Goran Suton (born 11 August 1985) is a Bosnian-Croat former 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 ...

player who last played for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB. He played

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

basketball with the

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Spartans Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

Early years

Suton was born on the outskirts of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

in then-

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

, SFR Yugoslavia, to father Miroslav and mother Živana, a Bosnian Croat and

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

respectively. During the Bosnian War, he lived with his family in

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 24,216, while the population of the municipality is 44,406. The town was found ...

, Serbia. He played for the Bosnian U14 side before his family moved to the US, where he attended Everett High School in Lansing, Michigan. There he led the Everett Vikings to a Class A boys basketball title in 2004 as a senior.

College career

Suton first rose to notability during his freshman season at

, when he notoriously missed a last-second

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a jump s ...

in a hotly contested game against Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational. Suton developed into a key player for the Spartans during his career, earning second team All-Big Ten marks during his senior season. Suton helped the Spartans to an NCAA Final Four as a senior in 2009. He was especially effective during the 2009 Final Four run, holding USC star

Taj Gibson Taj Jami Gibson (born June 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gibson played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected 26th overall by th ...

to three points, and hitting a string of jump shots against

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

on his way to scoring 19 points in the game. Suton was named Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest regional in 2009. Suton was named to the first team all-tournament.

Professional career

Suton was chosen 50th overall by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other e ...

. Jazz coach

Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent ...

cut Suton during the preseason on 21 October 2009. Suton signed a contract with Spartak St. Petersburg of the Russian Basketball Super League on 2 November 2009. For the 2010–2011 season he played with Angelico Biella of Italy. In July 2011 he signed with

Cibona Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and competes ...

and won Croatian championship with them. In August 2012 Suton joined Cibona's city rivals

KK Cedevita Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlan ...

. In August 2014, he moved to Spain and signed with

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

. On 5 August 2015, Suton signed a new deal with Joventut Badalona for one more season after averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in his first season in Liga ACB. On 2 August 2016, he signed with Estudiantes.Estudiantes adds size with Goran Suton
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Personal

Suton became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 2006.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suton, Goran 1985 births Living people ABA League players American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American people of Croatian descent American people of Serbian descent Basketball players from Michigan BC Spartak Saint Petersburg players Bosnia and Herzegovina men's basketball players Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to the United States Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees CB Estudiantes players Centers (basketball) Joventut Badalona players KK Cedevita players KK Cibona players Liga ACB players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Pallacanestro Biella players Sportspeople from Lansing, Michigan Basketball players from Sarajevo Utah Jazz draft picks American men's basketball players Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Croatian descent Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Serbian descent Croatian people of Serbian descent