Mike Slusher

Mike Slusher
Personal information
Bornc. 1948
DiedMarch 2026 (aged 77–78)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolTalawanda (Oxford, Ohio)
CollegeMiami (OH) (1967–1972)
Playing career1980–1989
PositionCenter / forward
Coaching career1988–1990
Career history
Playing
1980–1985St. Kilda Saints
1986Nunawading Spectres
1989Knox Raiders
Coaching
1988–1990Knox Raiders
Career highlights

Mike Slusher (c. 1948[1] – March 2026) was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for the Miami RedHawks before playing seven seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) between 1980 and 1986. In 1980, he won an NBL championship with the St. Kilda Saints. Following his NBL career, he had a stint as head coach for the Knox Raiders of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) between 1988 and 1990.

An educator by profession, Slusher worked as a teacher[2] and basketball coach in Australia for 50 years.[3]

Early life

Slusher grew up in Oxford, Ohio,[1] where he attended Talawanda High School.[4][5]

Playing career

College

Slusher played Division 1 college basketball for the Miami RedHawks in Oxford, Ohio.[6] In 1967–68, he averaged 15.8 points per game.[7] He was considered a leading prospect as a sophomore in 1968–69.[7] In 1970–71, he averaged 1.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 10 games.[5][8] In 1971–72, he averaged 0.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in seven games.[8][9] He was a letterwinner for the RedHawks in 1971–72.[10]

Australia

In June 1978, Slusher played for Diamond Valley Toshiba, a team of Melbourne-based Americans, in an exhibition game against the Santa Clara Broncos at Greensborough. He scored a team-high 25 points in a 128–75 loss.[11]

Slusher debuted in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) in the 1980 season for the St. Kilda Saints.[12] He filled one of two import spots for St. Kilda alongside Rocky Smith.[13] He scored 18 points in the 1980 grand final against the West Adelaide Bearcats. In nine games, he averaged 12.3 points per game.[12] He continued with the Saints every year between 1981 and 1985, playing 130 games over six seasons.[14][15][16][17][18] In the 1983 season, he led the league with a 64.8% (96/148) field goal percentage.[19] In 1985, he wore jersey number 5 for St. Kilda and was listed as a 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) center/forward.[20]

Prior to the 1986 NBL season, Slusher parted ways with the Saints[21] and joined the Nunawading Spectres, where in his lone season he averaged 7.5 points in 26 games.[22]

Following his NBL career, Slusher spent time as both a player and head coach of the Knox Raiders of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).[23] In his three seasons as head coach between 1988 and 1990, the Raiders failed to make the playoffs.[24][25] As a player in 1989, he twice had 11 offensive rebounds in a single game.[24] As of 2014, he was in the top ten in five statistical categories in Knox SEABL history.[26]

Legacy

Slusher enjoyed a long and respected coaching career across the SEABL and Big V, and as well as in Basketball Victoria High Performance programs.[2] He also served as assistant coach at the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL.[3]

At the Basketball Victoria 2025 annual awards, Slusher was recognised with a 50 years' service award.[3]

Teaching

Slusher was an English teacher and the boy's junior varsity coach at Sandusky High School in Sandusky, Ohio, from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, he moved to Australia for a 15-month teaching assignment but ultimately never returned and settled down in Australia.[1]

As of 2002, Slusher was teaching professional writing and editing at a TAFE in Australia.[1]

Personal life and death

Slusher married an Australian woman in 1984.[1] He and his wife, Jenny, had two daughters, Cathryn and Menallie.[6] Jenny Slusher served as head coach of the Knox Raiders women's team in the 1990 SEABL season.[25]

Slusher died in March 2026.[2][3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Zoellner, Bob (December 2, 2002). "From Down Under to the states, students do more than play ball". The Morning Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2026. Slusher, 54, ended up liking it enough to settle there, and played professional basketball for nine years, until he was 40-years-old.
  2. ^ a b c "Vale Mike Slusher". Nunawading Basketball. March 17, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d "Vale Mike Slusher". Basketball Victoria. March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  4. ^ "1969-70 MIAMI VARSITY ROSTER" (PDF). Miami RedHawks. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "1970-71 STATISTICS" (PDF). Miami RedHawks. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Vale Mike Slusher". Dandenong Basketball Association. March 17, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "BGSU Basketball Media Guide 1968-1969" (PDF). Wikimedia. Bowling Green State University. p. 17. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Mike Slusher College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  9. ^ "1971-72 STATISTICS" (PDF). Miami RedHawks. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  10. ^ "2019-20 MBK Record Book" (PDF). Miami RedHawks. pp. 53 (55). Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  11. ^ "Win with 'ridiculous ease'". The Canberra Times. June 28, 1978. p. 34. Retrieved March 21, 2026 – via Trove.
  12. ^ a b "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1980". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  13. ^ Nagy, Boti (March 10, 2016). "NBL postpones free agency period as it wrestles with possible three-import restriction and contract restructures". adelaidenow.com.au. Retrieved March 21, 2026. By 1980, St Kilda went to two imports — Rocky Smith and Mike Slusher — the league soon legislating for that restriction.
  14. ^ "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1981". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  15. ^ "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1982". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  16. ^ "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1983". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  17. ^ "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1984". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  18. ^ "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1985". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  19. ^ "All Time Leaders". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  20. ^ "Boti Nagy | FLASHBACK 23: The Cannon, April 13, 1985". www.botinagy.com. November 30, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  21. ^ Scholes, Gary (April 4, 1986). "New players to meet Cannons; Slusher leaves gap in Saints". The Canberra Times. p. 20. Retrieved March 21, 2026 – via Trove. Slusher, 37, has played more than 100 games for St Kilda but he has parted company with the club and has applied to another National Basketball League club, Nunawading.
  22. ^ "Mike Slusher - Player Statistics NBL 1986". GameDay. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  23. ^ "Vale Mike Slusher". facebook.com/KnoxBasketballInc. March 17, 2026. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  24. ^ a b "Knox Raiders Men – Media Guide 2010" (PDF). SEABL.com.au. p. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  25. ^ a b "Knox Raiders – Media Guide 2014" (PDF). SEABL.com.au. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  26. ^ "Media Guide 2014 – Men all time leaders – Knox" (PDF). SEABL.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.