Geof Kotila is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach. He played college basketball for
Michigan Tech
Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
before going into coaching.
Playing career
Kotila played high school basketball at Glen Lake School in
Maple City, Michigan
Maple City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of Maple City was 209 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Kasson Township, and lies about no ...
, before enrolling at
Michigan Technological University
Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
. He was a four-year starter for the Huskies, earning the team's outstanding newcomer honors in 1978-79, garnering the team’s most improved player award in 1980-81 as well as team MVP honors and the Raymond L. Smith Award as the university's outstanding senior male student-athlete in the 1981-82 campaign. Kotila scored 1,394 points in 102 games for MTU. He ranked third all-time in career points, when his playing career at Michigan Tech came to an end in 1982.
Coaching career
In 1985-86, Kotila served as head men's cross country coach at Michigan Tech and was an assistant men's basketball coach between 1985 and 1987, before being appointed as MTU head men's basketball coach. He stayed on the job until 1994 and had a record of 82 wins and 120 losses. He went to
Denmark
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, where he coached in the pro ranks. From 1995 to 2001, Kotila served as head coach of
Horsens IC
Horsens Idræts Club Basketball, commonly known as Horsens IC or Horsens, is a professional basketball team based in Horsens, Denmark. The club plays at the Forum Horsens, which can accommodate 4,000 people.
The team holds six titles in the Bask ...
in the country’s top division
Basketliga, leading the team to a Danish national championship title in 1998 and a Danish cup title in 1996. During his four-year stint at
Skovbakken Bears (2002-2006), Kotila won the Danish championship in 2004 and 2005, and the
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will quali ...
in 2005. In the 2004-05 season, he was recognized with Danish Basketliga Coach of the Year honors.
He also coached the Bears in their first ever appearance in the
EuroCup.
In May 2006, Kotila signed a two-year deal with
Snæfell of the Icelandic
Úrvalsdeild karla. During his first season, the team ended with the third best record in the league before a 76–74 overtime loss in game five in its best-of-five semi-finals series against
KR in the Úrvalsdeild playoffs.
In the 2007–08 season, he led Snæfell to winning the
Icelandic Cup and to the runner-up spot in league play.
He left the team afterwards, returning to Denmark, where he was named head coach of
Team Fog Næstved in June 2008. In his five-year stint at Næstved, Kotila was named Basketliga Coach of the Year in the 2010-11 season
and guided the team to a third-place finish in the national championship in the 2011–12 campaign, which was the best result in club history. Following the conclusion of the 2012–13 season, Kotila decided to step down as Næstved head coach. Besides his job as head coach in the pro ranks, Kotila has also been working alongside
Craig Pedersen
Craig Pedersen (born June 13, 1965) is a Canadian basketball coach and the head coach of the Iceland national team, where he coached them at the EuroBasket 2015 and EuroBasket 2017
EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket champion ...
as basketball coach and English teacher at EVN (Efterskolen ved Nyborg) school in
Nyborg
Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...
, Denmark since 2008.
In 2017, he took over the job as commissioner of Denmark’s top flight Basketliga.
References
External links
Profileat
Eurobasket.com
Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotila, Geof
Living people
American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Basketball people from Michigan
Michigan Tech Huskies men's basketball players
Michigan Tech Huskies men's basketball coaches
Year of birth missing (living people)