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 professional basketball player. He is the all-time leading scorer for New Zealand’s National Team. He ranks 12th all-time in points scored at the FIBA World Cup. He played four years of college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers between 1999 and 2003, where he was twice named first-team all-conference and an all-American. He became the second New Zealander in the NBA when he appeared briefly for the Miami Heat in 2003 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2005, and went on to play professionally in Spain, the NBA Development League, Israel, Lithuania, Germany and Turkey. He also played six seasons for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He was named the NBL MVP in 2009, named to the NBL first-team four times, led the NBL in scoring three times and won an NBL championship with the Breakers in 2011.

<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 Brian "Ekene" 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">Demetri McCamey</span> American basketball player

Demetri McCamey, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. His prior professional experience includes time with the NBA Development League's Erie BayHawks, Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Fort Wayne Mad Ants, as well as time abroad with Hapoel Jerusalem, Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi, Oita Heat Devils and Cairns Taipans. He played college basketball for the University of Illinois where he completed his senior season in 2010–11 and was the 2009–10 Big Ten assists champion (7.06) and the 2009–10 NCAA runner-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Mitchell (basketball, born 1989)</span> American basketball player

Tony Mitchell is an American professional basketball player for Beirut Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. He played college basketball for the University of Alabama.

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

Michael Scott Machado is an American-Brazilian professional basketball player for Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League. He played college basketball for Iona College and represents the Brazilian national basketball team.

Tyler Wilkerson is an American professional basketball player for Al-Muharraq SC of the Bahraini Premier League. He played college basketball at Marshall University.

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

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, formerly 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.

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

Akil Anthony Mitchell is an American-Panamanian professional basketball player for the Ningbo Rockets 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 Osaka Evessa 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 for Palencia of the Liga ACB. 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 and Russia. He made his NBA debut in 2021 with the Denver Nuggets.

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).

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.

The 2022–23 NBL season was the 45th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2022–23 season.

The 2021–22 NBL season was the 23rd season for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL, and their first under the leadership of their new head coach Adam Forde.

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.