American-Israeli basketball coach David Blatt quits as head of team Russia
Published October 31, 2012
(JTA) — American-Israel basketball coach David Blatt announced that he would end his tenure at the helm of Russia’s national basketball team.
Blatt said Tuesday that he would not renew his contract with the Russian team, just three months after leading the team to a bronze medal at the 1912 London Olympics. During his seven years as coach he also took the team to a 2007 European Championship.
He said he was stepping down for “personal reasons.”
Blatt also serves as the head coach of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team.
Blatt played for Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and on the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the 1981 Maccabiah Games. Following the Maccabiah Games, Blatt played for several Israeli teams until he was injured in 1993 and took up coaching.
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