Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) 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 and a college basketball TV analyst for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.

Early career

Gminski played his high school ball for

Masuk High School Masuk High School is a public high school in Monroe, Connecticut, United States, and includes grades 9 through 12. It is located on Connecticut Route 111 (Monroe Turnpike) in Monroe, between Old Coach Road and Pond View Road. The school has an in ...

in Monroe, CT, where he graduated in three years.

College career

From there he played four seasons with the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

, from 1977 to 1980. He led the team in scoring during his junior and senior years. Gminski was named the ACC Rookie of the Year (tied) in 1977, first team All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

three years, 1978, 1979, and 1980, and ACC Player of the Year in 1979. He was also named an AP Second Team All-American in 1979 and 1980, and a UPI First Team All-American in 1979 and Second Team All-American in 1980. At the time of graduation, he was the Duke career leader in points (2,323), rebounds (1,242), and blocked shots (345). As of early 2020, he is eighth all time in the ACC in points and rebounds. He is sixth in blocked shots all-time in the ACC and second in Duke history. He is also second in Duke career rebounds behind

Shelden Williams Shelden DeMar Williams (born October 21, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Landlord", he played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, and later played in the NBA for parts of seven seasons. William ...

and fifth in points behind

JJ Redick Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick (born June 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is a podcaster and sports analyst for ESPN. He was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. He played college baske ...

Johnny Dawkins Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American ...

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

, and

Kyle Singler Kyle Edward Singler (born May 4, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. Singler was a four-year starter for the Duke men's basketball team and was instrumental in their 2010 NCAA championship run, earning Most Outstanding Pl ...

. His jersey number 43 is retired by the Duke men's basketball team. In 2002, Gminski was named to the

ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team During the 2002–03 school year, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) celebrated its 50th anniversary by selecting the top players in its respective sports. Fifty players were selected for the men's basketball team, which was voted on by a 120-mem ...

as one of the 50 greatest players in

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

history.

NBA career

Gminski was drafted in the first round by the

New Jersey Nets 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, ...

of the NBA. He played for the Nets from 1980 to 1988. Gminski played in the

Summer Pro League The Summer Pro League (SPL), formerly known as the Southern California Summer Pro League, was a basketball league held every summer in Long Beach, California. The SPL moved to the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State in 1995. Before th ...

in 1981, where during a game he was elbowed in the back which caused an infection and

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...

. He went on to play with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, as well as the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

and

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 ...

. He wore jersey No 42 throughout his career and only got to wear No 43 (his Duke number) in his final 8 games with the Milwaukee Bucks. He scored 10 points in his final NBA game. In a remarkable start to the 1990 season, Gminski and teammates made a pact that if the Sixers won 10 in a row, they would each get their ears pierced. When the team pulled off 12 in a row, he,

Rick Mahorn Derrick Allen Mahorn (born September 21, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played power forward and center for the Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets of the National Basket ...

and the others were sporting diamond earrings to commemorate the feat. Gminski was an exceptional

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

shooter, especially compared to other big men (Gminski was listed at ). During his career, he converted over 84% of his attempts.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 56 , , - , , 28.2 , , .423 , , .000 , , .767 , , 7.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.8 , , 13.2 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 64 , , 6 , , 11.6 , , .441 , , .000 , , .822 , , 2.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.8 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 1 , , 15.7 , , .500 , , .000 , , .778 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 1.5 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 2 , , 20.2 , , .513 , , .000 , , .799 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 54 , , 29.9 , , .465 , , .000 , , .841 , , 7.8 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.1 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 78 , , 31.2 , , .517 , , .000 , , .893 , , 8.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.9 , , 16.5 , - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 72 , , 66 , , 31.6 , , .457 , , .000 , , .846 , , 8.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.7 , , 1.0 , , 16.4 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 35.1 , , .454 , , .000 , , .861 , , 9.4 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 16.9 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 47 , , 47 , , 37.6 , , .445 , , .000 , , .938 , , 10.5 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.8 , , 16.9 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 82 , , 33.4 , , .477 , , .000 , , .871 , , 9.4 , , 1.7 , , 0.6 , , 1.3 , , 17.2 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 81 , , 32.8 , , .457 , , .176 , , .821 , , 8.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.5 , , 1.3 , , 13.7 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 29 , , 26.4 , , .384 , , .125 , , .841 , , 6.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 1.1 , , 9.1 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, 50 , , 50 , , 28.1 , , .473 , , .167 , , .789 , , 7.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 11.4 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 10 , , 14.3 , , .452 , , .333 , , .750 , , 3.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 0 , , 7.4 , , .506 , , .000 , , .900 , , 2.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 21 , , 6 , , 12.1 , , .392 , , .000 , , .786 , , 2.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , 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 is ...

, 8 , , 1 , , 6.8 , , .208 , , .000 , , .750 , , 1.9 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 938 , , 547 , , 25.6 , , .465 , , .122 , , .843 , , 6.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 1.1 , , 11.7

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , - , , 10.0 , , .667 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , - , , 14.5 , , .667 , , .000 , , .750 , , 4.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 11 , , - , , 20.3 , , .580 , , .000 , , .692 , , 5.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 1.4 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 27.0 , , .545 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 36.3 , , .372 , , .000 , , .963 , , 10.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 19.3 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.3 , , .396 , , .000 , , .688 , , 7.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 2.7 , , 16.3 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 34.2 , , .487 , , .000 , , .933 , , 5.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 2.3 , , 12.8 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 35 , , 16 , , 26.2 , , .485 , , .000 , , .795 , , 5.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 1.6 , , 11.2

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gminski, Mike 1959 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Polish descent Basketball players from Connecticut Centers (basketball) Charlotte Hornets announcers Charlotte Hornets players College basketball announcers in the United States Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players People from Monroe, Connecticut Philadelphia 76ers players