Kęstutis Kemzūra facts for kids
Kęstutis Kemzūra, while coaching Lithuania's national team, at EuroBasket 2011
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| Juventus Utena | ||||||||||||||
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| Head coach | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 April 1970 Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union |
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| Nationality | Lithuanian | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3.20 in) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 91 kg (201 lb) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1992–2001 | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2001–present | |||||||||||||
| League | Lithuanian Basketball League | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Atletas Kaunas | |||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Šilutė | |||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Kalnapilis Panevėžys / Sema Panevėžys | |||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Swans Gmunden | |||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Beşiktaş (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Lietuvos rytas Vilnius | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Dynamo Saint Petersburg (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Lithuania (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Benetton Treviso (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Khimki | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Latvia | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Lokomotiv Kuban | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Lithuania | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Asseco Prokom Gdynia | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | ČEZ Nymburk | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Austria | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Darüşşafaka (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Olympiacos (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
As head coach:
As assistant coach:
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Medals
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Kęstutis Kemzūra (born April 20, 1970) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach. He used to be a player. Currently, he is the head coach for Juventus Utena in the Lithuanian Basketball League. When he played, he was 1.91 meters (6 feet 3 inches) tall. He played as a point guard.
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Kęstutis Kemzūra's Playing Career
Kemzūra started his basketball playing career with the Lithuanian team Atletas Kaunas. He played as a point guard. In his first year, during the 1992–93 season, he scored about 6.5 points per game. He also got 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist per game in the FIBA Saporta Cup competition.
His second year was even better. In the 1993–94 season, he averaged 12.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. In 1996, he moved to another Lithuanian team, Šilutė.
After that, he joined Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius for the 1998–99 season. There, he became a player coach, meaning he played and helped coach at the same time. He left that team in November and joined Kalnapilis Panevėžys. For the 1999–2000 season, he played in the FIBA Korać Cup with Sema Panevėžys. His last season as a player was 2000–01. He played for the Austrian team Swans Gmunden.
Playing for Lithuania's National Team
Kemzūra also played a short time for the senior Lithuanian national basketball team in 1994. He played with Lithuania in the qualification games for the EuroBasket 1995 tournament.
Kęstutis Kemzūra's Coaching Career
After he stopped playing basketball, Kemzūra became a basketball coach. In the 2001–02 season, he started as an assistant coach for the Turkish team Beşiktaş. The next year, he moved to the Lithuanian team Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. He was an assistant coach there first, then became the head coach.
He then spent three years as an assistant coach. He worked with the Russian team Dynamo Saint Petersburg and the Italian team Benetton Treviso. In 2007, Kemzūra became the head coach of the Russian team Khimki Moscow Region. He was replaced by another coach in December 2008.
In December 2009, he became the head coach of the Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. He left that team in 2011. In July 2012, Kemzūra signed a contract to be the head coach of the Polish team Asseco Prokom Gdynia. He left Prokom in December 2012. In June 2013, he became the head coach of the Czech team ČEZ Basketball Nymburk.
In December 2016, he became an assistant coach for the Turkish team Darüşşafaka. On July 3, 2018, Kemzūra was named an assistant coach for the Greek team Olympiacos. He worked under head coach David Blatt. On October 6, 2019, Blatt left, and Kemzūra became the temporary head coach.
Kemzūra coached Olympiacos for the first time as interim head coach on October 11, 2019. His team won against the Spanish team Valencia Basket with a score of 89–63. On October 20, 2019, Olympiacos announced that Kemzūra would stay as head coach until the end of the 2019–20 season. However, he was later replaced by Georgios Bartzokas.
On March 28, 2023, Kemzūra became the head coach of the new Lithuanian team BC Wolves. On January 21, 2024, he left the team. This happened after they did not qualify for the EuroCup playoffs.
Coaching National Teams
Lithuanian National Team Coaching
At the EuroBasket 2005 and 2006 FIBA World Championship, Kemzūra was an assistant coach for the senior Lithuanian national team. On November 5, 2009, Kemzūra became the head coach of Lithuania. Under his coaching, Lithuania won the bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He also led the team to a 5th place finish at the EuroBasket 2011. They finished 8th at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In October 2012, Jonas Kazlauskas took over as head coach. In October 2021, Kemzūra returned to the team as an assistant coach. He left this role in June 2023.
Latvian National Team Coaching
On December 19, 2008, Kemzūra was chosen as the head coach for Latvia. His team finished in 13th place at the EuroBasket 2009. After this, he decided not to continue his contract with Latvia. Instead, he chose to become the head coach of the Lithuanian national basketball team.
Austrian National Team Coaching
On January 29, 2016, Kemzūra became the head coach of Austria. He coached them during the qualification games for EuroBasket 2017. Even though Austria did not qualify, his contract was extended at the end of that year.
Awards and Achievements
As a Head Coach
- 2010 FIBA World Championship, Turkey:
Bronze - Russian Cup winner (2008)
- 2 times Czech League champion (2014, 2015)
- Czech Cup winner (2014)
As an Assistant Coach
- EuroCup champion (2018)
- FIBA Europe League champion (2005)
- Italian League champion (2006)
See also
In Spanish: Kęstutis Kemzūra para niños
