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 s ...

. 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

, 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 Mac ...

, and he was voted the 2002 Adriatic League Final Four MVP. 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

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

, 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

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.

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

. 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. 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 Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. 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 Frenc ...

. 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 2007 ...

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

. He guided Slovenia to a fourth-place finish at the 2009 EuroBasket. 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.
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, 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 , 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, , , ,