sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Sven Ušić (born 19 August 1959) is a former Croatian professional basketball player and coach. At a height of 2.01 m (6'7") tall, he played as a small forward.

Sven Ušić

Personal information
Born	(1959-07-19) 19 July 1959 (age 62) Pula, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croatian
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	1981 / Undrafted
Playing career	1972–1995
Position	Small forward / Power forward
Number	13
Coaching career	1995–2019
Career history
As player:
1973–1980	Gradine Pula
1976–1990	Cibona
1990–1993	Zadar
1993–1995	Gradine Pula
As coach:
2000–2003	Omiš
2003–2004	Alkar
2004–2005	Podravac Virje
2005–2009	Jazine Arbanasi
2009–2012	Dubrava
2012–2013	Omiš
2013–2015	Trogir
2016–2019	Cibona (junior)
Career highlights and awards
As player: 3× Yugoslav League champion (1982, 1984, 1985) 6× Yugoslav Cup champion (1980–1983, 1985, 1986, 1988) 2× EuroLeague champion (1985, 1986) 2× FIBA Saporta Cup champion (1982, 1987)

Career

Ušić started his career in his native Pula, playing for KK Gradine Pula. He moved to Cibona in 1976, and initially found tough competition in the club.[1] One night, at the beginning of his time at Cibona, Ušić was locked in the locker room by mistake before the game. Ušić started warming up for the game between the locker room's benches, and somebody soon came back for him. He entered the game and played well, shooting 12 times and hitting every time. After the game, coach Mirko Novosel jokingly told him that he would lock him up before every game.[1]

Ušić has stated that he was helped a lot by Mirko Novosel, who noticed him and brought him to Zagreb.

In the 1979/80 season, Cibona reached the final of the FIBA Korać Cup, which they lost to AMG from Rieti. In the 1980/81 season they won the Yugoslav Cup. His Cibona played in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981/82, which they won with a victory against Real Madrid in the final. They won the championship and cup of Yugoslavia both in the 1983/84 and 1984/85 seasons.[2] He also won the European Champions Cup for two years in a row, 1985 and 1986. In the 1985/86 season Cibona convincingly won 1st place in the league, before the playoffs and the Yugoslav Cup. But they lost to Zadar in the end. Therefore, in the 1986/87 season, Cibona competed in the Cup Winners' Cup, which they won, beating Scavolini Pesaro in the final. In the same season, something similar happened in the championship and the cup: Cibona convincingly won the 1st place in the league, but in the playoffs they were surprised by the Serbian club Crvena Zvezda. Therefore, in the 1987/88 season they competed in the FIBA Korać Cup, losing to the Spanish club Real Madrid in the final.

National team career

Ušić played for Yugoslavia at the European Championship in 1985, which the favored Yugoslavia, after two surprising defeats (CSSR, FR Germany), finished only 7th. He played 8 games in the competition, for a total of 1 minute and 1.8 points.[3]

Personal life

He is the father of the Croatian volleyball player Senna Ušić.[4]

In 2008, Ušić, a member of the management board of the volleyball club Azen, was accused of broadcasting the Ustaša song Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara by Croatian singer Thompson during a game between Azen and the Slovenian club HIT Nova Gorica, playing it during the time out, when music shouldn't have even been played.[5][6] According to the hall manager, the former Cibona basketball player interfered with the release of the music, and then repeatedly warned him to move away from the CD player.[6][5]

References

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