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Don Anielak

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Don Anielak
Personal information
Born(1930-11-01)November 1, 1930
St. Louis, Missouri
DiedNovember 19, 1995(1995-11-19) (aged 65)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolBland (Bland, Missouri)
College
NBA draft1954: 3rd round, 26th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1954–1955
PositionForward
Number12
Career history
1954New York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Donald Robert Anielak (November 1, 1930 – November 19, 1995) was an American professional basketball player and a high school coach. He starred at Southwest Missouri State University before playing professionally for the New York Knicks in 1954.

College career

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Anielak played collegiately for two seasons at Moberly Junior College before transferring to Southwest Missouri State University where he played from 1952 to 1954. He originally signed on to play with Bradley, but left the school shortly before the first game of the 1951 season.[1] In January 1953, he set the schools then single-game scoring record with 39 points at Northeast Missouri.[2][3] A month later he scored 38 points against Warrensburg.[4] He was a MIAA All-Conference selection in 1953[5] after leading the conference in scoring with 21.9 points per game.[6] He won the NAIA championship the same season[7][3] and was a member of the NAIA All-Tournament team that year.[3] His total of 888 points remained a school record for a player in a two-year career until 1974.[3]

In 1989, Southwest Missouri State inducted Anielak into their Athletics Hall of Fame.[3]

Professional career

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After college, Anielak was selected by the New York Knicks in the third round (26th overall) of the 1954 NBA draft and signed with the team in August 1954.[7] He appeared in one regular season game for the Knicks, scoring three points, before being waived in November 1954.[8][9]

Later life

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After his playing career ended, Anielak became a high school coach, first at St. Peter's High in St. Charles. He later coached at Ramsey Illinois where he accumulated a 56–18 record in three seasons before moving to Williamsville where he posted a 134–55 record in nine seasons.[10] In 1972, he was hired as the head coach Koshkonong High School in Missouri and in 1974 he moved to North Boone High School in Illinois.[11]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Source[8]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1954–55 New York 1 10.0 .000 .750 2.0 .0 3.0

References

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  1. ^ "Anielak will play with Soells tonight". St Louis Post-Dispatch. December 18, 1951.
  2. ^ "Anielak on Spree to pace SMS win". Springfield Leader and Press. January 13, 1953. p. 9. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Don Anielak (1989)". MSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "They're both champs". The Springfield News-Leader. February 22, 1953. p. 31. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Three Bears selected for All-MIAA berths". Springfield Leader and Press. March 2, 1953. p. 9. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  6. ^ "MIAA's figures disclose Anielak is scoring king". Springfield Leader and Press. March 11, 1953. p. 15. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Knick sign giant center from Missouri". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 24, 1954. p. 15. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Don Anielak". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  9. ^ Dana Mozley (November 9, 1954). "Help! Knicks in need of it". New York Daily News. p. 93. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "St. Peter's five defeats Coyle in loop match". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 27, 1956. p. 5B. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "Anielak named head coach". Belvidere Daily Republican. June 17, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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