Medina graduate Jon Teske signs 10-day deal with Grizzlies

Medina High graduate Jon Teske was on a bus with his new Memphis Grizzlies teammates late Monday afternoon when he phoned his father Ben. In his typical understated fashion, he told his dad he was on his way "to the gym," not a 17,732-seat NBA arena. The 7-foot-1, 265-pound Teske, who signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies through the league's COVID-related hardship exception, was headed to the Barclays Center for a Monday night game against the Brooklyn Nets. He became the first Medina County player to suit up for an NBA team. The Grizzlies play the Cavaliers tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and Teske's parents, Ben and Julie, will be in attendance, as will sisters Abby and Hannah. "You know Jon," Ben Teske said. "He's not going to ask, 'Where are the tickets for my parents?' That's the last thing he needs to worry about. I'm sure we'll find some somewhere." Jon Teske had been playing for the Lakeland Magic of the G League since being cut by the NBA's Orlando Magic in the preseason, but the G League paused its season until Wednesday following a Dec. 19-22 showcase event in Las Vegas. The 2016 Medina High graduate, two-time Gazette MVP and Gazette Player of the Decade then got the call from the Grizzlies, who have six players in health and safety protocols. "He's very excited," Ben Teske said. "He's been sitting in his apartment down in Lakeland. The (Orlando) Magic had him on standby." Following their game against the Cavs tonight, the Grizzlies will host the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. Former Mentor High and University of Wisconsin center Micah Potter, who had been playing for Sioux Falls in the G League, signed a 10-day contract with the Pistons on Dec. 29. The Teske and Potter families have had a close relationship since Jon and Micah's grandfathers attended Kent State together in the 1950s. With Lakeland, which won the G League championship in a coronavirus-shortened 2020-21 season, Teske appeared in 29 games (19 starts) over two seasons, averaging 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 22.7 minutes. The 24-year-old started all three playoff games for Lakeland last season and averaged 10.7 points to help the Magic capture the championship. Teske played in 129 games (70 starts) over four years at the University of Michigan, including the 2018 national championship. He finished his collegiate career as the Wolverines' all-time winningest player (108) and fifth in school history in blocks (165) but went undrafted in 2020. A four-year starter at Medina — his family moved to the area from Michigan — Teske scored 1,130 points over his high school career. He averaged 16.4 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks to earn first-team Division I All-Ohio honors as a senior. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.