Ivan Leshinsky (אייבן לישינסקי; born February 5, 1947) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. He played the forward and center positions. He played three seasons in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

, and competed for the Israeli national basketball team.

Biography

Leshinsky was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is 6' 7" (201 cm) tall. He later lived in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, starting in 1974, with his wife, Babette, and their son Eric, and after a number of years the family moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Leshinsky grew up in Brooklyn living on Avenue J and

Ocean Avenue Ocean Avenue may refer to: Roads in the United States * Ocean Avenue (San Francisco), California, see Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station * Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), California * Ocean Avenue (Palm Beach), Florida; see * Ocean Avenue ( ...

, and attended P.S. 193.Argyle Art Rhine (September 2019)
"Midwood Basketball, 1962, Part 2: The Greatest Basketball Game of All"
''West Midwood News''. He then attended Midwood High School ('63) in Brooklyn, where he played center for the basketball team. He attended

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

from 1963 to 1968. Leshinsky played for the LIU Blackbirds in 1967-68. He played in the

1968 National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament was originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938. Responsibility for its administration was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiat ...

quarterfinals in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York City. Leshinsky was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in the tenth round (130th pick overall) of 1968 NBA Draft. He chose instead to go to Israel to play basketball. He played three seasons in the

, all for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

, from 1968 to 1971. Leshinsky also played for the Israeli national basketball team. He competed in the 1969 FIBA European Championship for Men, averaging 14.7 points per game, and at the

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

, at which he won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

with Team Israel. He later studied at The George Washington University, earning an

M.Ed. The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by university, universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: ...

, with a Special Education major. Starting in 1974 Leshinsky began to work at, and in 1980 became the Executive Director of, the Chesapeake Foundation for Human Development in Baltimore, which operates programs for youths who are disadvantaged. In 1990 Leshinsky was named the head basketball coach at the

Key School The Key School is an independent coeducational school, located in the neighborhood of Hillsmere Shores in Annapolis, Maryland. The Key School was established by a group of tutors from St. John's College in 1958. Key is a member of the National ...

in Annapolis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leshinsky, Ivan Living people Basketball coaches from Maryland Basketball players from Baltimore Basketball players from New York (state) Centers (basketball) George Washington University alumni Israeli Basketball Premier League players LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Brooklyn 1947 births American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1970 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in basketball Asian Games silver medalists for Israel Boston Celtics draft picks Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players Israeli men's basketball players People from Midwood, Brooklyn Sportspeople from Annapolis, Maryland Asian Games competitors for Israel