Michael Joseph "Mike" Sylvester (born December 10, 1951) is an American and Italian retired

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 (appro ...

player who is currently coach at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. Due to the United States boycotting the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

, he was the only American to win a medal at those games, using a dual citizenship to play for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Biography

Sylvester was born December 10, 1951, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He graduated from Moeller High School with All-American honors and played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

. At , he was known as an accurate shooter. Sylvester's highlight with the

Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I level. The football team ...

happened at the 1974 NCAA championship, scoring 36 points in a game where the Flyers forced three overtimes and nearly upset Bill Walton's

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. Following that, Sylvester reported for both the NBA and ABA Drafts, being chosen only in the sixth round by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the 1974 NBA draft, and the tenth by the Carolina Cougars in the ABA one. Afterwards, Cesare Rubini of Italian team

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

invited him to play for the team in the 1974–75 FIBA Korać Cup. Rubini was ordered by Milano president to seek-out American basketball players of Italian descent who wished to become naturalized citizens and play for Italy. Sylvester qualified due to a grandfather being an Italian immigrant. Sylvester (known in Italy as "Silvester") would then sign with Milano, and right away be a major part of the team that won the 1975–76 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup. Milano's victorious years with Sylvester would end in 1980, as after he had a heated argument with teammate C. J. Kupec, coach

Dan Peterson Daniel Lowell Peterson (born January 9, 1936) is an American former professional basketball head coach. He resigned from his most recent position as the head coach of Olimpia Milano in the Italian LBA after the team was eliminated in the semi- ...

would request for Sylvester to leave the team, and he would be traded to

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

for a then-Italian record $500,000. His Italian career also included stints with Basket Rimini and

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

.Mike Silvester
Sylvester was naturalized Italian in 1977. Three years later, he would be called for the

Italy national basketball team The Italy men's national basketball team () represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBasket tournaments, winning two gold medals ...

, and had a great performance at the European qualifier that gave the Italians a spot at the Olympic tournament to be held in Moscow. However, as soon as Sylvester heard the United States was leading the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, Sylvester wondered if he needed to adhere, particularly as an Italian player refusing an Olympic invitation could potentially banned from playing professionally. He contacted the U.S. State Department, who advised Sylvester to play. He still abstained from a vote within the Italian team about the boycott, saying he would follow the squad's decision – the Italians eventually played, though under the Olympic flag. Despite suffering a sprained ankle during the

, he won a silver medal after the Italians upset the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

before losing the Olympic final to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Sylvester was the only American to win a medal at those games. In the following years, he would spend six seasons with Scavolini Pesaro, leading them to the 1985 Coppa Italia, two Italian League Runner-Up finishes (1981–82 & 1984–85), the 1983 Saporta Cup title, the 1986 Saporta Cup Finals and the 1984 Saporta Cup Semis. Sylvester is a current resident of Loveland, Ohio. The Sylvester family has a sports tradition. Mike's brothers Steve and Vince were

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

players, with the former reaching the NFL playing for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, and the latter being a college star at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. Mike's son Matt was also a basketball player, playing in college for Ohio State before going to Europe like his father. How One Shot 10 Years Ago Changed Everything for Ohio State Basketball
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References

External links

Archbishop Moeller High School Profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester, Michael 1951 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Italian sportsmen American men's basketball players American people of Italian descent Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Cincinnati Basket Rimini Crabs players Carolina Cougars draft picks Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Detroit Pistons draft picks High school basketball coaches in the United States Italian men's basketball players Italian people of American descent Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Moeller High School alumni Olimpia Milano players Olympic basketball players for Italy Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Italy Sportspeople from Loveland, Ohio Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players Virtus Bologna players