Dejan Koturović - Misplaced Pages

After winning gold at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, Koturović received interest from the Boston Celtics but they ended up signing Rubén Wolkowyski instead. Koturović then turned down an offer from the Toronto Raptors and signed for Virtus Bologna.

On 8 October 2003, Koturović signed a free-agent contract with the Phoenix Suns. He was planned as a temporary replacement for the injured Scott Williams. Koturović was waived on 24 October 2003 after Williams started healing faster than expected.

National team career

Koturović played for the national team of FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro in three major tournaments: winning the gold medal at the 1995 FIBA European Championship and the 2002 FIBA World Championship and also featuring at the 2003 FIBA European Championship.

1995 EuroBasket

As a young player on a star-studded team coached by Dušan Ivković, twenty-three-year-old Koturović did not get a lot of playing time at the 1995 FIBA European Championship where Yugoslavia went on to win gold.

2002 World Championship

Koturović did not feature in any major international tournaments for seven years until the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Under coach Svetislav Pešić, Koturović featured in the starting lineup, shining in the semifinals against New Zealand where he led the team in scoring with 18 points. Yugoslavia went on to beat Argentina in the final with Koturović averaging 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in the tournament.

2003 EuroBasket

One year after winning the World Championship in Indianapolis, Koturović again answered the national team call-up, this time under the new Serbia and Montenegro banner at the 2003 FIBA European Championship in Sweden.

In mid August 2003, during the national team training camp weeks before the tournament's start, following an exhibition game against Greece, coach Duško Vujošević expelled Koturović from the team—reportedly for showing insubordination during the Greece game—and called up Đuro Ostojić as replacement. The action resulted in a public row between Koturović and Vujošević.

The two soon made up publicly with Koturović being reinstated in the team and eventually even making the final 12-man roster Vujošević took to the tournament. After losing to Russia, then beating outsiders Sweden, and losing to Spain in its 4-team preliminary round robin group, Serbia and Montenegro barely beat Turkey to make the quarterfinals where they lost to Lithuania. The team eventually placed sixth in the tournament, a result seen as disappointing in the country after two straight major tournament wins—EuroBasket 2001 and 2002 FIBA World Championship. The mending of fences between Vujošević and Koturović would prove only nominal as, right after the tournament ended, Koturović publicly blasted Vujošević for the team's disappointing result.

Personal life

In September 2014, Koturović was arrested at the Greece–Macedonia border trying to enter Macedonia with a used Honda CR-V vehicle he had purchased without awareness that it was stolen. In early October 2014, he was sentenced to three months in prison which he served in Macedonia.

Koturović holds an Italian passport. In recent years, he has been a shamanic practitioner.

References

Vujcic, Djuradj (2022-07-02). "I Hope for a Golden Era". Urban Book Circle. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
"Koturovic: Alba, hol' mich zurück!" (in German). B.Z. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
RDS (2002-09-10). "Un Yougoslave avec les Celtics" (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-20.
Matić, Đ. (18 September 2002). "Boston je izigrao moje menadžere!" (in Serbian). Glas javnosti. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
B92 (16 October 2002). "Koturović odbio Toronto – potpisao za Virtus!" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2019-08-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Suns.com (2003-10-08). "Suns Sign Yugoslavian Center". NBA.com. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
Glas javnosti (26 October 2003). "Čim upoznam Las Vegas vratiću se u Evropu" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
The New York Times (2003-10-24). "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
Z., M. (13 August 2003). "Morao sam da odstranim Dejana Koturovića" (in Serbian). Glas javnosti. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
B92 (12 September 2003). "Koturović za B92: Surova odluka Vujoševića" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
B92 (20 September 2003). "Koturović: Vujošević je grobar naše košarke..." (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2019-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
"Bivši reprezentativac Dejan Koturović u pritvoru u Đevđeliji". Sportski žurnal. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
"Koturović osuđen na tri meseca zatvora u Makedoniji: Bio sam meta kriminalaca". Večernje novosti. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
"Basketball Gershon, Blatt Eye Dijan Koturovic". Haaretz. 2003-07-17. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
Nikačević, Galeb (19 September 2017). "Srpski šaman Dejan Koturović koji Ibogom pomaže ljudima" (in Serbian). Vice. Retrieved 7 November 2022.

External links

Dejan Koturović at acb.com
Dejan Koturović at tblstat.net
Dejan Koturović at legabasket.it
Dejan Koturović at euroleague.net

v t e FR Yugoslavia squad – EuroBasket 1995 – Gold medal
4 Bodiroga 5 Danilović 6 Obradović 7 Sretenović 8 Paspalj 9 Berić 10 Đorđević 11 Rebrača 12 Divac 13 Savić 14 Tomašević 15 Koturović Coach: Ivković

v t e FR Yugoslavia squad – 2002 FIBA World Championship – Gold medal
4 Bodiroga 5 Koturović 6 Čabarkapa 7 Rakočević 8 Stojaković 9 ~~Radmanović~~ (Smiljanić) 10 Jarić 11 Drobnjak 12 Divac 13 Vujanić 14 Tomašević 15 Gurović Coach: Pešić

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