'God was drafting me in another direction': Jon Teske ends pro basketball career

The only Medina County product to play in the NBA is now living in Grand Rapids, Mich., and working in sales for Gordon Food Service. Life is good for 2016 Medina High graduate Jon Teske, who decided shortly after the 2021-22 G League season ended that he had had enough of pro basketball, which helped him earn approximately $200,000 over the last two years. "Basketball always stops at some point," the 7-foot-1, 265-pound Teske said Friday in a phone interview. "Me turning 25 in May, I was ready to move on, but I kept my options open and talked to my parents and grandfather and prayed about it. "God was drafting me in another direction. I wasn't really having that much fun anymore and the G League isn't really for guys my size. I was getting a couple shots a game and other guys were getting 20. I was really just screening and rebounding, and I was sick of living out of a suitcase for four to five months out of the year." Having not touched a basketball since May, Teske is back living in the city he grew up in before his family moved to Medina when he was in sixth grade. Having been to Spain when he played at Michigan, to Egypt as part of the G League and to Belgium in March 2021 — he signed with Basketball Club Oostende but didn't like the experience and left before playing a game — Teske never seriously explored playing professionally in Europe and ultimately decided not to return to the G League's Lakeland Magic, who have since traded his rights to the South Bay Lakers. With Oostende, Teske was living in an apartment with the injured big man he was signed to replace, but COVID-19 restrictions were in place and he left after three days. "No one really knows I went over there," he said. "It wasn't really for me, so I came back. There was no hot water, it smelled bad and I was just sitting there because I couldn't leave. It was strange and eye-opening, but I'm glad I did it because I grew as a person. "Getting to high-level basketball, a lot goes on behind the scenes. You just have to keep your eyes open and your circle tight." Teske's experiences in Spain and Egypt were much more pleasurable, but even then he started learning he was a bit of a homebody. "Even during those times, I felt uneasy," he said. "I just don't care for being away from family and friends, and I was with some of my closest teammates and friends. If I didn't like it then, I figured I wasn't going to like it with coaches and teammates I didn't know." The highlight of Teske's basketball career came in January 2022 when he signed a 10-day contract with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. Teske played the first of his three games for Memphis on Jan. 3, with the Grizzlies going 6-0 during his time with the team. In eight minutes over three games, Teske went 0-for-1 from the field, 0-for-2 at the line and had two rebounds, one assist and one steal. "To be the first (from Medina County) to make the NBA shows how hard I worked, but I had a great supporting cast," he said. "It wasn't just me, it was a whole community. I'm proud to represent Medina County, so it's an honor, but I also was blessed." A four-year letterman at Medina, Teske was a two-time Gazette MVP and All-Ohio pick, Gazette Player of the Decade and scored 1,130 points. At Michigan, he earned a degree in general studies and played in 129 games (70 starts) for the Wolverines, including a 79-62 loss to Villanova in the 2018 national championship as a sophomore. After averaging 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks as a Michigan senior, Teske played for the G League's Lakeland Magic in 2020-21 — his team won the championship in a pandemic-shortened season — and 2021-22. He played in 29 games, starting 26, in his second season and averaged 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. While contemplating his future over the summer, Teske spent time working with Medina boys basketball coach Chris Hassinger and Bees players and hopes to one day get involved in coaching. For now, he's happy attending high school games in the Grand Rapids area, working out and being employed at his "first job outside of basketball." "Basketball put me in a lot of great spots," Teske said. "I got to travel the world with it and go to a great university. I met a lot of great people and it landed me this job. "Sports help you make a lot of great connections, and the people I had supporting me got me going in the right direction. I'm proud to be in the spot I am today, but I didn't do it alone." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.