Kęstutis Kemzūra (born 20 April 1970) is a Lithuanian 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 ...

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 ...

and former player who is currently the head coach of

BC Wolves BC Wolves is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in the city of Vilnius. The team competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). History 2022-23 season The organisation was founded on 2 June 2022, with the name Wolves referri ...

of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

. He is also an assistant coach for the Lithuanian national team. During his playing career, at a height of 1.91 m (6'3") tall, he played at the

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 ...

position.

Professional playing career

Kemzūra started his

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 ...

playing career as a

, with the Lithuanian club

Atletas Kaunas FK Atletas Kaunas (former:LKKA ir Teledema) was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas. The majority of the players was recruited from the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education. LKKA ir Teledema earned promotion to the A Lyga, L ...

. He averaged 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist per game in the

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

competition's 1992–93 season, in his first year. His next year he had better stats, as he recorded 12.5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the Saporta Cup's 1993–94 season. In 1996, he moved to the Lithuanian club

Šilutė Šilutė (, previously ''Šilokarčiama'', german: link=no, Heydekrug), is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County, Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Š ...

. After that, he went to the Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, for the 1998–99 season, where he became a

player coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. Kemzūra left the team in November, and joined the Lithuanian club Kalnapilis Panevėžys. In the 1999–2000 season, he played in the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

competition with Sema Panevėžys. His last playing season was the 2000–01 season, in which he played with the Austrian club Swans Gmunden.

National team playing career

Kemzūra also briefly played with the senior

Lithuanian national basketball team The Lithuania men's national basketball team ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinė vyrų krepšinio rinktinė) represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body ...

in 1994. He played with Lithuania at the qualification tournament for the

EuroBasket 1995 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 ea ...

Club coaching career

After finishing his basketball playing career with the Swans Gmunden, Kemzūra pursued a

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. During the 2001–02 season, he was hired by the Turkish club

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

, as an assistant coach. The following year, he moved to the Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, where he first worked as an assistant coach, and then later as a

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 ...

. He spent the next three years working as an assistant coach with the Russian club Dynamo Saint Petersburg, and the Italian club Benetton Treviso. In 2007, Kemzūra became the head coach of the Russian club

Khimki Moscow Region BC Khimki (russian: БК Химки) is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Khimki, Moscow Oblast. The club's senior men's first team participates in the Russian Basketball Super League 1. The club's full official name is BC Kh ...

. He was replaced in that role by

Sergio Scariolo Sergio Scariolo (born 1 April 1961) is an Italian professional basketball coach who is head coach of Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the head coach of the senior Spain national team. Having won four EuroBasket champi ...

, in December 2008. In December 2009, he signed to be the head coach of the Russian club Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. In 2011, he was chosen to become the foreign players' coach during the Russian All-Star Game. Kemzūra left the team in 2011. Kemzūra then signed a contract to be the head coach of the Polish club

Asseco Prokom Gdynia Arka Gdynia is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from the company Asseco. Historically the team is one of the most successful in Poland, mainly because of t ...

, in July 2012. He left Prokom in December 2012. In June 2013, he became the head coach of the Czech club

ČEZ Basketball Nymburk Basketball Nymburk, also known as ERA Nymburk due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in the town of Nymburk. The club plays in the top-tier level professional Czech National League (NBL). Nymburk regularly pl ...

. In December 2016, he became an assistant coach of the Turkish EuroLeague side Darüşşafaka, after

Ainars Bagatskis Ainars Bagatskis (born 29 March 1967) is a Latvian former professional basketball player and coach, who currently works as the head coach of CSO Voluntari of the Liga Națională and the senior Ukraine national team. Playing career Club career ...

' decision to leave the team. On 3 July 2018 Kemzūra was named an assistant coach of the Greek club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, where he would work in that role under the club's head coach

David Blatt David Michael Blatt ( he, דוד מיכאל בלאט; born May 22, 1959), is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player. Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and p ...

. On 6 October 2019, Blatt resigned, and Kemzūra became the temporary interim head coach of the team. Kemzūra debuted as the interim head coach of Olympiacos, on 11 October 2019, and coached Olympiacos to a crushing 89–63 victory versus the Spanish club

Valencia Basket Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

. On 20 October 2019 Olympiacos announced that Kemzūra would remain as the head coach of the team, until the end of the 2019–20 season. He was later, however, replaced by

Georgios Bartzokas Georgios Bartzokas (alternate spellings: Giorgos, George, Mpartzokas) ( el, Γιώργος Μπαρτζώκας, born June 11, 1965) is a Greek former professional basketball player and current head coach for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League ...

On 28 March 2023, Kemzūra was appointed as the head coach of

in their debut season in the

National team coaching career

Lithuanian national team

At the

EuroBasket 2005 The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

and

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

, Kemzūra served as an assistant coach with the senior Lithuanian national team. On 5 November 2009, Kemzūra became the head coach of Lithuania. Under Kemzūra, Lithuania won the bronze medal at the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

. He also coached the team to a 5th place finish at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

, and to an 8th place finish at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In October 2012, he was replaced as head coach by

Jonas Kazlauskas Jonas Kazlauskas (born 21 November 1954) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Playing career Kazlauskas ...

. In October 2021, Kemzūra returned to the team as an assistant coach under

Kazys Maksvytis Kazys Maksvytis (born 15 June 1977) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach who is currently the head coach for Lithuania men's national basketball team and Žalgiris Kaunas. Coaching career Professional clubs From 2011 to 2012, Maksvyt ...

Latvian national team

On 19 December 2008, Kemzūra was appointed as the head coach for

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. His team finished in 13th place at the

EuroBasket 2009 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 ...

. After that, he declined to extend his contract with the team, and instead opted to become the head coach of the senior

Austria national team

On 29 January 2016, Kemzūra became the head coach of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and he coached them at the

EuroBasket 2017 qualification This article describes the qualification procedure for EuroBasket 2017. Qualification format All teams which didn't qualify yet for EuroBasket 2017 were divided into six groups of four teams and one more of three. The winners of each group and the ...

. Despite Austria's failed attempt to qualify for

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, his contract was extended at the end of the year.

Awards and achievements

Head coach

* 2010 FIBA World Championship, Turkey:

References

External links

FIBA Player ProfileEuroleague.net Coach Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemzura, Kestutis 1970 births Living people Arka Gdynia basketball coaches Basketball Nymburk coaches Basketball players from Kaunas Basketbol Süper Ligi head coaches BC Khimki coaches BC Lietkabelis players BC Rytas coaches BC Rytas players BC Šilutė basketball players Lithuanian basketball coaches Lithuanian men's basketball players LSU-Atletas basketball players Olympiacos B.C. coaches PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban coaches Point guards Swans Gmunden players