Jure Zdovc second Slovenian in FIBA Hall of Fame
Nyon, 30 March - Slovenian basketball coach and former player Jure Zdovc will be inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class. He is only the second Slovenian to make it to museum honouring people who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball after Ivo Daneu.
Barcelona, Spain
Slovenian basketball coach and former player Jure Zdovc.
Photo: Xinhua/STA
Zdovc's class was announced on Tuesday by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which said that the virtual ceremony would be held on 18 June, when the class of 2021 is also to be presented.
With the induction in the museum based in Switzerland's Mies, the Slovenian has found himself in the company of basketball greats such as Canadian Steve Nash and Ukrainian Alexander Volkov among players, and Serbian Svetislav Pešić among coaches.
As player, Zdovc was a member of many clubs in Slovenia and abroad and won a number of trophies, including the EuroLeague in 1993 with the French club Limoges.
As part of one of the greatest generations of the former Yugoslav national team, he won silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics, EuroBasket titles in 1989 and 1991, and the gold medal at the 1990 FIBA World Championship.
The 54-year-old has also had a successful coaching career, including two stints as the head coach of the Slovenian men's basketball team. He currently coaches Metropolitans 92 of the top-tier men's basketball league in France.
In the latest class, Zdovc is joined by Lithuania's Modestas Paulauskas, Poland's Mieczyslaw Lopatka, Japan's Kenichi Sako, France's Isabelle Fijalkowski, Hungary's Agnes Nemeth and South Korea's Shin-Ja Park among players.
In addition to Pešić, the 2020 inductees from the ranks of coaches also feature Ruben Magnano of Argentina and Tara VanDerveer of the US.