Tom Loren Burleson (born February 24, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7′2″ center, Burleson played for North Carolina State University's 1974 NCAA national championship team. Early life Burleson is a native of Avery County, North Carolina. He was an All-American at Newland High School and Avery County High School, as well as North Carolina State University. College As a collegian, Burleson teamed with All-American David Thompson, guard Monte Towe and forward Tim Stoddard (who would go on to have success as a Major League Baseball pitcher) to dethrone UCLA and win the 1974 NCAA Championship. Burleson was the MVP of the 1973 and 1974 ACC Tournaments and was All-Final Four in 1974. Burleson's defense of UCLA superstar Bill Walton was key to the Wolfpack's semifinal win. He was a member of the 1973 World University Games Gold Medal basketball team. When Burleson was recruited he was officially measured at tall, but the coaching staff at North Carolina State decided to list him at . Burleson wanted to be listed at his actual height but the coaching staff said he would officially be the tallest player in American basketball and it would bring a lot of good exposure to him and the school. The ploy worked and Burleson was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1974. Olympic team During the 1972 Olympics held in Munich, Burleson unwittingly walked into a parking lot where the Israeli hostages were brought before they were removed by helicopter from the Olympic village and later massacred. Burleson was held at gunpoint against a wall by one of the terrorists, and told not to move or look at the hostages as they came through the parking lot. He is the last athlete who had any contact with the Israeli Olympians 45 minutes before they died. Burleson was also a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team that lost a controversial gold medal game to the Soviet Union. The entire 1972 Olympic Basketball team believed they had been cheated and voted unanimously to not accept the silver. Pro career Before the 1974 NBA draft, it appeared almost certain that Burleson would be taken by the Phoenix Suns. But because Seattle traded Dick Snyder to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the last minute, the Sonics gained the right to pick before the Suns, so the two teams vied for a contract with Burleson.