The news is nothing new for this old timer

April 4, 2022 Andy Furman

Ralph Tedesco. Photo courtesy of Andy Furman

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Those nightly news reports from Ukraine are frightening.

For Walter Szczerbiak it’s déjà vu.

“I was born Wolodymir Szczerbiak in a refugee camp, August 1949. My parents were Ukrainian and were displaced into Germany after the Germans invaded the Ukraine on their way towards Russia during the Second World War,” he noted on his bio, prior to being one of six new inductees into the Basketball Old Timers of America, Friday, May 6th at Sirico’s (8023 13th Avenue, Brooklyn).

“My father,” he continued, “was forced to work for the German railroad and my mother worked as a maid/housekeeper for a kind German family.”

Walter Szczerbiak. Photo courtesy of Andy Furman

Szczerbiak said his parents moved into a refugee camp and were there five years. “We lived in the camp two more years before the Ukrainian Catholic Parish of Saint John the Baptist sponsored us to come to Pittsburgh in December, 1951,” he recalled.

The church helped his father get a job and helped the family find a two-room apartment on the second floor of a house on a hilly street near the J&L Steel Mills on the southside of Pittsburgh.

That site is now the Pittsburgh Steelers practice facility.

“We had a kitchen and a bedroom with no bathroom, we had to go to an out-house to take care of our business,” he said.

“I decided that I had a vocation for the priesthood and decided to go to the Ukrainian Catholic seminary in Stamford, Conn. to pursue my high school education,” he said.

And that’s where he first picked up a basketball.

He picked it up so well – and so fast – when he returned to the Pittsburgh playgrounds that summer, he impressed the coaches at Saint Casmir’s High School.

“My brother Joe and two coaches – Spike Hennessy and Richard Ignaski – put a full-court press on me and convinced me to leave the seminary and attend Saint Casmir’s,” he said.

Szczerbiak scored 1,238 points in his two-year high school career – he averaged 25 points as a senior leading the team to a 24-2 record.

Next stop – basketball at George Washington University where he averaged 15.4 points-per-game on a 17-2 freshman team. As a senior that averaged exploded to 22.8 points and 13 rebounds-a-game.

Szczerbiak – now going by Walter – was drafted by both the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the now-defunct ABA’s Dallas Chaparrals.

The Suns’ contract was not guaranteed – he was cut – and landed with his hometown ABA Pittsburgh Condors. That, too was short-lived as they folded in 1971-72.

The Eastern League was his next stop, with weekend games in such remote places like Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Allentown, Hazelton, Scranton, Garden State and Hartford.

Lou Carnesecca, the Hall of Fame coach at St. John’s helped Szczerbiak land with Real Madrid – where he played seven seasons, and won four Spanish League titles.

“Along the way,” he said, “I’ve had a lot to be thankful for. I am also fortunate that I’ve had two of my children follow in my footsteps with their love and basketball.”

His son Wally was fortunate enough to have a 10-year NBA career and daughter Wendy was one of the top players on Long Island and attended Lehigh University.

“My second son, Will, played basketball in high school but fell in love with the sport of rugby at Georgetown University.”

The other inductees:

Bob Leckie. Photo courtesy of Andy Furman

Bob Leckie: Born in Greenpoint, attended St. Cecilia’s where he ran track and field and won a City-Wide Speech Contest in eighth grade. He was a member of the 1963 City Finalist Basketball Team at St. Francis Prep. As a senior, he was a Brooklyn Division A All-Star. He served as basketball captain at then St. Peter’s College –played from 1964-69 and led the Peacocks to a 63-17 record. Those Peacocks appeared in three consecutive NITs including a major upset of defending ACC champion Duke in the 1967 semi-finals. He coached Bishop Loughlin to seven CHSAA and three Diocese of Brooklyn titles, three city finalists and five Final Four appearances with a 241-92 record in 13 years. In 2001 he was inducted into the Lions’ Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the St. Peter’s Hall of Fame in 1995 and became their head coach from 2000-06.

Armond Hill. Photo courtesy of Andy Furman

Armond Hill: The Bishop Ford grad spent eight seasons in the NBA (1976-84) playing for the Atlanta Hawks, Seattle SuperSonics, San Diego Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. He attended Princeton and was named Ivy League Men’s Basketball Player of the Year in 1976. He succeeded Jack Rohan as basketball coach at Columbia University and on June 9, 2021 was named Director of Basketball Administration for men’s basketball at Indiana University.

Ralph Tedesco: One of the founding fathers of men’s basketball at Manhattanville College, and remains the longest-tenured coach in the team’s history, having spent 15 years behind the Valiant bench (1979-94).

His 17 victories in both the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons were a program record. His teams made six postseason appearances in the prestigious ECAC Metro Tournament between 1982-92. He remains the basketball program’s all-time leader in wins (194) and games coached (385), while he still ranks fourth all-time in wins and third in games coached in all Manhattanville sports.

Pat Quigley. Photo courtesy of Andy Furman

Pat Quigley: He attended St. John’s Prep and later St. John’s University. He taught history at Bishop Loughlin from 1967-2006 and served as Librarian from 1994-2006. He was basketball coach at St. Barbara’s Parish (1959-1966) and coached freshman basketball (1968-69); jayvee (1970-72) and varsity (1972-87 and 1990-91). He served as assistant coach at Iona College in 1987-88. He owns four Diocesan championships, one City title (1975), one New York State Championship (1983).

Rich Kosik. Photo courtesy of Andy Furman

Rich Kosik: He serves as a PSAL Student-Athlete/Parent Seminar Leader. He’s helped many CHSAA and PSAL athletes obtain college scholarships.

“This is the 62nd year of the dinner,” said Raymond P. Nash, President of the organization. “I took over from the original team,” he said, “and have been doing it for about 20 years. Dennis (McDermott) – St. Francis College basketball Hall of Famer – joined me about five years ago.”

The Old Timers of America dinner and induction is set for Friday, May 6th at Sirico’s, 8023 13th Avenue, Brooklyn 11228. Cocktails at 6 pm. Dinner at 7 pm. Tickets are $150. Make checks payable to: Raymond Nash, Basketball Old Timers, 86-46 Fort Hamilton Parkway, suite 4A, Brooklyn, New York 11209.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR