Krešimir Ćosić

The title of this article contains the following characters: š and ć. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Kresimir Cosic.
Krešimir Ćosić

XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 – Krešimir Ćosić (nr.11) (Yugoslavia) vs. Petr Novický (Czechoslovakia)
Height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Born November 26, 1948(1948-11-26)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, FNR Yugoslavia
Died May 25, 1995(1995-05-25) (aged 46)
Nationality Croat
Draft 84th overall
15th pick, 5th round[1], 1973
Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career 1965–1983
Career history KK Zadar (1965-69)
BYU Cougars (1970-73)
KK Zadar (1973-76)
Brest Olimpija (1976-78)
Synudine (1978-80)
Cibona (1980-1983)
Awards NABC Hall of Fame 2006
EuroBasket MVP Award 1971, 1975
1972 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans NABC, 4. team
1973 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans NABC, 4. team
Medal record

Krešimir Ćosić bust at Mirogoj
Men's Basketball
Competitor for  Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
Gold 1980 Moscow Team
Silver 1968 Mexico City Team
Silver 1976 Montreal Team
World Championship
Silver 1967 Montevideo Team
Gold 1970 Ljubljana Team
Silver 1974 Puerto Rico Team
Gold 1978 Philippines Team
European Championships
Silver 1969 Italy Team
Silver 1971 West Germany Team
Gold 1973 Spain Team
Gold 1975 Yugoslavia Team
Gold 1977 Belgium Team
Bronze 1979 Italy Team
Silver 1981 Czechoslovakia Team
Mediterranean Games
Gold 1971 Tuns Team

Krešimir Ćosić (November 26, 1948 – May 25, 1995) was a Croatian professional basketball player who represented Yugoslavia internationally, a member of FIBA Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame. He was also a notable church leader and missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Contents

Basketball career

He was born in Zagreb and raised in Zadar, where he started his basketball career in 1965, playing for KK Zadar. He came to the United States to play college basketball at Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1973. In April 1972 at the 1972 NBA Draft he was picked by Portland Trail Blazers as the number 1 pick in the 10th round (144th overall). The following year at the 1973 NBA Draft he was picked by Los Angeles Lakers as the pick number 15 in the 5th round (84th overall).[2] He was the first foreign player to earn All-American honors from the United Press International, garnering them in 1972 and 1973. After his college career, he rejected several professional offers and returned home to Yugoslavia.

Ćosić played in four Olympic Games: 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980 in Moscow when he led his team to the gold medal. He previously led Yugoslavia to a pair of World Championship gold medals in 1970 and 1978.

Coaching

Following his playing days, he turned to coaching, and led the former Yugoslav team to a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and two bronze medals at the 1986 FIBA World Championship and 1987 EuroBasket. In 1996 Ćosić became only the third international player ever elected to the world's Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball.

Church life

During his time at the Brigham Young University, he converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and later served as the LDS presiding priesthood holder in post-communist Croatia. He was baptized by Hugh Nibley, one of the LDS church's most celebrated scholars. Ćosić also introduced the LDS Church to Yugoslavia. He translated the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants into Croatian.

Death

In the years following basketball he worked in the USA as a Croatian diplomat at the embassy in Washington, D.C., having helped secure the land where the embassy now stands. Ćosić died in Baltimore, Maryland in 1995 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Honors

References

  1. ^ Lakersweb Draft
  2. ^ Lakersweb Draft

External links