Krešimir "Krešo"Ćosić (Croatian pronunciation:[krěʃimirt͡ɕɔ̌ːsit͡ɕ]; 26 November 1948 – 25 May 1995) was a Croatian professionalbasketball player and coach. He was a collegiateAll-American atBrigham Young University. He revolutionized basketball in Yugoslavia and was the first basketball player in the world to play all five positions.
In 1996, Ćosić became only the third international player ever elected to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (the second male player). He is one of 62 people in the world that received the FIBA Order of Merit. In 2006, he was inducted into theCollege Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2007, he was also an inaugural member of theFIBA Hall of Fame. TheCroatian Basketball Cup, andKK Zadar's home arena, are named after him. Ćosić was voted best Croatian athlete of the 20th century twice; by Croatian Sports News and by Croatian National Television.
Ćosić was a notable church leader and missionary ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as the deputy ambassador of Croatia to the U.S., in Washington, D.C.[1][2]
Ćosić was born inZagreb (PR Croatia,FPR Yugoslavia), on 26 November 1948, to Ante and Darinka Ćosić. He was raised inZadar, and in 1965, he started his club basketball playing career, by playing withKK Zadar. While with Zadar, he won threeYugoslav League titles: in 1965, 1967, and 1968.[3]
In the summer of 1968, Ćosić was in a European team with Finnish playerVeikko Vainio. Vainio, a student atBrigham Young University (BYU), told him about life in college, and invited him to play for theBYU Cougars. Ćosić accepted this invitation, and moved to the United States, in 1969.[3] In his freshman year, he played in 12 games for the freshman team, averaging 17.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. In his sophomore year, he averaged 15.1 points and 12.6 rebounds per game, leading BYU to the 1971WAC Championship.
In his junior year, he again led his team to the WAC Championship, averaging 22.3 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, and being awardedAll-American Honors by theUnited Press International, making him the first non-American player to achieve that. In the1972 NBA draft, he was picked by thePortland Trail Blazers, in the 10th round (144th overall), but he opted to stay with BYU.
As a senior, he averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and again wasgiven All-American Honors, by the United Press International.[4] His careercollege basketball averages were 18.9 points, and 11.8 rebounds per game.
TheMarriott Center, at BYU, was built during Ćosić's career at BYU, as the Smith Field House could not accommodate the growing number of fans, so there is a saying about the Marriott Center – Stan Watts built it, Marriott paid for it, and Krešo filled it.[5]
At the1973 NBA draft, Ćosić was picked by theLos Angeles Lakers, in the 5th round (84th overall).[6] He rejected several professional offers from theNBA andABA, and returned home toCroatia, where he again played withKK Zadar, from 1973 to 1976. He was responsible for bringing the first American to play for a Yugoslav club team. He brought Doug Richards to Zadar.[7]
After that, he played withAŠK Olimpija (1976–1978), withVirtus Bologna (1978–1980), and withCibona Zagreb (1980–1983). Ćosić helped lead Cibona to their first European Cup.
Ćosić made his national team debut forTeam Yugoslavia, at the age of 17, after being called up to the senior team by head coachRanko Žeravica. He won a silver medal at the1967 FIBA World Championship. At the1968 Summer Olympics, he won another silver medal.[8]
Ćosić holds the record for playing the most games for a national team (303) and was part of three generations and holds the most basketball awards/medals in Croatia. In total, Ćosić played in fourSummer Olympic Games:1968,1972,1976, and1980 in Moscow, when he led his team as captain to the gold medal.[9][10] He previously had led Yugoslavia to a pair ofFIBA World Cup gold medals, at the1970 FIBA World Championship, and at the1978 FIBA World Championship.[11]
He first coached the Zadar team upon returning from BYU in 1973. However, he found it too exhausting being a coach, club director and player. In 1976 he coached the Ljubljana Brest team and was at the same time a player for Zadar (both teams played in the same league).Following his playing days, Ćosić returned to coaching, and he led the seniorYugoslav national team to a silver medal at the1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and two bronze medals at the1986 FIBA World Championship, and the1987 EuroBasket. Even though no one agreed with him, Ćosić insisted on including young players in the national team and was the first to give them a chance, they included:Dino Rađa,Vlade Divac andToni Kukoč.
He also recognized a young talent inDejan Bodiroga, whom he helped set off his career.
Ćosić turned down coaching offers so that he could help Croatia during war-time in the early 1990s. He was positioned in the embassy of Croatia to the USA, as the deputy ambassador in Washington D.C. He was the only person at the time able to help in fixing misconceptions about the war. His strong connections helped Croatia and he received the Freedom Award for contributing to advancing peace and reconciliation to all ethnic groups in Croatia.[12]
During his time atBrigham Young University, Ćosić converted tothe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he later served as the presiding priesthood holder in post-communist Croatia. He was baptized byHugh Nibley, one of the Church's most celebrated scholars. Ćosić also introduced the Church toYugoslavia. He translated theBook of Mormon andDoctrine and Covenants into Croatian. According to Nibley, Ćosić told him, "There are a hundred reasons why I should not join the Church, and only one reason why I should -because it is true."[13]
Ćosić was known to carry a suitcase full of books wherever he traveled. He was an atypical athlete, reading, analyzing and noting. He always had the latest gadget at hand and was obsessed with technology. He listened to classical music and loved the theater and arts. In the 1980s, he started writing his autobiography which was never completed. His daughter, Ana, published his writings in May 2019 in Croatian under the book namePlay, Believe, Live. The book gives an inside view of Ćosić's sports career and his theories about sports in general.
In the years following his career in basketball, Ćosić worked in the United States, as adiplomat, at theCroatianembassy inWashington, D.C., having helped secure the land where the embassy now stands. Ćosić died inBaltimore,Maryland, in 1995, ofnon-Hodgkin lymphoma.[10] He was buried in the Mirogoj Cemetery, under the Arcades, in Zagreb, Croatia. People came from all over former Yugoslavia to his funeral, even though there wasa war at the time. He was survived by his wife, Ljerka, his two daughters, and his son, Krešimir.[14]
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