Paul Mokeski (born January 3, 1957) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and coach. Standing 7 ft 0 in, he played the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position. He played for five NBA teams, including six seasons with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. Mokeski's last coaching position was as head coach of the Nevada Desert Dogs in

North American Premier Basketball The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bas ...

in 2018.

Early career

Mokeski played at

Crespi Carmelite High School Crespi Carmelite High School, shortly known as Crespi, is a private Catholic all-male four-year college preparatory high school located in Encino District, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He went on to play two seasons at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, where he accumulated 680 rebounds, placing him 15th in school history.

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. 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.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 12 , , - , , 9.4 , , .333 , , .000 , , .778 , , 2.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 0.5 , , 2.4 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 80 , , - , , 22.7 , , .489 , , .000 , , .600 , , 5.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 39 , , 3 , , 13.4 , , .441 , , .000 , , .758 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 28 , , 1 , , 12.3 , , .427 , , .000 , , .767 , , 3.1 , , 0.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 23 , , 18 , , 23.4 , , .455 , , .000 , , .615 , , 6.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, 50 , , 1 , , 11.8 , , .460 , , .000 , , .810 , , 2.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 68 , , 4 , , 12.3 , , .479 , , .333 , , .694 , , 2.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 79 , , 6 , , 20.1 , , .478 , , .000 , , .698 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 6.2 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 45 , , 0 , , 11.6 , , .424 , , .000 , , .735 , , 3.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 3.2 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 3 , , 10.1 , , .403 , , .000 , , .719 , , 2.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 2.4 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 60 , , 0 , , 14.1 , , .476 , , .000 , , .708 , , 3.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 4.2 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 0 , , 9.3 , , .360 , , .269 , , .784 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 2.2 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 38 , , 1 , , 11.8 , , .420 , , .000 , , .694 , , 2.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" ,

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, align="left" , Golden State , 36 , , 1 , , 7.1 , , .356 , , .333 , , .800 , , 1.9 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 694 , , 38 , , 14.0 , , .451 , , .216 , , .694 , , 3.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 4.0

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , - , , 3.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , - , , 20.1 , , .540 , , .000 , , .667 , , 5.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 0 , , 19.3 , , .444 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 4.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .519 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.4 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 0 , , 8.9 , , .364 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .357 , , .000 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 12.2 , , .571 , , 1.000 , , .750 , , 3.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .486 , , .250 , , .742 , , 3.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 3.6

College

, - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, 18 , , - , , 26.3 , , .482 , , - , , .730 , , 6.4 , , - , , - , , - , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , 1976–77 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , - , , 17.9 , , .396 , , - , , .625 , , 6.1 , , - , , - , , - , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , - , , 23.3 , , .518 , , - , , .574 , , 8.5 , , - , , - , , - , , 9.3 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , - , , 33.6 , , .498 , , - , , .725 , , 8.3 , , - , , - , , - , , 14.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", 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 The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

.Ex-NBA center Mokeski hired as Bobcats assistant
June 13, 2007 In June 2007, he was hired by the NBA's

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

as an assistant coach under

Sam Vincent James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High Sch ...

. He was let go at the end of the 2007-08 season, when Vincent was fired. Mokeski was later hired as an assistant coach with the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

of the D-League. In September 2011, he became the head coach of the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. In March 2013, he was relieved of his head coaching duties. He returned to the Vipers for one season before heading north to coach in the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...

(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 David John Magley (born November 24, 1959) is a retired American basketball player and coach. He is currently the president of The Basketball League after serving as commissioner of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC). Prior to becomi ...

, then left the league to become president of a new league called

and announced that Mokeski would be one of the inaugural coaches when the league launched in 2018. On August 16, 2018, Mokeski was named the commissioner of

The Basketball League The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bas ...

(TBL) for the 2019 season.

Personal life

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

References

External links

Career statistics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mokeski, Paul 1957 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Washington (state) Basketball players from Spokane, Washington Brampton A's coaches Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers players Continental Basketball Association coaches Detroit Pistons players Fort Worth Flyers coaches Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players Moncton Miracles coaches North American Premier Basketball coaches Reno Bighorns coaches Rio Grande Valley Vipers coaches United States Basketball League coaches