Wake Forest Athletics
Gold Rush Feature: Fitting In
2/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2011
This article was originally published in the Jan. 15 edition of Gold Rush.
By Sam Walker
It didn't take Coach Jeff Bzdelik long to figure out Nikita Mescheriakov should see some playing time.
Bzdelik, Wake Forest's first-year head coach, admitted he can't pronounce Mescherikov's name, but conversely Mescheriakov said he has his issues saying Bzdelik. So "Coach" and "Nikita" suffices for now.
"Most of my teammates can't pronounce my name, but it's OK," Mescheriakov said.
"He helps us in practice and tried to tell us what to do, but sometimes he's speaking in Russian, so nobody knows what he is saying," said freshman teammate Travis McKie jokingly.
His coaches and players joke about him speaking a different language during practices and games, but in actuality, Mescheriakov has only been immersed in English for five years, and he speaks it remarkably well.
"Nikita is a great player, and he played at Georgetown and knows what he is doing," said freshman Travis McKee. "He's a hard-nosed guy who can step out and hit the three or go inside and get rebounds, so he's that kind of threat. He's going to help us in the long run. All of us are trying to find out who we are and so even I am trying to take each step one step at a time. That's been an emphasis for this team, we play for the fans, the alumni, the students and our team. Nobody is going anywhere, and as long as we have each other's back and put forth our best effort, we're going to win games. We're in this together and I'm just trying to put my team in position to win."
The junior transfer from Georgetown averaged 17.3 minutes per game once he became eligible to play, and started three of his first five contests, averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. With time those numbers should increase, but from purely an experience perspective, Mescherikov's basketball IQ is worth more than his statistics.
Mescherikov's stats at Georgetown weren't eye-popping, but he did get a wealth of experience playing in 30 games with the Hoyas. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game at Georgetown.
"Nikita gives us another body that has some toughness and grit and experience," Bzdelik said. "He's crafty with the ball and team oriented. He's looking for his teammates, and that's a great thing. There's no question we're extremely young and inexperienced, and we show that so we're lacking depth and inexperience, and he adds depth and experience."
His Wake Forest debut was against UNC-Wilmington in the Greensboro Coliseum, where he scored seven points and added four rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
Mescheriakov earned his first career start against UNCG and was not afraid to mix it up and go inside against the smaller Spartans. Mescheriakov had five points, a rebound and a steal in 11 minutes of action in the first half and finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes of action.
Mescheriakov will have a year and a half of eligibility remaining at Wake Forest following the transfer. He came to Wake Forest described as an athletic forward who runs the floor well with an ability to knock down medium to long-range jumpers, a multi-dimensional player who could guard different positions.
"I just try to give a different look in the low post and give us some toughness on defense against bigger guys than me," Mescheriakov said. "I'm pretty comfortable with both (going inside and playing on the perimeter). I just have to be smart with my decisions, and I will make those in the future. There was much excitement out there (my first game at Wake). When I got out there, I wanted to play hard. I'm sure Coach is definitely looking for leadership right now, and we have a few guys who can bring it. I'm comfortable with my teammates and I think we have a good, talented team; we just have to stay together for the whole game all the way to the end. We can't break down in tough moments. If we stay together in those tough moments, we'll be OK.
"It's our responsibility," Mescheriakov said. "We all have to contribute to this team, and I think everyone can bring something different, a different look, a different style of defense, and I think with that we'll be alright."
