Nationality Lithuanian Listed weight 201 lb (91 kg) 1993–1996 Kaunas Atletas Name Kestutis Kemzura Weight 91 kg | Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Pro career 1993–2001 1996–1998 Silute Role Basketball Player Position Point guard | |
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Born April 20, 1970 (age 53)
Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR ( 1970-04-20 ) Team coached Lithuania men\'s national basketball team (Head coach, 2009–2012) | ||
Transition Offense - Kestutis Kemzura - Basketball Fundamentals
Kęstutis Kemzūra (born 20 April 1970) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player.
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15min lt k stutis kemz ra neturime teis s panikuoti
Playing career
Kemzūra started out as a guard in Atletas Kaunas. He averaged 6.5 points per game, 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist in Saporta Cup his first year. His next year was more successful – he recorded 12.5 points per game, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. In 1996, he moved to Šilutė and then to Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius for the 1998–99 season, where he became a playing coach. Kemzūra left the team in November and played for Kalnapilis Panevėžys. In 2000, he starred in Korać Cup with BC Sema. His last playing season was the 2000–01 season, in which he played for Swans Gmunden. Kemzūra also played temporarily for Lithuania national basketball team in 1994, when the team was qualifying for a spot in the EuroBasket 1995.
Coaching career
After leaving Gmunden Swans, Kemzūra pursued coaching career. During the 2001–02 season, he was hired by Beşiktaş as an assistant coach. The following year, he moved to Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius as an assistant coach and then as a head coach. For the next three years, he spent his life coaching Dynamo Saint Petersburg and Benetton Treviso. In 2007, Kemzūra became the head coach of Khimki Moscow Region; he was replaced by Sergio Scariolo in December 2008. In December 2009, he signed a coaching contract with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. He left the team a year later. After a two-year hiatus, Kemzūra returned to coach clubs, signing a contract with Asseco Prokom Gdynia in July 2012. He left Prokom in January. In June, he became head coach for ČEZ Basketball Nymburk.
Kemzūra also has experience coaching international teams. During EuroBasket 2005 and 2006 FIBA World Championship, he served as an assistant coach for Lithuania. In 2009, he became Latvia's head coach, which finished 13th in EuroBasket 2009. He declined to extend his contract with the team instead becoming the head coach of Lithuania national basketball team in 2009. In 2011, he was chosen to become the foreign players' coach during the Russian All-Star game.
On January 29, 2016, Kemzūra became the head coach of Austria and coached it in EuroBasket 2017 qualification. Despite failed attempt to qualify for EuroBasket 2017 his contract was extended at the end of the year.
He also became an assistant coach of EuroLeague side Darüşşafaka S.K. after Ainars Bagatskis decision to leave the team.
Lithuanian national team
At the EuroBasket 2005 and 2006 FIBA World Championship, he served as an assistant coach for Lithuania. At the 2010 FIBA World Championship he was a head coach for the Lithuania, which won bronze medals. He also coached the team to a 5th place at the EuroBasket 2011 and to an 8th place at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He resigned in 2012.