Mike Brkovich ( ; born April 6, 1958) is a Canadian former

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 from

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

. He is currently a Windsor-based automotive exporter and real estate developer.

Basketball career

Of Serbian background ( Serbian: Брковић, ''Brković''), Brkovich played high school basketball at W. D. Lowe in Windsor. The team won the Ontario Provincial Championship in 1976 and 1977. Brkovich played as a

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

on the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

team that won the 1979 NCAA tournament, defeating

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

Indiana State Sycamores The Indiana State Sycamores are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic teams of Indiana State University. Since the 1977–78 academic year, Indiana State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Indiana State foot ...

in the final game. Brkovich opened an earlier tournament game against Notre Dame game with a

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

, from which the Fighting Irish never recovered. The following year, Brkovich was the team's co-captain. Brkovich was drafted 181st overall (8th round) by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in 1981, but never played in the NBA. He was a member of the Canadian national basketball team which finished fourth in the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

. He and the rest of the team were unable to play in the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, due to the boycott that year. Brkovich was inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Business career

Brkovich founded a successful auto export dealership in Windsor, and later expanded into real estate ownership and development. He has advocated for the preservation and restoration of historically significant buildings in Windsor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brkovich, Mike 1958 births Living people Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian real estate businesspeople Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Basketball players from Windsor, Ontario Shooting guards Basketball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Canada