Hamtramck’s own Rudy ‘T’ comes home for a celebration

Hometown basketball legend Rudy “T” Tomjanovich was recently honored at the Hamtramck High School Community center.

By Charles Sercombe
For Hamtramck basketball legend Rudy “T” Tomjanovich, sports was his ticket out of Hamtramck.
But his love for the city, and the experiences he had here, never left him.
“It’s like a fairy tale,” he said, at a special ceremony held in his honor Friday evening at the basketball court in the Hamtramck High School Community Center.
“Here I was, a skinny kid who grew up on Nagel St. To be here is absolutely a miracle,” Tomjanovich added.
Now, at 77 years old, Tomjanovich is maybe a bit slower, but still youthful looking.
During his high school career here, Rudy immediately stood out, and had the skills necessary to make it professionally. But before he got to the pro stage, he first went to the University of Michigan, where he once again turned heads.
After graduation, he went on to an 11-year pro-career with the Houston Rockets, and then transitioned to becoming the team’s head coach.
Tomjanovich credits his love of the game being nurtured on basketball courts outside of the old Copernicus Middle School, which is now Hamtramck High School.
It was called “The Courts” — where the older and better players reigned over the younger ones. When he was tapped by the older players to join them at the better end of the courts, he doesn’t remember too much about how he played that first time, but he does remember what that moment meant for him.
“I savored that experience. I wanted to absorb it into my heart,” he said. “These courts were learning grounds. It was the beginning of my journey.”
The learning experience turned out to be more than a journey into bettering his skills.
“I learned how to become a man,” Tomjanovich said.
Hamtramck Cosmos players will forever know of Tomjanovich’s accomplishments now that the team’s home court has been officially named in Rudy’s honor.
His advice to players is something he learned from former Cosmos Coach John Radwanski, who went on to become superintendent of the district.
“He (Radwanski) said, ‘You got to be better today than you were yesterday.’ I credit him with my work ethic,” Tomjanovich said.
And with that, the 200, or so, people gathered at the ceremony gave Hamtramck’s champion basketball legend a rousing round of applause.
Not bad for a skinny kid who grew up on Nagel St.
Posted February 27, 2026