Jure Zdovc


Jurij "Jure" Zdovc is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. As a player, he was a 1.98 m tall point guard, that began his professional playing career with the Slovenian League club Smelt Olimpija. He is the current head coach of Levallois Metropolitans of the LNB Pro A.
In 2012, Zdovc received the EuroCup Coach of the Year award, while with Spartak Saint Petersburg.

Playing career

Club career

As a junior level player, Zdovc started to play for Comet Slovenske Konjice. He then played for Smelt Olimpija, Knorr Bologna, Limoges CSP, Iraklis Thessaloniki, Helios Suns, PSG Racing, Panionios, Split CO and Geoplin Slovan.
Playing for Olimpija, Zdovc won two Slovenian league titles, three Slovenian Cups and the 2002 Adriatic League.
In 1993, he won the EuroLeague and the French League championship, while playing for Limoges. In 1997, as a Paris Racing player, he won the French League championship.

Yugoslav national team

Zdovc was a member of the senior Yugoslavia National Squads that won the gold medals at the 1989 and 1991 EuroBaskets. He also won the gold medal at the 1990 FIBA World Championship.

Coaching career

Clubs

Zdovc started his basketball coaching career as the head coach of Split in 2003. He stayed the head coach of Split until 2004, leading the team to a 1st-place finish in the Croatian Cup. He also won the Bosnia and Herzegovina League championship with Bosna in 2008. In 2009, he won the Slovenian League championship with Union Olimpija. Zdovc also won the Slovenian Cup three times in a row with Union Olimpija, in 2009, 2010, and 2011. He was also the coach who led Union Olimpija to the top of European-wide distinction, to the Top-16 stage of the EuroLeague.
Zdovc was named the EuroCup Coach of the Year in 2012.
On 20 December 2015, he signed a three-year contract with the Greek club AEK. He was dismissed in March 2017.
On 14 June 2017, he was named as the head coach of Cedevita Zagreb instead of Veljko Mršić.He was sacked on 6 June 2018.
On May 7, 2020, he has signed with Levallois Metropolitans of the LNB Pro A.

Slovenia national team

In 2009, Zdovc was named the head coach of the senior men's Slovenian national basketball team. He guided Slovenia to a 4th-place finish at the EuroBasket 2009. In 2014, Zdovc returned to coach Slovenia, after signing a three-year contract to coach the team.

Coaching record

EuroLeague