Mirko Novosel
Croatian basketball player and coach (1938–2023)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mirko Novosel (30 June 1938 – 20 July 2023) was a Croatian professional basketball coach and player.
| Cibona | |
|---|---|
| Position | Honorary president |
| League | HT Premijer liga ABA League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 30 June 1938 |
| Died | 20 July 2023 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1952–1966 |
| Coaching career | 1967–1993 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1952–1966 | Lokomotiva |
Coaching | |
| 1967–1971, 1976-1985, 1986-1988 | Lokomotiva/Cibona Zagreb |
| 1988–1990 | Napoli |
| Career highlights | |
As head coach
| |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| FIBA Hall of Fame | |
Medals | |
Playing career
Novosel played club basketball, from 1952 to 1966, with Lokomotiva Zagreb (later changed to KK Cibona Zagreb).
Coaching career
Novosel coached Cibona Zagreb to two Yugoslav League titles, seven Yugoslav Cups, and the two European Champions Cup titles in 1985 and 1986, when he was named the European Coach of the Year.
National team coaching career
As the head coach, Novosel led the senior men's Yugoslav national team to the gold medals at the 1973 FIBA European Championship and the 1975 FIBA European Championship, the silver medal at the 1974 FIBA World Championship, the silver medal at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, and the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Novosel was also the head coach of the senior men's Croatia national team, leading them to the bronze medal at the 1993 European Championship.
He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a coach, on 7 September 2007.[1] He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, as a coach, in 2010.[2]
Death
Mirko Novosel died on 20 July 2023, at the age of 85.[3]
Career achievements
Club career
- FIBA European Champions Cup: 1 (with Cibona: 1984–85)
- FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup (Saporta Cup): 2 (with Cibona: 1981–82, 1986–87)
- FIBA European Champions Cup – top 6 (with Cibona: 1982–83)
- FIBA Korać Cup – finalist (with Cibona: 1979–80, 1987–88)
- Yugoslav League: 2 (with Cibona: 1981–82, 1983–84)
- Yugoslav Cup: 7 (with Cibona: 1968–69 (under the name Lokomotiva), 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88)