Leonard J. Kosmalski (born November 21, 1951) is a retired American basketball player. He played collegiately at the
University of Tennessee and professionally for the
National Basketball Association's
Kansas City Kings.
Kosmalski, a 7-foot center from
Maple Heights High School in Ohio, was a three-year starter for the
Tennessee Volunteers and a three-time first team All-
Southeastern Conference pick and was a starter on the Vols' 1972 SEC championship team. For his college career, Kosmalski averaged 17.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. During the
2012–13 season, Kosmalski was named an SEC legend as a part of the
2013 SEC tournament.
Following the close of his college career, Kosmalski was drafted in both the
1974 NBA draft
The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...
by the
Kansas City–Omaha Kings (24th pick overall), and by the Utah Stars in the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
Draft (20th overall).
[ Kosmalski played parts of two seasons for the Kings, averaging 1.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 76 games. He then played a season in Italy for Stella Azzurra Roma.][
His son ]Landry Kosmalski
Landry Kosmalski (born May 1, 1978) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach at Swarthmore.
Playing career
Growing up, Kosmalski studied books on the Boston Celtics under coach Red Auerbach, and was impressed that ...
is the current head basketball coach at Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
.
References
External links
Italian League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmalski, Len
1951 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Cleveland
Centers (basketball)
Kansas City Kings draft picks
Kansas City Kings players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Tennessee Volunteers basketball players
Utah Stars draft picks