Kostas Mourouzis

Konstantinos "Kostas" Mourouzis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Μουρούζης; May 10, 1934 to June 11, 2014), also known as Dinos Mourouzis (Greek: Ντίνος Μουρούζης), was a Greek professional basketball player and coach.[1] His nickname was, "The Fox of the Bench".[2]

Dinos Mourouzis
Ντίνος Μουρούζης

Personal information
Born	(1934-05-10)10 May 1934 Athens, Greece
Died	11 June 2014(2014-06-11) (aged 80) Athens, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Career information
Playing career	1948–1962
Coaching career	1959–1987
Career history
As player:
1948–1955	Triton
1955–1959	S.C. Gira
1959–1962	Triton
As coach:
1959–1966	Triton
1966–1974	Panathinaikos
1972–1974	Greece
1974–1977	AEK Athens
1977–1979	Olympiacos
0	Milon
0	Esperos
1986–1987	Panathinaikos
1987–1988	Panathinaikos (sports director)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach: 7× Greek League champion (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978) 2× Greek Cup winner (1977, 1978)
Medals Men's Basketball Representing  Greece Mediterranean Games 1955 Spain

Playing career

Club career

Mourouzis started playing youth club basketball in Greece, with the youth clubs of Triton, in 1945, and made the club's men's senior team in 1948. He also played in the top-tier level Italian League, with Sporting Club Gira Bologna, in the mid to late 1950s.

National team career

Mourouzis played with the senior Greek national basketball team in 24 games, averaging 10.1 points per game.[3] With Greece, he won the bronze medal at the 1955 Mediterranean Games. He also played at the 1960 Pre-Olympic Tournament, and the EuroBasket 1961.[4]

Coaching career

Clubs

Mourouzis began working as a basketball coach in 1959, with the Greek club Triton. As the head coach of the Greek Basket League club Panathinaikos, he won 6 Greek League championships (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974). He also led Panathinaikos to the semifinals of the European-wide second-tier level FIBA Cup Winners Cup (later called FIBA Saporta Cup), in the 1968–69 season, and to the semifinals of the European-wide top-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (later called EuroLeague), in the 1971–72 season.

After coaching AEK Athens, he moved to Olympiacos. With Olympiacos, he won the Greek Cup title in 1977, and both the Greek League championship and the Greek Cup title in 1978. In the 1978–79 season, he led Olympiacos to a 6th-place finish in the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague).

Greek national team

Mourouzis was also the head coach of the senior Greek national basketball team. He was Greece's head coach at the 1973 EuroBasket.

Personal life

Mourouzis died in Athens, Greece, on June 11, 2014.[5][6][7]

References

1. Οι κορυφαίοι των ελληνικών πάγκων: Κώστας Μουρούζης (in Greek).
2. Kostas Mourouzis.
3. ΜΟΥΡΟΥΖΗΣ ΚΩΣΤΑΣ (in Greek).
4. Kostas MOUROUZIS (GRE).
5. «Εφυγε» ο Κώστας Μουρούζης (in Greek).
6. God’s speed Kostas Mourouzis.
7. Mourouzis Passes Away.

External links

• FIBA Player Profile
• Hellenic Federation Player Profile (in Greek)
• A special game for Kostas Mourouzis
• Kostas Mourouzis
• The top of the Greek bench: Kostas Mourouzis (in Greek)