Tom Konchalski
Thomas Coman Konchalski was an American high school basketball scout. Konchalski published a well-known newsletter called High School Basketball Illustrated. In 2023, he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game.
Early life
Thomas Coman Konchalski was born on January 8, 1947, in Manhattan. He grew up in Elmhurst, Queens, with his father, Stephen, a general foreman for the city's Parks Department and semi-professional baseball player, and his mother, Marjorie, a homemaker turned cashier. He had two siblings, a brother, Steve, and a sister, Judy. Steve would later become a highly successful college basketball coach in Canada. Konchalski's uncle, John, was a tennis umpire. Konchalski was an altar boy at his local church, which was a few blocks away from where he played pick-up basketball. When Konchalski was 8, his father took him and Steve to an NBA game at Madison Square Garden, with Konchalski and Steve later frequenting games there by themselves.At 14, Konchalski watched Connie Hawkins play in a summer league basketball game, and felt his calling towards basketball after being impressed by Hawkins' play. Konchalski attended Archbishop Molloy High School, where he covered for the school's newspaper and learned basketball from the school's coach, Jack Curran, but never played. Konchalski graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science.
Career
After graduating from Fordham, Konchalski taught math and social studies at a Roman Catholic school in Queens. Konchalski also worked as a line umpire for tennis matches, including umpiring at the US Open.In 1979, Konchalski left teaching to work for basketball scout Howard Garfinkel, the founder of High School Basketball Illustrated and the revered Five-Star Basketball Camp. Garfinkel was originally irked by Konchalski, as the latter was seen with Mike Tyneberg, who had brought Garfinkel into basketball but later had a falling out with. Konchalski and Garfinkel established friendly relations with the help of basketball scout Dick Maloney in 1970. In 1983, following an NCAA rule prohibiting Garfinkel from running HSBI and the Five-Star Basketball Camp, he sold the former to Konchalski. Konchalski supplied 220 subscribers with 16 reports that cost $400 annually. The report included thirteen criteria for grading a player, such as shooting or passing the ball, with other metrics like players' SAT score included as well to culminate in Konchalski's personal rating. Konchalski graded from a scale of 1 to 5, with a 1 meaning Division II or Division III talent and a 5 meaning an expected major contributor to a nationally ranked Division I program. Konchalski also added a "+" or "-" to each grade, with a "+" meaning a player possibly could excel at their prescribed level and a "-" meaning that a player could potentially but not definitively perform to Konchalski's prediction. Konchalski's highest ranking, a 5+, was a rare grade and was only given to players whom Konchalski believed could perform at an exceptional level. Konchalski prepared his reports every three weeks and would mail out his reports in hard copy only. His reports were famous for including pithy remarks for each player, such as, "Scores like we breathe!" and "loaded with offensive chutzpah."
Konchalski was renowned for his prescience in scouting high school basketball players. Konchalski advised Tennessee basketball assistant coach Stu Aberdeen to recruit Ernie Grunfeld and future Hall of Famer Bernard King. While working under Garfinkel, Konchalski encouraged him and then North Carolina basketball assistant coach Roy Williams to invite Michael Jordan to the Five-Star Basketball Camp. When LeBron James played at Five-Star in 2000, Konchalski urged The Sporting News journalist Mike DeCourcy that he had to watch him play. Konchalski also said of James, in his junior year of high school, that the latter had a better feel for the game than Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. Konchalski called future NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson the "greatest high school point guard of all time." He also predicted that the career for highly coveted prospect Lloyd Daniels would not pan out as many expected due to the latter's turbulent life outside of basketball. Konchalski scouted many prolific players early into their basketball careers, with him first scouting Chris Mullin as a 7th grader, and both Kyrie Irving and Kobe Bryant as a freshman in high school.
Konchalski retired from publishing his newsletter in 2020 due to health concerns.
Personal life
Konchalski was known for not using many pieces of modern technology in his work. He never owned a computer, and only used a cellphone after his retirement. Instead, Konchalski used a typewriter to compile each edition of HSBI. Konchalski owned an answering machine for only six months before discarding it, attributing the decision to spending too much time returning calls. Rick Pitino called Konchalski "the single toughest person in the world to reach." Konchalski also did not have a car or a driver's license. Konchalski would have coaches or friends drive him hours between states in the U.S. to scout high school basketball players. Konchalski lived at home until he was 38, when his mother died in 1984. He then moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Forest Hills, where he rarely stayed and had nothing displayed on the walls.Konchalski was also attributed to having a strong memory relating to his field. According to Bill Raftery, Garfinkel once showed Konchalski a photo of eight basketball players going for a rebound, with Konchalski being able to name every one and people in each of their lives. A New York Times article recounted how Konchalski could quickly remember players he scouted from decades before and at what event he scouted them at. Sports marketing executive Kevin Foley said Konchalski's ability to remember so many names without the aid of a phone was "uncanny". Sportswriter and friend of Konchalski, Adam Zagoria, wrote that the former had an incredible knack for remembering small details even while he was in the hospital. Konchalski said of his reputed great memory, "You remember the things you care about most."
Konchalski never married and had no children, saying that "Basketball has been my mistress, but my faith is my lawful wife." He was a devout Catholic and attended mass daily.