Alexander Yakovlevich Gomelsky (Russian: Александр Яковлевич Гомельский; 18 January 1928 – 16 August 2005) was a Russian professional basketball player and coach.[1] The Father of Soviet and Russian basketball, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Russian basketball player and coach
Alexander Gomelsky
Personal information
Born
(1928-01-18)18 January 1928 Kronstadt, Leningrad Oblast, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Died
16 August 2005(2005-08-16) (aged77) Moscow, Russia
Nationality
Soviet / Russian
Career information
Playing career
1945–1953
Position
Point guard / Shooting guard
Coaching career
1949–1991
Career history
As player:
1945–1948
ODO LenVO
1949–1953
Rīgas ASK
As coach:
1949–1952
Spartak Leningrad (women)
1953–1966
Rīgas ASK
1969–1980, 1985–1986
CSKA Moscow
1988–1989
Tenerife AB
1990–1991
CSP Limoges
Career highlights and awards
As a head coach
4× EuroLeague champion (1958–1960, 1971)
Honored Coach of the USSR (1956)
Master of Sports of the USSR International Class (1965)
13× Soviet League champion (1955, 1957, 1958, 1970–1974, 1976–1980)
2× Soviet Cup winner (1972, 1973)
4× Soviet Union Men's Basketball Coach of the Year (1967, 1977, 1982, 1988)
Alexander Gomelsky was awarded the Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee in 1998. In 2008, he was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.
Club coaching career
Gomelsky began his coaching career in 1949, in Leningrad, with the women's team of LGS Spartak. In 1953, he became the coach of Rīgas ASK, leading the team to three Soviet Union League titles (1955, 1957, 1958), and three consecutive European Champions Cups (EuroLeague), from 1958 to 1960.
In 1969, he was appointed the head coach of CSKA Moscow, leading the club to 10 Soviet Union national league championships (1970–1974, 1976–1980), 2 Soviet Union Cups (1972, 1973), and one European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) title in 1971. He also led the club to two more European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) finals, in 1970, and 1973.
He also coached in Spain and France shortly before the dissolution of the USSR.
National team coaching career
Gomelsky was the long-time head coach of the senior Soviet Union national team, leading them to 6 EuroBasket titles (1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1979, and 1981), 2 FIBA World Cup titles (1967, and 1982), and the Summer Olympic Games gold medal in 1988.
He was originally the Soviet national team head coach in 1972, and was expected to coach the team at the 1972 Summer Olympic games, but the KGB confiscated his passport, fearing that, since Gomelsky was Jewish, he would defect to Israel.[2]
The Soviet team, with Vladimir Kondrashin as their coach, won their first Olympic gold medal that year, after a controversial game against the United States.
Awards
For merits in the development of sports and basketball was awarded:
Honored Coach of the USSR: 1956
Master of Sports of the USSR International Class: 1965
4× Soviet Union Coach of the Year: 1967, 1977, 1982, 1988
Honored Coach of the Lithuanian SSR: 1982
Order of the Red Banner of Labour: 1982
Order of the Red Star
Order of Friendship of Peoples
2 Orders of the Badge of Honour
Honored Worker of Physical Culture of Russia: 1993
Grave of Gomelsky at the Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow
In his later years, Gomelsky was the president of the Russian Basketball Federation and CSKA Moscow. In 1995, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.
Every year the Gomelsky Cup is organized by CSKA in honor of its legendary coach.
Personal life
Gomelsky's younger brother, Evgeny, is also a well-known basketball coach, and his son, Vladimir, also worked as a basketball player and coach. His son Gomelsky [Alexandre] ran a sports association school in his father name, leading to several female Olympic basketball players. He was survived by his four sons and four grandchildren. His wife Tatiana, also a basketball player and coach, died from cancer.
See also
FIBA Basketball World Cup winning head coaches
List of select Jewish coaches
List of FIBA EuroBasket winning coaches
List of EuroLeague-winning head coaches
Bibliography
A. Ya. Gomelsky (1985). Team Management in Basketball (in Russian). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. Archived from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2007.
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