The rise of the Yugoslavian school of basketball and the dream team that never was.

There is no doubt that at the end of the 20th century Yugoslavia was poised to challenge the American dominance in international basketball. Unlike many contemporary sources which focus on the Yugoslav Wars, this paper examines the elements that created a successful basketball culture in Yugoslavia as well as the current state of basketball in three former Yugoslavian states, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. This study employed a hybrid of historical and qualitative research methods, combining a selection of written sources including journal articles, books, news articles, and documentaries, with personal interviews from seven stakeholders including players, journalists, and historians. This synthesis of data resulted in six prominent factors, genetics, mentality, political backing, the idea of "brotherhood and unity," the Yugoslavian School of Basketball and American influence which all led to the success of Yugoslavian basketball. Exploration of this synthesis provides new perspectives on the reasons behind their success.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.Ed.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Hoffman, R. Gordon (Richard Gordon), 2000-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Petersen, Jeffrey C. (Jeffrey Christian)

• Basketball.
• Sports history.
• History.
• Yugoslavia.
• Success.
• Players.
• Journalists.
• Historians.
• Genetics.
• Mentality.
• Political backing.
• Brotherhood.
• Unity.
• American influence.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13060

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13060