Teoman Alibegović


Teoman "Teo" Alibegović is Bosnian-Slovenian former professional basketball player, coach, and manager. With 990 points scored, he is the all-time top scorer of the senior Slovenian national basketball team.

Early years

Alibegović was born in Zenica, SR Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. Later, he moved with his family to Jesenice, SR Slovenia, where he attended primary school, and started playing basketball with the junior teams of KK Jesenice. In 1982, he joined KK Olimpija's youth categories. After two years, he moved from Ljubljana to Sarajevo, where he played for what was then one of the top clubs in the Yugoslav First Basketball League, KK Bosna.

College career

In 1988, Alibegović' went to study at Oregon State University. After 3 years, he graduated in Business and Communication.

Professional career

The Quad City Thunder selected Alibegović in the 1991 Continental Basketball Association draft, but he never played for them. However, in his first pro season, he played with the CBA team Yakima Sun Kings. Teo joined the Italian club Fortitudo Bologna, at the end of the 1991–92 season.
From 1993 to 1996, he played with the German club Alba Berlin, helping them win the FIBA Korać Cup championship. Before the 1996–97 season, he signed with Turkish club Fenerbahçe, but after six months, he was back in Italy, this time with Trieste. The next season, 1997–98, he played with Cáceres CB in Spain. For the 1998–99 season, he returned to Trieste. From 1999 to 2002, he played for the Italian club Snaidero Udine. In his last pro year, he played in Greece, playing with Ionikos NF.

National team career

At the youth level, Alibegović played for the Yugoslavia Under-18 and Under-19 national teams, which won the 1986 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. Alibegović was a member of the senior men's Slovenian national basketball team, from 1991 to 2001. With Slovenia, he played at four EuroBaskets. With Slovenia's senior national team, he played in 52 games, and scored 990 points, which made him the all-time top scorer of Slovenia's senior national basketball team.

Coaching career

Before the 2003–04 season, Alibegović was appointed the head coach of Udine. In 2005, he was the general manager of Fortitudo Bologna. He was the head coach of Leagea Scafati, from December 2006 to November 2007. From 2008 to 2010, he was head consultant of Udine.

Personal

Alibegović has three sons: Mirza, Amar, and Denis, who are also basketball players.
Mirza played for Brescia in Italy, where Denis played for the Stella Azzurra Roma youth teams. Amar also played for the Roman side teams, before he choose to play college basketball with the St. John's Red Storm. His nephew Luka Garza plays for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and is one of the top college players in 2020.