Georgi Glouchkov
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Georgi Nikolov Glouchkov (alternate spelling: Gueorgui) ( bg, Георги Николов Глушков; born January 10, 1960 in
Tryavna Tryavna ( bg, Трявна ) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the northern slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring ...
) is a Bulgarian former professional
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 ...
player and president of
Bulgarian Basketball Federation The Bulgarian Basketball Federation ( bg, Българска федерация по баскетбол, Bǎlgarska federatsiya po basketbol) also known as (BFB) is the national governing body of basketball in Bulgaria. They organize national comp ...
. A 6 ft 8 in (204 cm)
forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
, he was the first player from an
Eastern bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
country to compete in the American
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA).


Professional career

Glouchkov began playing with Bulgaria's national team as a teenager. After one successful season with the Luskov Yambol junior side, he got promoted to their senior side by his junior coach
Simeon Varchev Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew ( Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, son ...
. They also worked together in
BC Balkan Botevgrad BC Balkan Botevgrad ( bg, БК Балкан Ботевград, BK Balkan Botevgrad) is a Bulgarian professional basketball club based in Botevgrad.Akademik Varna. By the mid-1980s, he had established a reputation as one of Europe's top five players.Johnson, Roy. F. "A sun far from home court". ''New York Times''. November 12, 1985. p. 10. After averaging 23 points and 19
rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...
during the 1984-85 seasonhttp://www.interbasket.net/players/glouchkov.htm
Retrieved 25 August 2006.
in which his team Akademik Varna won the national championship, he attracted the attention of the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
, who selected him in the seventh round (148th pick overall) of the 1985 NBA Draft. The Suns signed him to much fanfare on September 25, 1985, releasing a special
press kit A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials that provide information about a person, company, organization or cause and which is distributed to members of the media for pr ...
which included a history of Bulgaria and a glossary of Bulgarian phrases. Glouchkov knew very little English and was accompanied by Bozhidar Takev, a Bulgarian coach and trainer who translated for him. At the beginning of the season, Glouchkov impressed the Suns with his strong rebounding and became a regular member of the team's playing rotation; as the year went on, however, Glouchkov began gaining weight, and his productivity decreased. Some Suns' staff members attributed his weight gain to his taste for American
fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...
and candy, but rumors also surfaced that he was experimenting with steroids. He ended the 1985-86 NBA season with averages of 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. As the season came to a close, Glouchkov began losing weight at a dramatic pace. When he reported to the Suns' 1986 summer league team, he weighed 25 pounds less than he had weighed when he first signed with the Suns. The Suns never determined the cause of his weight fluctuations, but after a poor performance in summer league competition, the Suns advised him to return to Europe. Glouchkov did return to his homeland and continued to play basketball in the European leagues. He had his most post-NBA success with the Italian club Phonola Caserta, whom he led to the European Winner's Cup finals in 1989 before losing to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
.


National team career

Glouchkov began playing with the junior national teams of Bulgaria at the age of seventeen. He began playing with the senior men's Bulgarian national team at the age of 19. He participated in 4
EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...
s. He played at the
EuroBasket 1979 The 1979 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1979, was the 21st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Twelve national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entere ...
, the
EuroBasket 1985 The 1985 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1985, was the 24th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 5 to 16 June 1985 in West Germany. The Soviet Union defeated Czec ...
, the
EuroBasket 1989 The 1989 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1989, was the 26th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Yugoslavia between 20 and 25 June 1989. Eight national teams entered th ...
, and the
EuroBasket 1991 The 1991 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1991, was the 27th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Italy between 24 and 29 June 1991. Eight national teams entered the even ...
.FIBAEUROPE.com:Glouchkov, Gueorgui Nikolov
/ref>


References


External links



*
Georgi Glouchkov Player Info
at
NBA.com The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

ACB.com Profile

LegaBasket.it profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glouchkov, Georgi 1960 births Living people BC Yambol players Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Bulgarian men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Expatriate basketball people in the United States Italian men's basketball players Italian people of Bulgarian descent Liga ACB players Mens Sana Basket players Pallacanestro Reggiana players People from Tryavna Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Power forwards (basketball) Saski Baskonia players