After playing basketball at Christian Brothers High School and Quincy College, Tom Wisman spent most of his life coaching basketball around the world.
Wisman, a 1967 graduate of Christian Brothers, was a starter on the 1966-67 boys basketball team that went 20-5 before losing in the regional to Quincy High School. He scored 38 points in a single game to break the school record (later broken that same season by Marty Bernbrock) and averaged 16.4 points per game as a senior.
After playing for two seasons at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Wisman transferred to play at Quincy College in the fall of 1970. He averaged 7 points per game in 1970-71 and 8.7 points per game in 1971-72.
Wisman’s coaching career began in 1976 with Crystal Palace in the National Basketball League of England. He coached the Solent Stars of the British Basketball League from 1980-82, and then he was the national coach for teams from England, Hong Kong and Malaysia. After spending a year as an assistant in Japan, Wisman started coaching in the Australian National Basketball League in 1991 with the Newcastle Falcons.
After two years with the Wonju Naray Blue Bird in the Korean Basketball League, Wisman returned to Tokyo from 1997-2004 with the Isuzu Motors/Yokohama Giga Cats and from 2005-07 with the Jomo Sunflowers, a Japanese women’s professional team. He then spent two years with the Link Tochigi Brex, winning the Japanese Basketball League title in 2009. He was the national coach for Japan for two years and spent one year as the national coach of Qatar.
Wisman returned to the Link Tochigi Brex in 2014 and won another Japanese League title in 2017. He coached the Yokohama B-Corsairs for two years and now is the coach of the Gunma Crane Thunders in the Japanese B League.
"First, I would like to say thank you to the selection committee and an old teammate in particular. It is always an honor to be recognized in the world of sport, and I am happy to accept after so many years. To even be remembered is special in itself. I am assuming this is a career-based award, as I have just completed my 50th year in coaching, and I’m still going. The only things that last in a lifetime of sport are friendships and memories, and I feel fortunate to have these with me from the old CB Raider days. My teammates, coaches, community and family. In particular, I remember how proud we all were to give the late Coach Elmo “Mac” McClain a 20-win season back in 1966-67 and how happy we were in 1964 (I believe) to get a wooden floor put in The Pit. Those tiles were dangerous. Lastly, I would like to congratulate my fellow inductees in the Class of 2022. As I’m sure to be the elder statesman/stateswoman, I can assure you that your achievements and involvement in sport can lead to a lifetime of fulfillment. Thanks again everyone, and always remember how fortunate we all are to call Quincy home."
—Tom Wisman