Ratko "Raša" Radovanović (; born 16 October 1956) is a Serbian 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 who competed for

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, at 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 ...

, and at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Early life

Born in the town of

Nevesinje Nevesinje ( sr-cyrl, Невесиње) is a town and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,162 inhabitants, while the municipality has 12,961 inhabitants. Geograp ...

within the

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

region, Radovanović, still an infant, was brought by his parents to

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

PR Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...

where he grew up. A tall and lanky kid, Radovanović took up basketball in Nikšić on an informal, recreational basis in 1969. In May 1970, the senior Yugoslav national team won the

1970 FIBA World Championship The 1970 FIBA World Championship was the 6th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Yugoslavia in Sarajevo, Split, Karlovac, Skopje and Ljubljana, from 10 to 24 May 1970. It was ...

, resulting in an explosion of popularity for the sport throughout the country — a trend Radovanović followed, as he started training a lot more seriously. It wasn't long before he got noticed by the Bosna sports society general secretary Vukašin "Vule" Vukalović who recommended the youngster to

KK Bosna KK Bosna Meridianbet ( bs, Košarkaški klub Bosna Meridianbet) is a professional basketball team based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most successful Bosnian club of all time, having been the EuroLeague champion by winning 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 ...

Bogdan Tanjević Bogdan Tanjević ( sr-cyr, Богдан Тањевић; born 13 February 1947), nicknamed "Boša" ( it, Boscia) is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player. He is best known for being KK Bosna's head coach when the club beca ...

Club career

KK Bosna

Radovanović arrived to Sarajevo in October 1972, having just turned 16 years of age. Though officially part of the

youth system, first team

Tanjević would already give him an odd first team run-out during the 1972-73 season, the club's first ever in the Yugoslav top-tier league. Throughout the 1973-74 season, seventeen-year-old Radovanović recorded 17 first team appearances in the Yugoslav First League, scoring a total of 43 points (2.5 points per game). During the 1974-75 season, the eighteen-year-old's continued improvement led to a permanent move to the first team. His league scoring average over the season reached 5.8 points per game.

National team

Youth

Radovanović got picked for the Yugoslav cadet (under-16) national team at the European Championship for Cadets, held in Italy during July 1973, making a modest contribution to Yugoslavia's bronze medal effort with 2.2 points per game. The following summer, he made the Yugoslav junior (under-18) squad at the European Championship for Juniors, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, this time playing a much larger role on a team coached by Tanjević, his club

at Bosna. Radovanović contributed with 13.8 points per game, as the Yugoslav team — featuring

Branko Skroče Branko Skroče (born 17 May 1955 in Zadar) is a former Croatian basketball player who competed for Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југослави� ...

Mihovil Nakić Mihovil Nakić-Vojnović (born 31 July 1955) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. Standing at , he played as a small forward. Club career Nakić spent most of his club career in Cibona, which he helped win back-to-back EuroLeag ...

Andro Knego Andrija "Andro" Knego (born 21 October 1956) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. Professional career During his club career, Knego was the FIBA Saporta Cup Finals Top Scorer, in 1982. Yugoslavian national team Knego played wi ...

, and

Rajko Žižić Rajko Žižić (January 22, 1955 – August 7, 2003) was a Yugoslavian professional basketball player. The 6'11", 243-pounder represented Yugoslavia at the 1976 Summer Olympics, the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 S ...

, among others — won gold.

Senior

In July 1975, Radovanović, still only eighteen-years-old, made his full squad senior Yugoslav national team debut in a game versus

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at Hala Pinki as part of the International Cup.

Post-playing career

Right after retiring from playing basketball in 1990 in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, thirty-three-year-old Radovanović moved to Sarajevo with his wife and their two young children. Returning to the city where he had previously lived for eleven years between 1972 and 1983 while with

, he invested some of his money in healthcare by opening a private dental office. Less than two years after that, the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

broke out and Radovanović and his family fled to Belgrade where he has been living ever since.

FMP Železnik sporting director

In 1996, Radovanović joined the front office of FMP Železnik — a club that had just finished playing its first ever season in

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

's top-tier league — in the sporting director capacity. Working under the club's owner and president

Nebojša Čović Nebojša Čović ( sr-Cyrl, Небојша Човић; 2 July 1958) is a Serbian businessman, basketball executive, and politician. Since 2011, he has been serving as the president of Crvena zvezda mts Belgrade. Early years and education Čovi ...

, Radovanović handled player personnel issues — helping FMP Železnik become a noted producer of basketball talent. In the 1996-97 season, Radovanović's first with the club, FMP Železnik won the

FR Yugoslavia Cup The Serbia and Montenegro Cup was an association football knockout cup tournament of Serbia and Montenegro played between 1992 and 2006, after which Serbia and Montenegro became separate nations. The competition was the continuation of the old M ...

competition — its very first piece of silverware. However, instead of keeping the Cup-winning squad (that consisted of somewhat older players) intact, the club decided to sell them and turn to bringing up a generation of 17 and 18-year-olds from its youth system into the first team. With Čović's financial support, Radovanović implemented a player development system in FMP that relied on identifying and acquiring talented teenagers from all over FR Yugoslavia / Serbia-Montenegro / Serbia during early stages of their basketball development, working with them within the club's system featuring academy-like facilities at the Belgrade suburb of

Železnik Železnik ( sr-cyr, Железник, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica. Location Železnik is located in the central part of the Čukarica municipality, southwest from down ...

where in addition to training they also lived and studied, and later selling them at a profit to bigger clubs. Players developed in the club during Radovanović's tenure include:

Miloš Teodosić Miloš Teodosić ( sr-cyr, Милош Теодосић, born March 19, 1987) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the National Basketball ...

(sold in 2007 to Olympiakos for €1.2 million),

Zoran Erceg Zoran Erceg (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Ерцег; born 11 January 1985) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He represented the Serbian national basketball team internationally. Standing at , he played the power forward positio ...

(sold in 2008 to Olympiakos for €800,000), Aleksandar Rašić (sold in 2007 to Efes Pilsen for €400,000),

Dejan Musli Dejan Musli ( sr-cyr, Дејан Мусли; born January 3, 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. Standing at , he plays at the center position. Professional career FMP In the youth Musli won t ...

(sold in 2010 to

Caja Laboral Caja Laboral Popular Cooperativa de Crédito or Caja Laboral (Workers' Credit Union) was a Spanish credit union established in 1959 as part of the Mondragon Corporation and headquartered in Mondragón, in the Basque Country of Spain. The major ...

Miroslav Raduljica Miroslav Raduljica ( sr-cyr, Мирослав Радуљица, born January 5, 1988) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Serbian national basketball team ...

(sold in 2010 to Efes Pilsen for €600,000), Mladen Šekularac (sold in 2002 to

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

for €600,000),

Dejan Milojević Dejan Milojević ( sr-cyrl, Дејан Милојевић; born 15 April 1977) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. Currently, since summer 2021, he is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Bask ...

(sold in 2000 to

KK Budućnost KK Budućnost (, ), currently known as Budućnost VOLI () for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball Sports club, club based in Podgorica, Montenegro. The club competes in Montenegrin Basketball League, Adriatic League and EuroCup Bas ...

for €600,000),

Ognjen Aškrabić Ognjen Aškrabić ( sr-cyr, Огњен Ашкрабић; born July 28, 1979) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Professional career While playing for Dynamo Saint Petersburg, Aškrabić won the FIBA Europe League in 2005. Natio ...

(sold in 2004 to the newly-established Dynamo Saint Petersburg for €550,000),

Duško Savanović Duško Savanović ( sr-cyr, Душко Савановић, born September 5, 1983) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. A power forward, he represented the Serbian national basketball team internationally and was an All-Euroleague ...

(sold in 2006 to

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 2022 ...

for €500,000),

Vladimir Radmanović Vladimir Radmanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Владимир Радмановић; born November 19, 1980) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. In Serbia he played for Crvena zvezda and FMP and in the National Basketball Association ...

and Mile Ilić (sold in 2001 to the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

and in 2006 to the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, respectively, for the then fixed transfer fee of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

350,000 that the NBA franchises were paying to European clubs for players under contract). After fourteen years at the club, Radovanović parted ways with FMP Železnik in 2010 at the beginning of the 2010-11 season. In August 2017, following seven years away from basketball, Radovanović almost came back to the sport as

KK Partizan Košarkaški klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Партизан, English: Partizan Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Partizan or simply Partizan, is a professional basketball team based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is ...

's youth system director. The news of his return even got announced by the Serbian press outlets, however, nothing came of it in the end with Radovanović later revealing that negotiations with KK Partizan lasted over a month with no deal ultimately being made.

Sloboda Užice sporting director

On May 26, 2018, Radovanović became the

sports director The title of sports director can refer to the director of a live sports broadcast. It can also refer to an individual at a television or radio station who is in charge of the sports department. Director {{Job-stub ...

Sloboda Užice A sloboda ( rus, слобода́, p=sləbɐˈda) was a kind of settlement in the history of the Old Russian regions Povolzhye, Central Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for " freedom" and may be loosely ...

, newly promoted member of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...

for the 2018-19 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radovanovic, Ratko 1956 births Living people Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) Competitors at the 1975 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games FIBA World Championship-winning players Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Olympic basketball players of Yugoslavia Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic gold medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic medalists in basketball Reyer Venezia players Serbian basketball executives and administrators Serbian expatriate basketball people in France Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy Serbian men's basketball players Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs of Montenegro Sportspeople from Nevesinje Sportspeople from Nikšić Yugoslav men's basketball players 1978 FIBA World Championship players 1982 FIBA World Championship players 1986 FIBA World Championship players KK Bosna Royal players