Croatian basketball player and coach (1938–2023)
Mirko Novosel (30 June 1938 – 20 July 2023) was a Croatian professional basketball coach and player.
Novosel coached some of the greatest players in former Yugoslavia and Croatia, such as Croatian Hall of Fame players Krešimir Ćosić and Dražen Petrović. He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a coach, on 7 September 2007. He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, as a coach, in 2010.
Playing career.
Novosel played club basketball, from 1952 to 1966, with Lokomotiva Zagreb.
Coaching career.
Novosel coached Cibona 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.
Death.
Mirko Novosel died on 20 July 2023, at the age of 85.
References.
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