Writer of the legendary Yugoslav basketball
About the success of our greatest basketball coach!
Dušan "Duda" Ivković was one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time! When he coached the national team of Yugoslavia, the team achieved incredible success. She even won three European golds, world gold and silver at the Olympic Games in Seoul. Under his leadership, the Serbian team won silver at the European Championship in Poland in 2009. This talented "man from the bench" was called one of the best European coaches. There is a long list of clubs that Duda coached in his rich career. There are Partizan, Aris, Radnički, Šibenka, Vojvodina, Panonios, Dinamo Moscow...
He fell in love with basketball as a boy. He played in the junior team of the local club Radnik, near whose basketball court in Crveni Krst he spent his childhood. Due to a lack of investment, the club functioned in rather modest conditions - there was neither equipment nor good management. That changed only later. However, Dušan loved basketball immensely, and it was impossible not to notice his talent. As a boy and young man, he was conspicuous – blond-haired and blue-eyed, and because of that, apart from his teammates on the field, he was also loved by the girls who were always his loudest cheerleaders.
After finishing high school, he enrolled in the Faculty of Technology, which he soon gave up and transferred to the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum. He never worked with his geological engineering degree. However, he did not want to remain a coach forever, so he later attended the Faculty of Physical Education. He often said in his interviews that it is difficult for him to balance his private and business life. He worked all his life. He was best known for his composure during matches. However, in interviews, he would emphasize how deeply he experienced everything that was happening on the field.
In rare breaks from training and matches, he bred pigeons. He also won many medals in pigeon racing. He shared a dovecote with his brother, and he had more than a hundred birds in it.
This charismatic coach was remembered, not for his many medals, but for the fact that he managed to get the best out of his players. He created legends on the floor. Dino Rađa, Vlade Divac, Jure Zdovac, Žarko Paspalj are just some of the players who became champions under his leadership. Due to his exceptional talent and numerous successes on the field, Duda was elected to the FIBA "Hall of Fame", and his motto was: - You should know who you should expect the most from. –
