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Israeli basketball player and coach From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uri Kokia (Hebrew: אורי קוקיה; born May 14, 1981) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and a former professional basketball player. He is the current head coach for Ironi Ramat Gan of the Liga Artzit. Kokia played as a center/power forward position and was a member of the Israel national basketball team.[1][2] He was named the Israeli Basketball Super League Most Improved Player in 2009. In November 2017, Kokia publicly came out as gay.[3][4]
Kokia with Maccabi Haifa, 2013 | |
| Ironi Ramat Gan | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Liga Artzit |
| Personal information | |
| Born | May 14, 1981 Yavne, Israel |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Listed height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) |
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 2000–2019 |
| Position | Center / power forward |
| Coaching career | 2014–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2000–2001 | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 2001–2002 | Ironi Nahariya |
| 2003–2004 | Hapoel Galil Elyon |
| 2004 | Ironi Nahariya |
| 2004–2005 | Bnei HaSharon |
| 2005–2007 | Ironi Nahariya |
| 2007–2008 | Maccabi Haifa |
| 2008–2009 | Hapoel Holon |
| 2009–2013 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2013–2014 | Maccabi Haifa |
| 2015 | Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim |
| 2015–2016 | Ironi Nahariya |
| 2016 | Maccabi Kiryat Gat |
| 2016–2018 | Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim |
| 2018–2019 | Elitzur Yavne |
| 2019 | Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim |
| As coach: | |
| 2014–2015 | Hapoel Jerusalem (assistant) |
| 2019–present | Ironi Ramat Gan |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach:
| |
Uri Kokia began playing basketball with sport clubs Elitzur Yavneh and Maccabi Rehovot.[1] At 21 years of age, Kokia entered the Premier League, playing for Hapoel Galil Elyon.[1]
He played five seasons for Ironi Nahariya, and has also played for Bnei Hasharon, Maccabi Haifa (after the 2007-08 season), Hapoel Holon, and Hapoel Jerusalem (for whom he was team captain).[1][2][5][6][7][8] He was named the Israeli Basketball Super League Most Improved Player in 2009.
In 2010, at the age of 29, Kokia was slated to make his Israel national team debut for the start of the 2011 EuroBasket qualifying campaign.[1] In November 2010, he suffered a torn tendon in his shoulder.[2]
On June 19, 2018, Kokia joined his former team Elitzur Yavne of the Liga Leumit.[9] However, on January 20, 2019, Kokia parted ways with Yavne and joined Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim for the rest of the season.[10]
In the 2014/2015 Premier League season he was named Hapoel Jerusalem assistant head coach, he won the team's first championship.
On August 8, 2019, Kokia was named Ironi Ramat Gan new head coach for the 2019–20 season.[11]
On November 28, 2017, Kokia came out as gay, becoming the first male professional basketball player in Israel to publicly do so.[3][4][12]
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