Richard Melzer (born December 8, 1979) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who has played in the Australian National Basketball League, the

German Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

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 ...

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

, as well as stints in France and Israel. He primarily played

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

. 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Player of the Year by the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

(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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

and the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. He also earned a spot on the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

but was not named to the team's final roster. He led the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

to the

Championship in 2005. He also won a title with San Carlos in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

League and was voted MVP of the National Finals. Melzer spent the 2005–06 season with the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

of the NBL, earning NBL Player of the Week in Week 20. On July 14, 2006, Melzler signed a two-year contract with the

. He appeared in four preseason games, averaging 2.8 points in 7.8 minutes. He was released by the Spurs on October 20, 2006. Melzer signed a month contract with

ASVEL Villeurbanne ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He then moved to play for Hapoel Gilboa/Afula of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in January 2007. Melzer also played for

Artland Dragons QTSV Quakenbrück, representing its professional team as Artland Dragons, is a basketball club based in Quakenbrück, Germany. Their home arena was the Artland Arena, which has room for 3,000 spectators. From 2003 till 2015 the club played in the ...

in the German Bundesliga. In July 2009, it was announced that Melzer would return to Australia, to play for the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

. He again won a Player of the Week award, but his form declined during the year and he returned to the United States to play for

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 f ...

in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. Prior to the 2010–11 season Melzer returned to Israel, and signed with

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...

, 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 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in the German Bundesliga.New Yorker land Melzer and waive Goree
/ref> He is now coaching youth basketball, as well as making guest appearances on local sports television and radio shows.

References

External links

Richard Melzer
at eurobasket.com

at fiba.com
Richard Melzer
at lnb.fr
Richard Melzer
at realgm.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Melzer, Richard 1979 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American men's basketball players Artland Dragons players ASVEL Basket players Basketball Löwen Braunschweig players Basketball players from Minnesota Cairns Taipans players Hapoel Gilboa/Afula players Hapoel Holon players Israeli Basketball Premier League players New Zealand Breakers players Power forwards (basketball) Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players Wisconsin–River Falls Falcons men's basketball players