Milenko Topić (; born 6 March 1969) is a Serbian 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 ...
coach and former player.
Playing career
A
power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...
, Topić spent most of his professional career playing in the
YUBA League, representing
Profikolor,
BFC Beočin,
Crvena zvezda,
Budućnost, and
Hemofarm. In the later career, he also played in Italy for
Montepaschi Siena and
Olimpia Milano, as well as in Greece for
Rethymno, until his retirement in 2008.
National team career
Topić was a member of the
Yugoslavia national team (representing
FR Yugoslavia
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
) that won the silver medal at the
1996 Summer Olympics in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia, US. Over five tournament games, he averaged 2.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and one assist per game. Topić won the gold medal at
EuroBasket 1997 in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 5.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game while shooting 72.7% from the field. He was a member of the Yugoslavia team that won the gold medal at the
1998 FIBA World Championship in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Greece. Over eight tournament games, he averaged 6.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Topić won the bronze medal at
EuroBasket 1999 in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.
Coaching career
Topić spent the 2015–16 season working as an assistant coach for the Hungarian team
SZTE-Szedeák.
Crvena zvezda
On 21 July 2017, Topić joined
Crvena zvezda coaching staff after Serbian coach
Dušan Alimpijević become their head coach for the
2017–18 season. On 8 May 2018 he became an interim head coach for the Zvezda after Alimpijević was sacked. On 10 May he made his debut in an 84–74 home win against
Borac Čačak. He finished his stint undefeated with a 10–0 record. In July 2018,
Milan Tomić became the head coach for Crvena zvezda while Topić was moved back to the assistant coach role. In June 2020, Crvena zvezda parted ways with him.
Career achievements and awards
;As head coach
*
Serbian League champion: 1
(with Crvena zvezda: 2017–18)
;As assistant coach
*
Adriatic League champion: 1
(with Crvena zvezda: 2018–19)
*
Serbian League champion: 1
(with Crvena zvezda: 2018–19)
*
Adriatic Supercup winner: 1
(with Crvena zvezda: 2018)
;As player:
*
FIBA Saporta Cup champion: 1
(with Montepaschi Siena: 2001–02)
*
Adriatic League champion: 1
(with Hemofarm: 2004–05)
*
FR Yugoslav League champion: 3
(with Crvena zvezda: 1997–98; with Budućnost Podgorica: 1999–00, 2000–01)
;Individual
*
Adriatic League season steals leader:
2006–07
Personal life
His son
Nikola (born 2005 in
Novi Sad) is a junior basketball player. In June 2020, Nikola signed a scholarship contract with the
Crvena zvezda youth system. His son made a debut for
Crvena zvezda in March 2022, at age 16.
See also
*
List of KK Crvena zvezda head coaches
*
List of father-and-son combinations who have played for Crvena zvezda
References
External links
Coach profileat
eurobasket.com
Milenko Topićat legabasket.it
Milenko Topićat adriaticbasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topic, Milenko
1969 births
Living people
1998 FIBA World Championship players
ABA League players
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
FIBA EuroBasket–winning players
FIBA World Championship–winning players
KK BFC players
KK Budućnost players
KK Crvena zvezda assistant coaches
KK Crvena zvezda players
KK Hemofarm players
KK Profikolor players
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Mens Sana Basket players
Olimpia Milano players
Olympic basketball players for Serbia and Montenegro
Olympic medalists in basketball
Olympic silver medalists for Serbia and Montenegro
Power forwards
Rethymno B.C. players
Serbian expatriate basketball people in Greece
Serbian expatriate basketball people in Hungary
Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy
Yugoslav men's basketball players
Serbian men's basketball coaches
Serbian men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Pančevo
Basketball players from South Banat District
Serbia and Montenegro men's basketball players
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate basketball coaches