Jurij "Jure" Zdovc (born 13 December 1966) is a Slovenian 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
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
Zdovc Returning to Helm of National Team.] As a player, he was a 1.98 m (6'6") tall
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
, who began his professional playing career with the
Yugoslav Second Division club
Smelt Olimpija.
During his playing career, he was a two-time member of the
FIBA European Selection
FIBA All-Star Games were all-star basketball exhibition games, which were also known as "FIBA Festivals". The "FIBA Festival All-Star Games" were held from 1964 to 1995. The FIBA European Selection teams won most of the FIBA Festival All-Star Ga ...
, in the years 1990 and 1991, and a
FIBA EuroStar
FIBA EuroStars was an annual event, organized by FIBA Europe, as a showcase basketball game, from the 1996–97 season, until the 1999–2000 season. Commonly considered as the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars game ...
selection, in 1996. He also represented both the senior
Yugoslav national team, and the senior
Slovenian national team
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
. He was inducted into the
Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame
The Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame (slovene: "''Hram slavnih slovenskih športnikov''") was founded in 2011 by the Society of Slovenian Sports Journalists (''Društvo športnih novinarjev Slovenije'') and includes best Slovenian athletes of all ti ...
in 2015.
As a basketball coach, Zdovc received the
EuroCup Coach of the Year award in 2012, while he was the head coach of the Russian club
Spartak Saint Petersburg
BC Spartak Saint Petersburg is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During the 2016–17 season, the club was named BC Kondrashin Belov (BCKB), after its former player Alexander Belov and its former head ...
.
Playing career
Club career
As a junior level player, Zdovc began his playing career with Comet
Slovenske Konjice
Slovenske Konjice ( or ; german: Gonobitz, in older sources also ''Gannobitz'') is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Slovenske Konjice. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria.
History and town ...
. He also played with the junior teams of Smelt Olimpija. During his senior men's pro
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises
...
career, he played with the following teams: the senior men's team of
Smelt Olimpija,
Knorr Bologna,
Limoges CSP
Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges.
History
The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...
,
Iraklis Thessaloniki
Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...
,
Helios Suns
The Helios Suns are a men's professional basketball club based in Domžale, Slovenia. The club competes in the Slovenian First League and the ABA League Second Division. They have won the national league in the 2006–07 and 2015–16 seasons. Sin ...
,
PSG Racing,
Tofaş
Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Ho ...
,
Panionios Athens
Panionios G.S.S. (Greek: Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'', is a Greek multi-sport club founded in 1890. Originally ...
,
Geoplin Slovan, and
Split CO.
With the French club
Limoges CSP
Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges.
History
The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...
, Zdovc won the
EuroLeague's
1992–93 season championship, and he was voted to the
EuroLeague All-Final Four Team
The EuroLeague All-Final Four Team, or FIBA SuproLeague All-Final Four Team, was an award given by Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, to the top five basketball players of each season's EuroLeague Final Four competition. The EuroLeag ...
. He also won the
French League's 1992–93 season championship, while playing with Limoges. In 1997, as a
Paris Racing player, he also won the French League championship.
While playing with Union Olimpija, Zdovc won two
Slovenian Premier League championships, and three
Slovenian Cups. With the same club, he also won the
2001–02 season's championship of the
Adriatic League
The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...
, and he was voted the 2002
Adriatic League Final Four MVP
The ABA League Finals MVP award, also known as the Adriatic League Finals MVP award (formerly the Final Four MVP), is an annual award that is given to the most valuable player of the finals of the European regional Adriatic ABA League, which is th ...
. With
Split Croatia, he won the 2003
Croatian Premier League championship.
Yugoslav national team
Zdovc was a member of the senior
Yugoslavia National Squad. With Yugoslavia, he won the silver medal at the
1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. As a member of Yugoslavia's national selection, he also won gold medals at the
1989 EuroBasket
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 t ...
, the
1990 FIBA World Championship
The 1990 FIBA World Championship was the 11th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990. The final phase of the competition was held at the Luna Pa ...
, and the
1991 EuroBasket
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 eve ...
.
Slovenian national team
As a member of the senior
Slovenian national team
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
, Zdovc played at the following major
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
international tournaments: the
1992 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the
1993 EuroBasket
The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entered ...
, the
1995 EuroBasket
The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to e ...
, the
1997 EuroBasket
The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...
, and the
1999 EuroBasket
The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...
.
Coaching career
Clubs
Zdovc first worked as a basketball coach in the 1997–98 season, with Comet Slovenske Konjice, where he worked as an assistant. That was still during his active playing career, but during a time in which he was not playing, due to a long-term injury that he suffered while he was playing with the
Turkish Super League
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
club
Tofaş
Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Ho ...
. After he retired from playing professional club basketball in 2003, Zdovc started his full-time
basketball coach
Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...
ing career as the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of the
Croatian Premier League club
Split Croatia. He stayed the head coach of Split Croatia until 2004, and led the team to a first-place finish in the
Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to:
*Croatian Football Cup
*Croatian Football Super Cup
* Croatian Women's Football Cup
*Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup
*Croatian Handball Cup
*Croatian Water Polo Cup
*Croatian Minute Movie Cup ...
. In the 2006–07 season, he was the sports director of
Union Olimpija
Košarkarski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They ...
.
Zdovc also won the
Bosnia and Herzegovina League championship with
Bosna in 2008. In 2009, he won the
Slovenian Premier League championship with Union Olimpija. Zdovc also won the
Slovenian Cup
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
title three times in a row with Union Olimpija, in the years 2009, 2010, and 2011. He also led Union Olimpija to the top Top-16 stage of the
EuroLeague's
2010–11 season.
Zdovc was named the
EuroCup Coach of the Year in 2012. On 20 December 2015, he signed a three-year contract with the
Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
club club
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...
. He was dismissed in the role by AEK Athens, in March 2017, after his team lost a
2016–17 FIBA Champions League game against the
French Pro A League
The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...
club
AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
.
On 14 June 2017, Zdovc was named as the head coach of the Croatian club
Cedevita Zagreb
Košarkaški klub Cedevita Junior ( en, Cedevita Junior Basketball Club), also known as Cedevita Junior, is a men's basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is named after its main sponsor Cedevita, and competes in the Croatian HT Premi ...
, as he replaced
Veljko Mršić
Veljko Mršić (; born 13 April 1971) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of the CB Breogán, Río Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB.
Playing career
Mršić was a member of the FIBA Eur ...
in that role. He was later sacked by the club on 6 June 2018.
On 7 May 2020, Zdovc signed on to be the head coach of the
Metropolitans 92
Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball.
The club was established in 200 ...
of the French
LNB Pro A
The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...
. Zdovc worked with
Žalgiris Kaunas in the 2021-2022 season, though had a very tumultuous season, resigning in April. With Žalgiris, Zdovc won the 2022
King Mindaugas Cup
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
.
National teams
In 2009, Zdovc was named the head coach of the senior men's
Slovenian national team
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
. He guided Slovenia to a fourth-place finish at the
2009 EuroBasket
The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...
. In 2014, Zdovc returned to coach Slovenia, after signing a three-year contract to coach the team. He coached Slovenia at the
2014 FIBA World Cup
The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...
, and the
2015 EuroBasket
EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 S ...
.
Head coaching record
EuroLeague
ZDOVC, JURE Career Record EuroLeague.
/ref>
, -
, align="left" rowspan=3, Union Olimpija
Košarkarski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They ...
, align="left", 2008–09
, 2 , , 0 , , 2 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in regular season
, -
, align="left", 2009–10
, 10 , , 1 , , 9 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in regular season
, -
, align="left", 2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 16 , , 7 , , 9 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in Top 16 stage
, -
, align="left", Žalgiris Kaunas
, align="left", 2021–22
, 28 , , 8 , , 20 , , , , align="center", Eliminated in regular season
, -
, -class="sortbottom"
, align="center" colspan=2, Career, , 56, , 16, , 40, , , ,
References
External links
Jurij Zdovc
at fiba archive 1(as a player)
at fiba archive 2 (as a player)
at fibaeurope.com (as a player)
Jure Zdovc
at euroleague.net (as a player)
Jure Zdovc
at euroleague.net (as a coach)
Jure Zdovc
at proballers.com (as a player)
Jure Zdovc
at eurobasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zdovc, Jure
1966 births
Living people
1990 FIBA World Championship players
ABA League players
AEK B.C. coaches
Basketball executives
Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
BC Spartak Saint Petersburg coaches
BC Žalgiris coaches
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA EuroBasket-winning players
FIBA World Championship-winning players
Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. coaches
Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players
KD Slovan players
KK Bosna Royal coaches
KK Cedevita coaches
KK Olimpija coaches
KK Olimpija players
KK Split players
Levallois Metropolitans coaches
Limoges CSP players
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Olympic basketball players of Yugoslavia
Olympic medalists in basketball
Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia
Panionios B.C. players
Paris Racing Basket players
People from the Municipality of Slovenske Konjice
Point guards
Shooting guards
Slovenia national basketball team coaches
Slovenian basketball coaches
Slovenian expatriate basketball people in France
Slovenian expatriate basketball people in Greece
Slovenian expatriate basketball people in Italy
Slovenian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
Slovenian expatriate basketball people in Turkey
Slovenian men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Maribor
Virtus Bologna players
Yugoslav men's basketball players