Paul Mokeski
Personal information
Born (1957-01-03) January 3, 1957 (age 67)
Spokane, Washington
NationalityAmerican
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High schoolCrespi Carmelite (Encino, California)
CollegeKansas (1975–1979)
NBA draft1979: 2nd round, 42nd overall pick
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career1979–1993
PositionCenter
Number54, 53, 44, 45
Coaching career1994–2018
Career history
As player:
1979–1980Houston Rockets
1980–1982Detroit Pistons
1982Cleveland Cavaliers
1983–1989Milwaukee Bucks
1989–1990Cleveland Cavaliers
1991Golden State Warriors
1992–1993Quad City Thunder
As coach:
1994–1995Hartford Hellcats
1996Connecticut Skyhawks
2003–2004Dallas Mavericks (assistant)
2007–2009Charlotte Bobcats (assistant)
2009–2011Rio Grande Valley Vipers (assistant)
2011–2013Reno Bighorns
2013–2014Rio Grande Valley Vipers (assistant)
2014–2015Brampton A's (assistant)
2016–2017Moncton Miracles
2017–2018Nevada Desert Dogs
Career NBA statistics
Points2,764 (4.0 ppg)
Rebounds2,342 (3.4 rpg)
Assists500 (0.7 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Paul Mokeski (born January 3, 1957) is an American former basketball player and coach. Standing 7 ft 0 in, he played the center position.[1] He played for five NBA teams, including six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.[2][3][4]

Mokeski's last coaching position was as head coach of the Nevada Desert Dogs in North American Premier Basketball in 2018.

Early career

Mokeski played at Crespi Carmelite High School in Los Angeles, California. He went on to play two seasons at the University of Kansas, where he accumulated 680 rebounds, placing him 15th in school history.[2]

Professional career

On the Bucks, Mokeski played a role as a key bench player on several deep playoff runs. During the 1984 NBA Playoffs, he averaged career postseason bests of 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in only 20 minutes a game.[5] Paul was known for his use of the "Barbara face", which struck fear into his opponents. He was also known to yell loudly "Why! Hellaw!" during free throw situations, which frequently caused his opponents to miss clutch free throws. His tactics helped the Bucks win many close games. [6] On March 28, 1985, Mokeski scored a career high 21 points, along with grabbing 7 rebounds, in a 121-116 win over the New York Knicks.[7]

Career statistics

Legend
  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

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1979–80 Houston 12 - 9.4 .333 .000 .778 2.4 0.2 0.1 0.5 2.4
1980–81 Detroit 80 - 22.7 .489 .000 .600 5.2 1.7 0.5 0.9 7.1
1981–82 Detroit 39 3 13.4 .441 .000 .758 3.1 0.6 0.3 0.6 3.2
1981–82 Cleveland 28 1 12.3 .427 .000 .767 3.1 0.4 0.7 0.6 3.3
1982–83 Cleveland 23 18 23.4 .455 .000 .615 6.0 1.1 0.5 1.0 5.5
1982–83 Milwaukee 50 1 11.8 .460 .000 .810 2.4 0.5 0.2 0.4 3.2
1983–84 Milwaukee 68 4 12.3 .479 .333 .694 2.4 0.6 0.2 0.4 3.8
1984–85 Milwaukee 79 6 20.1 .478 .000 .698 5.2 1.3 0.4 0.4 6.2
1985–86 Milwaukee 45 0 11.6 .424 .000 .735 3.1 0.7 0.1 0.1 3.2
1986–87 Milwaukee 62 3 10.1 .403 .000 .719 2.2 0.4 0.3 0.2 2.4
1987–88 Milwaukee 60 0 14.1 .476 .000 .708 3.7 0.4 0.5 0.5 4.2
1988–89 Milwaukee 74 0 9.3 .360 .269 .784 2.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 2.2
1989–90 Cleveland 38 1 11.8 .420 .000 .694 2.6 0.4 0.2 0.3 4.0
1990–91 Golden State 36 1 7.1 .356 .333 .800 1.9 0.3 0.2 0.1 1.6
Career 694 38 14.0 .451 .216 .694 3.4 0.7 0.3 0.4 4.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1982–83 Milwaukee 4 - 3.0 .500 .000 .000 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.0 1.0
1983–84 Milwaukee 16 - 20.1 .540 .000 .667 5.5 0.4 0.6 0.7 6.1
1984–85 Milwaukee 8 0 19.3 .444 .000 1.000 4.3 1.5 0.3 0.5 5.5
1985–86 Milwaukee 14 0 7.2 .519 .000 .667 1.7 0.6 0.4 0.2 2.4
1986–87 Milwaukee 12 0 8.9 .364 .000 .800 2.4 0.2 0.3 0.2 2.3
1987–88 Milwaukee 4 0 10.0 .357 .000 .667 2.3 0.0 0.8 0.5 3.5
1988–89 Milwaukee 5 0 12.2 .571 1.000 .750 3.4 0.6 0.0 0.0 4.6
1989–90 Cleveland 3 0 3.3 .500 .000 1.000 0.7 0.0 0.3 0.3 1.3
1990–91 Golden State 3 0 2.7 1.000 .000 .000 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.7
Career 69 0 11.8 .486 .250 .742 3.0 0.5 0.4 0.3 3.6

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1975–76 Kansas 18 - 26.3 .482 - .730 6.4 - - - 10.6
1976–77 Kansas 14 - 17.9 .396 - .625 6.1 - - - 6.1
1977–78 Kansas 28 - 23.3 .518 - .574 8.5 - - - 9.3
1978–79 Kansas 29 - 33.6 .498 - .725 8.3 - - - 14.1
Career 89 - 26.4 .488 - .683 7.6 - - - 10.6

Coaching career

Mokeski was an assistant coach with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA D-League.[8] In June 2007, he was hired by the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats as an assistant coach under Sam Vincent.[8] He was let go at the end of the 2007-08 season, when Vincent was fired.[citation needed]

Mokeski was later hired as an assistant coach with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League.[9] In September 2011, he became the head coach of the Reno Bighorns.[10] In March 2013, he was relieved of his head coaching duties.[11] He returned to the Vipers for one season before heading north to coach in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada). In 2016, he was hired as the head coach of the Moncton Miracles, a team that was then being operated by the league. In 2017, the Miracles folded to make way for a new NBL Canada team called the Moncton Magic. NBL Canada commissioner, David Magley, then left the league to become president of a new league called North American Premier Basketball and announced that Mokeski would be one of the inaugural coaches when the league launched in 2018.[12]

On August 16, 2018, Mokeski was named the commissioner of The Basketball League (TBL) for the 2019 season.[13]

Personal life

Mokeski co-hosts a weekly basketball podcast called “The D.Gerv and Big Mo Show” with Derrick Gervin.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Paul Mokeski Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Novak, Thad. "Kansas Basketball: The Top 50 Players in School History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  3. ^ "Paul Mokeski - National Basketball Retired Players Association". Legends of Basketball. February 21, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "Paul Mokeski Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "Paul Mokeski Per Game Playoffs". Basketball Reference.
  6. ^ "Paul Mokeski Playing style". Basketball Reference.
  7. ^ "Paul Mokeski Career High 21 Points". Statmuse.
  8. ^ a b Ex-NBA center Mokeski hired as Bobcats assistant June 13, 2007
  9. ^ "The Official Site of the Nba Development League: Anaheim Arsenal". www.nba.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Reno Bighorns Hire Paul Mokeski As New Head Coach
  11. ^ Jason Glover Named Interim Head Coach
  12. ^ "KU notebook: Ex-Jayhawk David Magley leaves Canada pro league for new venture in U.S." The Kansas City Star. July 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "Mesquite (Nevada) Desert Dogs coming back for 2019". Mesquite Local News. August 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "After passing on Gonzaga in the 1970s, former NBA big man Paul Mokeski says Zags rank among his favorites today". The Spokesman-Review.

External links

Moncton Miracles head coaches
1979 NBA draft
Categories