Jiří Zídek Jr.
 |
||
| Player information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jiří Zídek jr. | |
| Nickname | George | |
| birthday | 2nd August 1973 | |
| place of birth | Gottwaldov , Czechoslovakia | |
| size | 213 cm | |
| position | center | |
| college | UCLA | |
| NBA draft | 1995 , 22. Pick Charlotte Hornets | |
| Clubs as active | ||
1989–1991 BC Sparta Prague 1991–1995 UCLA Bruins 1995–1997 Charlotte Hornets 1997–1998 Denver Nuggets 1998 Seattle SuperSonics 1998–2000 Žalgiris Kaunas 2000 Ülkerspor 2000–2001 Real Madrid 2001–2002 Alba Berlin 2002–2003 Prokom Sopot 2003–2005 ČEZ Nymburk      
|
||
| National team | ||
| Czech Republic | ||
Jiří Zídek (born August 2, 1973 in Zlín , Czechoslovakia ) is a former Czech basketball player . The married family man, who played in the US professional league NBA after studying in the USA , is also known as George Zidek in English-speaking countries .
Career
Jiří Zídek started his career with the youth team Sparta Prague. He made his professional debut in the Czechoslovak Championship 1st League at the same basketball club in the 1989/90 season (he gave 56 points) and also played the 1990/91 championship there (he gave 37 points). Both seasons Sparta Prague was the Czechoslovak basketball runner-up.
During his studies at UCLA from 1991 to 1995, Zidek played for the college team Bruins , which are the most successful basketball team in the NCAA . In his senior year 1995, the Bruins won the first championship with Zidek since coach John Wooden's era in the 60s and 70s. In the subsequent draft selected him in 22nd position from the Charlotte Hornets, for which he played the following two seasons in the NBA. In his first season he was selected for the NBA Rookie All-Star Game , in which the best professional newcomers in the NBA take part. In the 1997/98 season he played for the Denver Nuggets and for a few games for the Seattle SuperSonics.
In 1998 he returned to Europe and played in Lithuania for Žalgiris Kaunas, with whom he won the 1999 European Cup in the first year . The MVP of the club's greatest success was Tyus Edney , with whom Zidek played at the UCLA Bruins in college and won the NCAA championship. After Zidek played a few games in Turkey in 2000 , he moved to Spain for Real Madrid. After a season he moved again and played in the German basketball league for Alba Berlin. Here he was able to win the championship and the cup with the club in the 2001/02 Bundesliga basketball season . The following season he played in Poland , where it was enough with Trefl Sopot, however, only to the Polish runner-up. In the following two seasons he played in his home country and was twice Czech national champion with ČEZ Nymburk. After knee surgery, he finally ended his active career in 2006 because of persistent knee problems.
family
His father Jiří Zídek Sr. was in the squad of Slavia Prague in 1969 when they won the European Cup Winners' Cup . This makes the Zideks the only known father and son couple who have won at least one European basketball cup.
successes
- 1995 NCAA Division I Champion
- European Champion Clubs' Cup 1999
- Lithuanian champion 1999
- German champion and cup winner 2002
- Polish runner-up in 2003
- Czech champion 2004 and 2005
Web links
- easyCredit BBL - Jiri Zidek - player profile on the easyCredit Basketball-Bundesliga website
- George Zidek - player profile on basketball-reference.com
- George Zidek Statistics | College Basketball - Profile and NCAA stats on sports-reference.com (English)
- Sparta Prague in Division 1 Men - Jiří Zídek 1989/90, 1990/91
- Historical table of Sparta scorers in Division 1 (1962-2005) - 85. Jiří Zídek
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vladimir Stanković: Jiri Zidek - A Czech legend. ULEB , June 9, 2012, accessed September 7, 2013 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zídek, Jiří Jr. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zídek, George; Zídek, Jiří |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd August 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zlín , CSSR |