Gerald Francis Kazanowski (born October 12, 1960) is a former professional and Canadian

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

basketball player. Born in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

, British Columbia, Kazanowski was British Columbia High School Basketball Association provincial tournament MVP in 1978 as a member of Nanaimo High School. He played college basketball for the University of Victoria Vikes. He was named a three-time CIAU All-Canadian, two-time recipient of the Premier's Athletic Award, and member of four consecutive CIAU championship Vikes teams, 1980 through 1983. Kazanowski graduated with a degree in economics and was drafted in the 7th round of the 1983 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz (his name was listed as Joe Kazanowski). The 6-foot, 9-inch centre/

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 ...

, Kazanowski first played for the national team at the 1979 FIBA World Junior Championship. He played in three

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

, 1981, '83, and '85. The 1983 games played in Edmonton saw the Canadians upset the United States and Yugoslavia to win gold. He participated in three FIBA World Championships,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. He also participated against the original

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

at the

1992 FIBA Tournament of the Americas The 1992 Tournament of the Americas, later known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the FIBA AmeriCup, was a basketball championship hosted by the United States from June 27 to July 5, 1992. The games were played at the Memorial Coliseum in ...

as Canada fell to the Americans in round-robin play 61-101. Kazanowski played in two Olympic Games too, in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, when a depleted field due to boycott saw Canada finish just outside the medals in fourth place, and in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. Kazanowski played professionally from 1984 through 1992 with stops for clubs in Spain ( Joventut and Baloncesto León),

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, Finland,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Luxembourg, Argentina and Mexico. He was inducted into both the

Naismith Museum and Hall of Fame This page includes variants Nasmith, Nasmyth, and Naysmith. General * Naismith's Rule, used in hiking * Nasmyth telescope * Primary enamel cuticle, also known as ''Nasmyth's membrane'' Places * Naismith, Montana * Nasmyth (crater) on the Moon ...

in 2005 and Basketball BC Hall of Fame in 2006. As of 2006, Kazanowski continued to live on Vancouver Island (he has at various times lived in

Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

and

Saanichton Saanichton, British Columbia is a village, in the municipality of Central Saanich, located between Victoria and the BC Ferry Terminal, west of the Pat Bay Highway (Hwy 17), at the junction of Mount Newton Cross Road and East Saanich Road. Saani ...

) with his wife Claudia and daughters Sarah and Grace. He is a certified financial advisor. In 2008, Gerald was inducted into the Nanaimo Sports hall of fame.

References

''basketball.bc.ca''''www.tsn.ca''Canadian Olympic Committee webpage profile (with photos)''www.elpais.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazanowski, Gerald 1960 births Living people Baloncesto León players Basketball people from British Columbia Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Canadian expatriate basketball people in Argentina Canadian expatriate basketball people in Finland Canadian expatriate basketball people in Mexico Canadian expatriate basketball people in Spain Canadian expatriate basketball people in Sweden Canadian expatriate basketball people in Switzerland Canadian expatriate basketball people in Luxembourg Canadian men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Centers (basketball) Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Olympic basketball players of Canada People from the Capital Regional District Power forwards (basketball) SAM Basket players Sportspeople from Nanaimo Utah Jazz draft picks Victoria Vikes basketball players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade gold medalists for Canada Universiade bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade