Michael "Mickey" Gorka ( he, מיקי גורקה; born November 15, 1972) is an Israeli 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 professional player.

Early life and playing career

Gorka was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for University of West Florida's

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...

Wallace State Community College Wallace State Community College (formally George C Wallace State Community College) is a public community college in Hanceville, Alabama. Founded in 1966 as the George C. Wallace State Trade School of Cullman County, the college currently enro ...

and the Spring Hill College's Badgers, alongside Eric Campbell and

Tony Younger Anthony Gordon Younger (born April 1, 1980) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently working as assistant coach for Ironi Ness Ziona of the Israeli Premier League. He played college basketball at Spr ...

. Gorka started his professional career with Hapoel Haifa and later joined Maccabi Kiryat Bialik and Maccabi Ramat Gan.

Coaching career

In 2006, Gorka started his coaching career as the assistant coach of Ironi Nahariya under

Ariel Beit-Halahmy Ariel Avraham Beit-Halahmy ( he, אריאל בית הלחמי; born February 4, 1966) is an Israeli professional basketball coach who is the current head coach for Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, Israeli Premier Leagu ...

. On March 2, 2011, Gorka was named Maccabi Haifa new head coach for the rest of the season, replacing Ami Nawi. Gorka led Haifa to finish the 2010–11 Season in the ninth place and secure their place in the Premier League for another season. On January 20, 2012, Gorka parted ways with Maccabi Haifa. On August 18, 2014, Gorka was named the assistant coach of

Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in the Sharon district in Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. It ...

under head coach

Muli Katzurin Muli Katzurin (born November 30, 1954) is an Israeli basketball coach, who since early 2008 has been coach of the national basketball team of Poland.http://www.sport.pl/koszykowka/1,65095,5043555.html Katzurin for twenty years (late 1970s–late ...

. On February 10, 2015, Gorka was named Bnei Herzliya new head coach for the rest of the season. On April 2, 2015, Gorka was named Israeli League Coach of the Month for games played in March. On December 1, 2016, Gorka was named Israeli League Coach of the Month for games played in November. In his third season with Herzliya, he led the team to the 2017 Israeli League Playoffs as the fifth seed, but they eventually were eliminated by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Quarterfinals. On December 5, 2017, Gorka parted ways with Herzliya after three years as the head coach. Six days later, Gorka was named the assistant coach of

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

for the rest of the season. On July 1, 2018, Gorka returned to Ironi Nahariya for a third stint, signing a two-year deal. However, on December 11, 2018, he parted ways with Nahariya after five consecutive losses and a 2–7 start to the 2018–19 season. On December 14, 2018, Gorka was named the head coach of

Maccabi Rehovot Maccabi Rehovot F.C. ( he, מכבי רחובות) is an Israeli football club based in Rehovot. The club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949 and competed in the top division during the 1950s, but today plays in Liga Gimel, the f ...

for the rest of the season, replacing Roy Hagay. On September 5, 2019, Gorka returned to

for a second stint, signing for the 2019–20 season.

References

External links

Basket.co.il profile

Safsal.co.il profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorka, Mickey 1972 births Living people Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Ironi Ramat Gan players Israeli basketball coaches Israeli men's basketball players Point guards Spring Hill Badgers men's basketball players Wallace State Lions men's basketball players West Florida Argonauts men's basketball players Israeli expatriate basketball people in the United States