Pete Trgovich is an American former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

player. He played for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, and won two

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

s during his career. Trgovich was a member of the 1971 East Chicago Washington High School Senators basketball team, which went undefeated (29–0) and won the Indiana state high school championship. In the final two tournament wins that season, he scored a combined 68 points. Among his teammates were

Junior Bridgeman Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman Jr. (September 17, 1953 – March 11, 2025) was an American professional basketball player and businessman. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Cli ...

, who later played professionally in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), and

Tim Stoddard Timothy Paul Stoddard (born January 24, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-handed pitcher, he played for six different teams in Major League Baseball between 1975 and 1989, and was a member of the 1983 Baltimore Or ...

, who played basketball at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

and went on to have success as a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) pitcher, winning a World Series with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983. Trgovich played college basketball at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA). On their freshman team in 1971–72, he led the team in scoring, averaging 23.4 points per game with a game high of 47. The following 1972–73 season, UCLA was 30–0 won the national championship. In 1974–75, Trgovich helped lead UCLA to another NCAA championship, facing off against his old high school teammate Bridgeman in the national semifinals. Trgovich was drafted by the

San Diego Sails The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season) were a professional basketball team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The "Q's", as they were popul ...

in the fourth round of the 1975 ABA draft. and by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the third round of the

1975 NBA draft The 1975 NBA draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 29, 1975, before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

Coaching career

Trgovich coached East Chicago Central High School to the Indiana AAAA state championship in 2007. He was the head coach at

Indiana University Northwest Indiana University Northwest (IU Northwest or IUN) is a public university in Gary, Indiana, United States. It is one of seven regional campuses of Indiana University and was established in 1963. The university enrolls approximately 3,500 degree ...

, from 2007 to 2010. Trgovich returned to East Chicago Central, where he coached for two seasons from 2015 to 2017 before resigning after a playoff loss in 2017.

Honors

Trgovich was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trgovich, Pete Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Detroit Pistons draft picks Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in the United States Indiana University Northwest faculty San Diego Conquistadors draft picks San Diego Sails draft picks Basketball players from East Chicago, Indiana UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Year of birth missing (living people)