7/29/2020 10:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
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GW Athletic Hall of Famer works to grow the game of basketball in native Belarus and beyond
By: Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
Yegor Mescheriakov has built a career on beating the odds. The latest example came last September with an invitation to join the FIBA Players Commission.
Representing his native Belarus, the GW men's basketball alumnus was among 16 representatives from across the world, led by 14-time NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, selected to serve as a voice for the players within the sport's international governing body.
"I was speechless," said Mescheriakov, who represented the Buff and Blue from 1995-1999. "Because usually players from Belarus are not considered at all. Not to pound on my nationality, but you expect to see people from big basketball countries on a commission like that."
Thanks to hard work, determination and a winning personality, Mescheriakov has distinguished himself at every stage of his hoops journey.
From helping underdog Belarus to an improbable title at the 1994 U-22 European Championship to crafting a Hall of Fame career at GW highlighted by three NCAA trips to a decade-plus professional run with stops throughout Europe, he put together a terrific career on the court.
Since returning to Belarus in 2012 after a stop in Foggy Bottom to finish his master's degree in Tourism Administration/Sports Management, he's logged time as a player agent and worked as general manager of local pro club Tsmoki-Minsk, in addition to his role as Deputy Chairman of the Belarus Basketball Federation. His Mescheriakov Basketball Club is in its second decade developing youth talent in his homeland, and he's served as an assistant coach for the national team, as well.
That incredibly well-rounded resume made him an excellent candidate for a four-year appointment to the FIBA Players Commission.
"I'm very thankful for the opportunity," Mescheriakov said. "You ask what GW actually gave to you, and for me, it's the global perspective that I can sit on a commission like this. I can converse with people and voice my opinion. It was definitely a door-opening experience when I changed my whole life and moved from Minsk, Belarus, to the George Washington community."
Mescheriakov (center left) celebrates with the Belarus National Team.
Mescheriakov's extraordinary success, on and off the court, in Foggy Bottom is well-documented.
The 6-foot-9 forward joined countryman Alexander Koul on the GW roster under head coach Mike Jarvis in 1995 and found a way, in spite of a mountain of challenges, to make a smooth transition to his new surroundings.
It took a serious commitment to the task, whether it was English as a Second Language classes, extra meetings with professors or the hoops crash course necessary to adjust to the college game. That first fall Jarvis added to the challenge with the addition of 7 a.m. Hapkido karate classes to the preseason schedule.
"Those were crazy, crazy days," Mescheriakov said with a chuckle.
Mescheriakov would earn All A-10 honors in each of his four seasons in Buff and Blue, piling up 1,645 points to rank eighth on the program's all-time list. Playing alongside all-time greats like Koul and Shawnta Rogers, he helped the Colonials to 80 wins over the course of his career with NCAA appearances in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
In the classroom, he earned his Exercise Science degree in just three years, landing A-10 All-Academic honors three times and an Academic All-American nod as a senior. He credits academic advisor Karen Ercole, who recently returned to GW as Assistant Athletic Director for Special Projects, and strength coach Guennadi Bratichko, who also served as a translator/tutor, for helping him not just survive but thrive academically.
It was a run full of unforgettable memories and lifelong lessons for Mescheriakov, and his relationships with his teammates and coaches, especially Jarvis and assistant Scott Beeten, remain special.
"It was like the school of hard knocks," said Mescheriakov, who was inducted into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. "If you make it, you make it. That's why it was so much easier for me afterwards in all the different European countries.
You've seen it all almost. You've tested yourself already, and you know you can persevere. It's a calm feeling of self-confidence, and when you have it inside, you can do anything."
Indeed, that mindset has carried Mescheriakov to continued success over the past two decades, from a pro run that included stops in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine to the transition into his latest chapter as a coach/executive/ambassador for the sport.
His two-year return to Foggy Bottom from 2010-2012, which included an internship with the Washington Wizards and a stint working in the Athletics Department, helped set the course for this busy post-playing career.
"It reassured me that I really want to be involved in sports," said Mescheriakov, who now lives in Minsk with his wife Tanya and 6-year-old daughter Vladimira. "I might not be running and jumping again, but I'm going to be involved, definitely, in the world of sports in one way or another."
Mescheriakov poses with Athletic Director Tanya Vogel at his Hall of Fame induction in 2018.
A five-time Belarus Player of the Year, Mescheriakov continued to represent his home country on the national level in 3x3 until just before his 40th birthday.
At 43, he's comfortably focused on what he can do to grow the game that's given him so much and pass on his knowledge to the next generation.
Highlights of Mescheriakov's work with the Belarus Basketball Federation have included helping to conduct FIBA-funded grassroots initiatives, hosting a U.S. sports diplomacy tour featuring former NBA players that led to the building of several new 3X3 basketball courts, and coordinating U.S. State Department-sponsored exchange programs along with the US Embassy.
Last summer, it was a huge personal thrill to watch his younger brother Nikita and two players who were a part of the Mescheriakov Basketball Club earn 3x3 bronze for Belarus at the Euro Games hosted in Minsk.
Mescheriakov's recent work with FIBA represents an opportunity to make a difference on a grander scale.
He's part of a just-launched FIBA Europe education initiative called TIME-OUT 2.0 aimed at providing career training for life after hoops.
With the FIBA Players Commission, Mescheriakov is honored to have a seat at the table representing Belarus and eager to help push the organization forward under new president Hamane Niang. It's a bonus to work alongside Nowitzki, the recently-retired German legend who was just a skinny teen when Mescheriakov first met him while in Berlin for a tournament during the summer of 1997.
Mescheriakov's committee met for the first time in February at FIBA headquarters in Switzerland. They've continued to get together virtually each month through the COVID-19 pandemic with the hope of reconvening this fall.
"It's really an opportunity to make some good changes," Mescheriakov said. "Obviously hearing the community of players speak, we want to voice out those issues that they bring to the table. I really see the desire of FIBA management to change the game for the better and change the whole surroundings, and educate players more in terms of dual career planning, agents, financial matters and so on."
Recently, Mescheriakov penned a blog post for the FIBA website about the importance of self-confidence. The topic had him reminiscing on his time in Buff and Blue, the long days and tough times that paid off in glory. He kept working because he believed in what was possible.
Mescheriakov savors every trip back to Foggy Bottom, including his most recent one last fall to support the latest GW Athletic Hall of Fame class, and his time on campus and the people he met there are rarely far from mind.
"When I think about the chance that my life could've gone a different direction, I really appreciate the fact that GW was in my life," Mescheriakov said. "It was a great opportunity presented to me and a great stepping stone. It's always a big pleasure to come back, even just to walk for 20 minutes around campus. You feel your heart pounding differently."
