Constantin Popa

Constantin Popa (Hebrew: קונסטנטין פופה; born February 18, 1971) is a Romanian-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player.

Constantin Popa
Personal information
Born (1971-02-18) February 18, 1971
Bucharest, Romania
NationalityRomanian / Israeli
Listed height7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolFork Union Military Academy
(Fork Union, Virginia)
CollegeMiami (Florida) (1991–1995)
NBA draft1995: 2nd round, 53rd overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career1995–2001
PositionCenter
Coaching career2005–present
Career history
As player:
1995–1996Florida Beach Dogs
1996Pau-Orthez
1996–2000Maccabi Tel Aviv
2000–2001Hapoel Jerusalem
As coach:
2005–2007Cypress Bay HS
2007–2011Indianapolis Greyhounds (asst.)
2011–2016Indianapolis Greyhounds
Career highlights and awards
As player:
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Biography

Popa played for Dinamo Bucharest in his native Romania before going overseas to play college basketball in the United States for the University of Miami. The tallest person ever to play for the Hurricanes, he was twice a third team All-Big East selection.[1]

In large part on the strength of a highly effective hook shot, he was selected by the L.A. Clippers with the 53rd pick in the 1995 NBA draft. In the same year he was selected by the Miami Tropics of the USBL as a first round territorial selection (4th pick overall). He never ended up playing a game in either league, although he did play for the Florida Beachdogs of the American CBA, where he developed somewhat of a cult fan following.

He also played in France with Pau-Orthez and with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem of Israel.

Although not Jewish, he obtained Israeli citizenship as his wife is Jewish.

Popa retired from professional basketball in 2001. He served 4 seasons as assistant coach of the University of Indianapolis Greyhound Women's basketball team, before becoming head coach in April 2011.[2] Popa served five seasons as coach of the Greyhounds, compiling a record of 83–66. He was relieved of his duties in March 2016.[3]

In 2019, he was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.[4]

Awards and achievements
  • Romanian Junior National Team – 87–90
  • Romanian National Team – 87–92
  • European Championships – 87[5]
  • FIBA U18 European Championship 4th – 90
  • Big East Conf. 3rd Team – 93, 95
  • French ProA Champion – 96
  • Israeli League Champion – 97, 98, 99, 00
  • Israeli Cup Winner – 98, 99, 00
  • Euroleague Finalist – 2000
  • Israeli State Cup Finalist – 01
  • Israeli League Finalist – 01

References
  1. Lawrence, Marta (March 18, 2013). "Popa's tall tale". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  2. "2009-10 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff". athletics.uindy.edu. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  3. Sims, Chris (March 10, 2016). "UIndy, Constantin Popa part ways". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  4. "Constantin Popa Inducted 2019". The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. May 10, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  5. Trapezanlidis, Stathis (September 3, 2015). "Ten little known facts about the EuroBasket". Eurohoops.net. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
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