Giancarlo Primo (November 4, 1924,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

– December 27, 2005,

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic Falisci, who called it " Falerii". Afte ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) was an Italian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. He was a coach of the

FIBA European Selection The FIBA Europe All-Star Game was the all-star basketball exhibition game, which was also known as the "FIBA Europe Festival". The "FIBA Europe Festival All-Star Game" was held from 1964 to 1995. It was organized by FIBA Europe. The FIBA Europe ...

team in 1974, 1975, and 1976. In 2001, he was awarded the

FIBA Order of Merit FIBA Order of Merit is an international basketball award that is awarded by FIBA, the international basketball federation. The award is given to individuals that have made very significant individual contributions to furthering the sport of basket ...

. In 2007, he was enshrined into the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

, and in 2008, he was inducted into the

Italian Basketball Hall of Fame The Italian Basketball Hall of Fame (, IBHOF) is a hall of fame that honours individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of Italian basketball, through their sporting contributions, their behaviour and their ac ...

Club playing career

During his club playing career, Primo played with Società Ginnastica Roma.

National team playing career

As a player of the senior Italian national team, Primo participated at the EuroBasket 1947, the 1948 Summer Olympic Games, the EuroBasket 1949, and the

1951 Mediterranean Games The 1951 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the I Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Alexandria 1951, were the 1st Mediterranean Games. The Games were held for 15 days from 5 to 20 October 1951 in Alexandria, Egypt, where 734 athlet ...

, where he won a bronze medal.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Primo became the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the senior Italian women's national team, participating at the EuroBasket Women 1960, the

EuroBasket Women 1962 The 1962 European Women's Basketball Championship was the 8th regional championship held by FIBA Europe for women. The competition was held in Mulhouse, France and took place on September 22–29, 1962. The Soviet Union won their sixth gold medal ...

, the

1967 FIBA World Championship for Women The 1967 FIBA World Championship for Women (Czech: Mistrovství světa FIBA žen v roce 1967) was hosted by Czechoslovakia from 1967. The Soviet Union, a team considered "tall, strong, fast, and highly motivated", won the tournament, defeating So ...

, and the EuroBasket Women 1968. From 1968 to 1979, he was the head coach of the senior Italian men's national team, winning bronze medals at the

EuroBasket 1971 The 1971 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1971, was the seventeenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues First round Group A – Essen Group B – Böblingen Knock ...

, and the

EuroBasket 1975 The 1975 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1975, was the nineteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues First round Group A – Split Group B – Karlovac Group C ...

. He coached Italy at the:

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, the

1970 FIBA World Championship The 1970 FIBA World Championship was the 6th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia in Sarajevo, Split, Croatia, Spli ...

, the

1978 FIBA World Championship The 1978 FIBA World Championship was the 8th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by the Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978 in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in ...

, and 6

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

tournaments. In total, he coached Italy in 238

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. While he was coaching the senior Italian national team, Italy defeated, for the first time, both the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, at the 1970 FIBA World Championship, and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, at the 1977 EuroBasket. After 1979, he coached the club teams:

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

(1980–1982),

Cantù Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza. History The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population of I ...

(1982–1983, winning the

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, previously known to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs and the FIBA Club World Cup, is an annual international men's basketball competition organised by FIBA, the sport's global governing body. The competit ...

and the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague)), SB Gorizia (1983–1984), O.T.C. Livorno (1984–1985), and

Virtus Roma Virtus Roma 1960, commonly known as Virtus Roma, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. The club, named Pallacanestro Virtus Roma competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for decades until 2020, whe ...

(1987–1989).

External links

FIBA Player Profile

FIBA Hall of Fame page on Primo

Italian League Coach Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Primo, Giancarlo 1924 births 2005 deaths Basketball players from Rome FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Italian basketball coaches Italian men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for Italy Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics EuroLeague–winning coaches Pallacanestro Cantù coaches Shooting guards Pallacanestro Virtus Roma coaches Nuova Pallacanestro Gorizia coaches Libertas Liburnia Basket Livorno coaches 20th-century Italian sportsmen

Club playing career

National team playing career

Coaching career

See also

External links