Jurica Golemac (born 29 May 1977) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player currently serving as head coach for Dubai in the ABA League. He played at both the forward and center positions.

Jurica Golemac
Golemac playing for Slovenia in 2009
BC Dubai
PositionHead coach
LeagueABA League
Personal information
Born (1977-05-29) 29 May 1977 (age 47)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
NationalitySlovenian[1]
Listed height2.09 m (6 ft 10 in)[1]
Career information
NBA draft1999: undrafted
Playing career1996–2013
PositionForward / center
Coaching career2013–present
Career history
As player:
1995–1997Zrinjevac
1997–1998Union Olimpija (2nd team)
1998–1999Geoplin Slovan
1999–2002Union Olimpija
2002–2003Efes Pilsen
2003–2004Cibona
2004–2006Ural Great
2006–2007Hapoel Jerusalem
2007–2008Paris-Levallois
2008–2009Panellinios
2009Virtus Roma
2009Panathinaikos
2009–2010Alba Berlin
2010Zadar
2010–2011Colossus Rhodes
2011–2012Sidigas Avellino
2012–2013Krka
As coach:
2013–2015Cibona (assistant)
2016–2017Tajfun Šentjur
2016–2017Georgia (assistant)
2017–2019Koper Primorska
2020–2023Cedevita Olimpija
2024Hapoel Eilat
2024–presentDubai
Career highlights and awards
As player

As head coach

Professional career

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In his professional career, Golemac played for Zrinjevac, Union Olimpija, Geoplin Slovan, Efes Pilsen, Cibona, Ural Great, Hapoel Jerusalem, Paris-Levallois, Panellinios, Virtus Roma, Panathinaikos, Zadar, Colossus Rhodes, Alba Berlin, Sidigas Avellino and Krka. He retired from professional basketball in January 2013 after knee injury.

Internationally, Golemac played for the Slovenia national team and represented the country at the 2003, 2005 and 2009 editions of EuroBasket.

Coaching career

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Golemac started his coaching career as an assistant coach to Slaven Rimac at Cibona, in November 2013. The surprising victory at the 2013–14 ABA League final four in Belgrade[2][3] was followed by a string of bad results which resulted in Rimac and Golemac being sacked in December 2015.[4]

In 2016, Golemac was appointed the assistant coach of the Georgia national team and the head coach of Tajfun Šentjur of the Slovenian League.[5]

In May 2017, Golemac was named the head coach of Koper Primorska.[6] In his inaugural season with the club, Primorska won first trophies in its history, including the Slovenian Cup and Supercup. In 2019, Primorska managed to win the ABA League Second Division, being consequently promoted to the First Division. Besides this success, the club also won the first domestic league title, and the second domestic cup in the history.[7][8] On 20 December 2019, Golemac resigned from Koper Primorska.[9]

On 27 January 2020, Golemac was appointed the head coach of the Slovenian club Cedevita Olimpija, following the departure of his former colleague Slaven Rimac.[10] After a series of poor results Golemac was dismissed in March 2023.[11]

In February 2024, Golemac was appointed as the head coach of Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[12]

In June 2024, Golemac was appointed as the head coach of the newly-formed BC Dubai of the ABA League.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jurica Golemac > Player". ABA League. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Cibosi osvajači ABA Lige!!!" (in Croatian). KK Cibona. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Cibona, konačno, šampion Jadrana!". Mondo.rs (in Serbian). 27 April 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Slaven Rimac više nije trener Cibone, klub ga je odlučio smijeniti". Večernji list (in Croatian). 5 December 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ Perko, Drago (22 October 2016). "Jurica Golemac novi trener Tajfuna!". Kosarka.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Primorsko prevzel nekdanji as slovenske košarke" (in Slovenian). Siol. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Sixt Primorska u prvom pokušaju osvojila slovenski Superkup". Basketball.hr (in Croatian). 26 September 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Fešta v Kopru: Sixt Primorska prvič prvak" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Golemac više nije trener Primorske, preselio na funkciju savjetnika". Sportnet.rtl.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Jurica Golemac znova pri Olimpiji, tokrat kot trener" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Jurica Golemac više nije trener Cedevite Olimpije: 'Stvari unutar momčadi ne djeluju kako bi trebale'" (in Croatian). KK Cibona. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  12. ^ "H.Eilat hire coach Jurica Golemac". KK Cibona. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Jurica Golemac becomes the head coach of the newly-formed Dubai". eurohoops.net. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
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