Emilio Kovačić (born January 11, 1968 in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

) is a Croatian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

scout and former player. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10) tall, he was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

with great rebounding skills and decent defensive abilities. He played for many years in the EuroLeague.

College career

Kovačić played American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the NAIA

Grand Canyon Antelopes The Grand Canyon Antelopes (more commonly referred to as the Lopes) are the 21 athletic teams representing Grand Canyon University, located in Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division I level in the ...

and Biola Eagles.Worries Tinge Success for Biola's Kovacic
Mitch Polin, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', Feb 26, 1991 He also played in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

team, the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member ...

Professional career

In his pro career, Kovačić played with

, Zrinjevac,

Fortitudo Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. Histor ...

, Union Olimpija, and Cibona. He was named the MVP of the Krešimir Ćosić Cup (Croatian Cup) of the 1997–98 season, while a member of Zadar. In 2001, Kovačić has named the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the

Slovenian Cup Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

finals.

National team career

Kovačić was a regular member of the senior men's Croatian national team. With Croatia, he won the bronze medal at the

1993 EuroBasket The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entered ...

. He also played at the

1997 EuroBasket The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

and at the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a b ...

Post-playing career

Kovačić was hired in June 2013, as an international scouting consultant for the NBA's Phoenix Suns. After five seasons, Kovačić was relieved from his position with the Suns on October 8, 2018.

References

External links

Fibaeurope.com ProfileEuroleague.net Profile
1968 births Living people Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players Biola Eagles men's basketball players Croatian men's basketball players Croatian basketball scouts Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball players KK Cibona players KK Olimpija players KK Zadar players KK Zrinjevac players National Basketball Association scouts from Europe Phoenix Suns scouts Basketball players from Zadar Yugoslav men's basketball players Centers (basketball) {{Croatia-basketball-bio-stub