Pete Trgovich is an American former

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 ...

player. He played for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, and won two

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

s during his career. Trgovich was a member of the 1971 East Chicago Washington High School Senators basketball team, which went undefeated (29-0) and won the Indiana state high school championship. In the final two tournament wins that season, he scored a combined 68 points. Among his teammates were

Junior Bridgeman Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman (born September 17, 1953) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball League (NBA) for twelve years from 1975 until 1987, beginning with the Milw ...

, who later played professionally in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), and

Tim Stoddard Timothy Paul Stoddard (born January 24, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow Eas ...

, who played basketball at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

and went on to have success as a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) pitcher. Trgovich played college basketball at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA). On their freshman team in 1971–72, he led the team in scoring, averaging 23.4 points per game with a game high of 47. The following 1972–73 season, UCLA was 30–0 won the national championship. In 1974–75, Trgovich helped lead UCLA to another NCAA championship, facing off against his old high school teammate Bridgeman in the national semifinals. Trgovich was drafted by the

San Diego Sails The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

in the fourth round of the 1975 ABA draft. and by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

in the third round of the 1975 NBA Draft.

Coaching career

Trgovich coached East Chicago Central High School to the Indiana AAAA state championship in 2007. He was the head coach at

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest) is a public university in Gary, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University and was established in 1963. Academics IU Northwest is located on a campus in the northwest corner of the state. ...

, from 2007 to 2010. Trgovich returned to East Chicago Central, where he coached for two seasons from 2015-2017 before resigning after a playoff loss in 2017.

Honors

Trgovich was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trgovich, Pete Living people American men's basketball coaches Basketball players from Indiana Detroit Pistons draft picks High school basketball coaches in the United States Sportspeople from East Chicago, Indiana San Diego Sails draft picks Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area UCLA Bruins men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Year of birth missing (living people) Guards (basketball)