Gerardus John Besselink (born September 1, 1963)
is a Canadian former professional
basketball player.
Career
A native of
Kingston, Ontario, Besselink played at
Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic High School
Regiopolis - Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (sometimes abbreviated to RND or "Regi") is a secondary school located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada offering grades 9 to 12. It is one of three schools in Kingston that offer the International B ...
and
Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute. He enrolled at the
University of Connecticut in 1983.
He played for the
UConn Huskies men's basketball team from 1984 to 1987. After 112 career games played, the 6
'9'' (204 cm) center posted career game averages of 5.2 points and 5.7 rebounds.
He did not miss any game while at UConn.
In his senior season, Besselink posted career-highs 10.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
In 1986, Besselink earned a spot on the
Canadian Men’s National Team and participated in the
World Championship in Spain.
In the professional ranks, Besselink played eight games for
De Boo DAS Delft in the
Netherlands in the 1987-88 season, averaging 15.6 points per contest. He returned to the US to finish his university degree in
Special Education/Rehabilitation, before continuing his professional career, which he mostly spent in
Finland (1989-90 and 1992-93 at FoKoPo, 1990-91 at
HNMKY, 1995-96 at
Korihait, 1996-97 at New Wave Helsinki, 2002-03 at Rekolan Urheilijat, 2004-05 at Visa Basket).
He also had stints in
New Zealand,
(1991-92), at
Jämtland Basket in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
(1993-1995), at
Astra Basket in Sweden (1997-98),
and at
German 2. Bundesliga side TSV Tröster Breitengüßbach (parts of the 1995-96 season). At Jämtland Basket, Besselink formed a duo with American
Bo Heiden, which was later considered as one of the best duos in team history. Besselink won MVP honors in the Swedish league in 1994. While in Sweden, he also participated in the European competition
FIBA Korać Cup.
After the conclusion of his basketball career, Besselink stayed in Finland, where he had met his wife, who was a member of Finland’s Women’s Basketball National Team and played at
Saint Mary’s College. Their children Maria, Max, Michael became basketball players. Besselink worked as a teacher and basketball coach in Finland.
He was inducted into the Kingston & District Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Further reading
Uconn burdened with ineligibility losses ''Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York)''
Finesse no longer Besselink's style ''Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut)''
From start to Finnish ''Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut)''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besselink, Gerry
1963 births
Living people
Basketball people from Ontario
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Sweden
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Germany
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Finland
Canadian expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands
Canadian expatriate basketball people in New Zealand
Canadian men's basketball players
Forwards (basketball)
Sportspeople from Kingston, Ontario
UConn Huskies men's basketball players
DAS Delft players