Tiit Sokk (born 15 November 1964) is a retired Estonian 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 current coach. Often cited as one of the very best European

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s of his generation, he is widely recognized as the greatest Estonian basketball player in history. Elected to the Hall of fame of Estonian basketball in 2010.

Professional career

Sokk was awarded the Estonian best male athlete award in 1988. He won the Soviet Union League title in 1991 with

Kalev Tallinn Kalev Tallinn was a multi-sport organisation in Tallinn, Estonia. Current clubs are independent, some have been re-established. Association football Kalev's football team was formed as Jalgpalliselts Meteor (Football Union Meteor) in 1909 and ch ...

, and ended his career as a player in 1997, after playing a season with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

in Greece.

National team career

Sokk's most notable achievement was winning the Olympic gold medal as a member of the Soviet Union national team at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. He also won two

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

silver medals in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, as well as the bronze medal at EuroBasket 1989.Tiit Sokk
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Coaching career

After his playing career, Sokk founded a basketball school in Estonia (Tiit Soku Korvpallikool), and coached in the

Estonian Basketball League The Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) is the top-tier men's basketball league in Estonia. The league is organized by the Estonian Basketball Association and played under FIBA rules. The competition was founded in 1925. From the 1998–99 season unti ...

. He also was

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 Estonia national team during two different stints from 2004–2007 and 2009–2019.

Personal life

Tiit Sokk has two sons, Tanel and

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production co ...

, who also play professional

at the international level for Estonian teams

BC Tartu Tartu Ülikooli korvpallimeeskond ( English: University of Tartu men's basketball team), also known as Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Tartu, Estonia. They are a part of the Univer ...

and Kalev/Cramo respectively. During his career in Greece he played under the name Tout Giannopoulos.

Achievements

;

*2× Soviet Estonian champion: 1984, 1985 * Soviet Union League champion: 1991 * Estonian League champion: 1992 *Estonian Basketball Hall of Fame: 2010 ;

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

*3× Greek League runner-up: 1993, 1995, 1996 *2×

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

winner: 1993, 1996

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sokk, Tiit 1964 births Living people Aris B.C. players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Estonian basketball coaches Estonian expatriate basketball people in Greece Estonian men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Greek basketball coaches Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Naturalized citizens of Greece Olympic basketball players for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in basketball Panathinaikos B.C. players Point guards Soviet men's basketball players Basketball players from Tartu Tallinn University of Technology alumni 1986 FIBA World Championship players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball 1990 FIBA World Championship players KK Kalev players Estonia national basketball team coaches