Joseph Gerard Kopicki (born 12 June 1960) is a former American basketball player. At and , he played the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

position.

Biography

Kopicki played basketball at Fitzgerald High School in Warren, Michigan, his hometown. He was named to the First Team Class A All-State squad and selected as Macomb County Player of the Year in 1978. During his career at the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

, Kopicki tallied 1,410 points and 771 rebounds. Kopicki was drafted in the third round of the 1982 NBA Draft (56th pick overall) by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. However, he was waived by the Hawks on October 19. He signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers three days later, but was again waived on October 27 before the start of the season. After a season with the Wisconsin Flyers of the CBA, he signed with the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

on March 9, 1983 and finally played in the NBA. Kopicki played with the Bullets for the remainder of the and all of the seasons, averaging 3.8 points per game off the bench, but did not make the final roster for the season. He then started negotiations with the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division ( ...

, but was convinced by the Denver Nuggets to sign on October 31, 1984, just days into the season. Kopicki replaced Russell Cross, who had a weak left knee, on the Nuggets roster. His playing time increased when Bill Hanzlik suffered an injury. After the season, he then decided to play in Europe, where he spent the rest of his career on teams in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In Europe he was a seven-time All-Star.''This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the

Spanish Wikipedia The Spanish Wikipedia ( es, Wikipedia en español) is a Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on March 8, 2006 and 1,000,000 articles on May 16, 2013 ...

Kopicki is now the head coach of the boys' basketball team at his high school alma mater, Fitzgerald.

Honors

Kopicki's number 34 has since been retired by his high school. He was inducted into the Detroit Titans Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. Kopicki received the 2011 Matt Dobek Special Recognition Award from the

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...

.Joe Kopicki 2011 Special Recognition Award Winner
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Personal

Kopicki has been married to his wife Jennifer since 1986. They have raised three children, Jessica, Joseph and Matthew. Kopicki is of Polish descent.

References

External links

Data on Joe Kopicki from ACBStatistics for Joe Kopicki from Lega Basket
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopicki, Joe 1960 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American people of Polish descent Atlanta Hawks draft picks Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players Basketball players from Michigan Denver Nuggets players Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Warren, Michigan Washington Bullets players Wisconsin Flyers players