Kęstutis Kemzūra

Kęstutis Kemzūra

275px Kęstutis Kemzūra as Lithuania basketball team coach
Personal information
Born	(1970-04-20) April 20, 1970 Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, USSR
Nationality	Lithuanian
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	201 lb (91 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1993–2001
Position	Point guard
Career history
As player:
1993–1996	Kaunas Atletas
1996–1998	Šilutė
1998–1999	Lietuvos Rytas
1999–2000	BC Kalnapilis
2000	BC Sema
2000–2001	Gmunden Swans
As coach:
2001–2002	Beşiktaş (assistant)
2002–2003	Lietuvos Rytas (assistant)
2003–2004	Lietuvos Rytas
2004–2005	BC Dynamo (assistant)
2005–2007	Benetton Treviso (assistant)
2007–2009	Khimki Moscow Region
2009	Latvian national basketball team
2009–2010	Lokomotiv-Kuban
2009–2012	Lithuanian national basketball team
2012–2013	Asseco Prokom Gdynia
2013–2015	ČEZ Nymburk
Career highlights and awards
As coach: FIBA Europe League champion (2005) Lega Basket champion (2006) Russian Cup (2008) 2× Czech League champion (2014, 2015)
Medals As coach Men's basketball Representing Lithuania World Championships Turkey 2010 National team

Kęstutis Kemzūra (born 20 April 1970 in Kaunas, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian former basketball player.

Playing career

Kemzūra started out as a guard in KK Atletas. He averaged 6.5 points per game, 2.5 rebounds and 1 assist in European 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 BC Lietuvos Rytas for the 1998–1999 season, where he became a playing coach. Kemzūra left the team in November and played for BC Kalnapilis. In 2000, he starred in Korać Cup with BC Sema. His last playing season was the 2000–2001 season, in which he played for Gmunden Swans of Austria. 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 2001–2002 season, he was hired by Beşiktaş Istanbul as an assistant coach. The following year, he moved to BC Lietuvos Rytas as an assistant coach and then as a head coach. For the next three years, he spent his life coaching Spartak 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 Latvian national basketball team head coach, which finished 13th in Eurobasket. 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.

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 Lithuanian national basketball team, which won bronze medals. He also coached the team to a 5th place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2011 and to an 8th place at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He resigned in 2012.

Awards and achievements

• 2010 FIBA World Championship, Turkey - Bronze medalist