Kęstutis Kemzūra

Kęstutis Kemzūra

Kęstutis Kemzūra as Lithuania basketball team coach
Personal information
Born (1970-04-20) April 20, 1970
Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR
Nationality Lithuanian
Listed height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight 91 kg (201 lb)
Career information
Playing career 1993–2001
Position Point guard
Coaching career 2001–present
Career history
As player:
1993–1996 Atletas Kaunas
1996–1998 Šilutė
1998–1999 Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
1999–2000 Kalnapilis Panevėžys
2000 BC Sema
2000–2001 Swans Gmunden
As coach:
2001–2002 Beşiktaş (assistant)
2002–2003 Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (assistant)
2003–2004 Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2004–2005 Dynamo Saint Petersburg (assistant)
2005–2007 Benetton Treviso (assistant)
2007–2009 Khimki Moscow Region
2009 Latvian NT
2009–2010 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
2009–2012 Lithuanian NT
2012–2013 Asseco Prokom Gdynia
2013–2015 ČEZ Nymburk
2016–present Austrian NT
Career highlights and awards

As coach:

Kęstutis Kemzūra (born 20 April 1970) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player.

Playing career

Kemzūra started out as a guard in Atletas Kaunas. He averaged 6.5 points per game, 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist in Saporta Cup his first year. His next year was more successful – he recorded 12.5 points per game, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. In 1996, he moved to Šilutė and then to Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius for the 1998–99 season, where he became a playing coach. Kemzūra left the team in November and played for Kalnapilis Panevėžys. In 2000, he starred in Korać Cup with BC Sema. His last playing season was the 2000–01 season, in which he played for Swans Gmunden. Kemzūra also played temporarily for Lithuania national basketball team in 1994,[1] when the team was qualifying for a spot in the EuroBasket 1995.

Coaching career

After leaving Gmunden Swans, Kemzūra pursued coaching career. During the 2001–02 season, he was hired by Beşiktaş as an assistant coach. The following year, he moved to Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius as an assistant coach and then as a head coach. For the next three years, he spent his life coaching Dynamo Saint Petersburg and Benetton Treviso. In 2007, Kemzūra became the head coach of Khimki Moscow Region;[2] he was replaced by Sergio Scariolo in December 2008.[3] In December 2009, he signed a coaching contract with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar.[4] He left the team a year later. After a two-year hiatus, Kemzūra returned to coach clubs, signing a contract with Asseco Prokom Gdynia in July 2012.[5] He left Prokom in January. In June, he became head coach for ČEZ Basketball Nymburk.

Kemzūra also has experience coaching international teams. During EuroBasket 2005 and 2006 FIBA World Championship, he served as an assistant coach for Lithuania. In 2009, he became Latvia's head coach, which finished 13th in EuroBasket 2009. He declined to extend his contract with the team instead becoming the head coach of Lithuania national basketball team in 2009.[6] In 2011, he was chosen to become the foreign players' coach during the Russian All-Star game.

On January 29, 2016, Kemzūra became the head coach of Austria and will coach it in EuroBasket 2017 qualification and EuroBasket 2017 if the team will qualify.[7][8]

Lithuanian national team

At the EuroBasket 2005 and 2006 FIBA World Championship, he served as an assistant coach for Lithuania. At the 2010 FIBA World Championship he was a head coach for the Lithuania, which won bronze medals. He also coached the team to a 5th place at the EuroBasket 2011 and to an 8th place at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He resigned in 2012.

Awards and achievements

References

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