-time in points scored at the FIBA World Cup. In 2024, he was inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Bruton</span> American-Australian basketball player

Calvin Thomas "C. J." Bruton Jr. is an American-Australian professional basketball coach and former player. He played the majority of his career in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) where he won six league championships and was a five-time All-NBL Team selection. Bruton played for numerous NBL teams over his career: Perth Wildcats, Brisbane Bullets, Wollongong Hawks, Canberra Cannons, Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers.

Ekenechukwu "E-Beks" Ibekwe is a Nigerian American professional basketball player for Urunday Universitario of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol. He played college basketball for the University of Maryland at College Park and represents the Nigerian national basketball team in international competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Jawai</span> Australian basketball player (born 1986)

Nathan Leon Jawai is an Australian professional basketball player for the Darwin Salties of the NBL1 North. Standing at 209 cm, he plays at the power forward and centre positions.

David Thomas is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played eight seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Michigan State University and has represented Canada in international competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Machado</span> American-Brazilian basketball player

Michael Scott Machado is an American-Brazilian professional basketball player for Minas Clube of Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). He played college basketball for Iona College and represents the Brazilian national basketball team.

Tyler Wilkerson is an American professional basketball player for Cocodrilos de Caracas of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto. He played college basketball at Marshall University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrey Craig</span> American basketball player (born 1990)

Torrey Craig is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Upstate Spartans, where he was named an honorable mention All-American and Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottie Wilbekin</span> American-Turkish basketball player

Scottie Jordan Wilbekin is an American-born naturalized Turkish professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, where he was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2014. Wilbekin played professional basketball in Australia, Greece, Turkey and Israel. He led Darüşşafaka to win the 2018 EuroCup title, while earning the EuroCup Finals and the Regular Season MVP awards.

Cameron Richard Gliddon is an Australian basketball coach and former professional player, currently the head coach of the Auckland Tuatara in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played four years of college basketball for Concordia University before returning to Australia and joining the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL), where he won the NBL Rookie of the Year Award in 2013. After six seasons with the Taipans, he played two seasons for the Brisbane Bullets (2018–20), two for the South East Melbourne Phoenix (2020–22), and two for the New Zealand Breakers (2022–24). He also played in Poland, Russia and the New Zealand NBL throughout his career. In September 2024, he retired from playing and was appointed head coach of the Auckland Tuatara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akil Mitchell</span> American-Panamanian basketball player (born 1992)

Akil Anthony Mitchell is an American-Panamanian professional basketball player for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. J. Newbill</span> American basketball player

Devonte Jerrell "D. J." Newbill is an American professional basketball player for Utsunomiya Brex of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for Penn State before playing professionally in France, Turkey, Belgium, New Zealand, Poland, Australia and Russia.

Gregory Vernon Whittington is an American professional basketball player. After a tumultuous college career with Georgetown, Whittington began his professional career by helping the Sioux Falls Skyforce win the 2016 NBA D-League championship. He went on to play in Australia, Japan, Israel, Turkey, Russia and Spain. He made his NBA debut in 2021 with the Denver Nuggets.

Jaron Johnson is an American professional basketball player for Niners Chemnitz of the Basketball Bundesliga and the Champions League. He played college basketball for Tyler Junior College and Louisiana Tech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahjere McCall</span> American basketball player (born 1994)

Tahjere McCall is an American professional basketball player who last played for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Niagara Purple Eagles and Tennessee State Tigers.

The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 Cairns Taipans season</span>

The 2018–19 NBL season was the 20th season for the Cairns Taipans in the National Basketball League (NBL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojave King</span> New Zealand-American basketball player (born 2002)

Mojave King is a New Zealand-American professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He began his career in the Australian NBL in 2020, playing his first season for the Cairns Taipans. After a season with the Adelaide 36ers, he joined the NBA G League Ignite in 2022. He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamont Jones (basketball, born 1972)</span> American former basketball player

Lamont Jones is an American former professional basketball player who played the guard position. He played for Hapoel Gilboa/Afula in 2007–08, leading the Israeli Basketball Premier League in assists.

References

  1. ↑ Basketball Reference
  2. ↑ D-League Dreamers
  3. ↑ "Basketball: Breakers sign US import". The New Zealand Herald . 9 August 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Spurs Sign Rich Melzer To Two Year Deal
  5. ↑ Spurs Release Famutimi, Melzer And Reiner
  6. ↑ Melzer under pressure as Cairns Taipans flag changes
  7. ↑ Vipers Acquire Ex-Spur and NBA D-League Champion
  8. ↑ Rockets' D-League affiliate Vipers capture first title
  9. ↑ New Yorker land Melzer and waive Goree
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.