Vilmos Lóczi


Vilmos Lóczi, also credited as Vilmoš Loci, was a Yugoslav basketball coach and player. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally.
Lóczi was one of the best Yugoslav players from the 1940s and the 1950s according to Nebojša Popović, Aleksandar Nikolić, Ranko Žeravica and Mirko Novosel.

Playing career

Lóczi started to play basketball for his hometown team Proleter of the Yugoslav Basketball League. In 1948, he moved to Belgrade-based team Partizan where he played until 1950. Over three seasons with Partizan, he averaged 11.7 points per game.
In 1951, Lóczi moved back to Proleter. During his second stint, he won the National Championships in the 1956 season. Lóczi was a part of the group of players known as the Proleter's Five, which included himself, Milutin Minja, Ljubomir Katić, Dušan Radojčić, and Lajos Engler.
In 1960, Lóczi announced his retirement from playing after Proleter got relegated from the First League.

National team career

Lóczi was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that participated at the 1950 FIBA World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Over four tournament games, he averaged 7.8 points per game. The World Championship in Argentina was the inaugural tournament. At the 1953 FIBA European Championship in Moscow, the Soviet Union, he averaged 6.7 points per game over eleven tournament games.
At the 1954 FIBA World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Lóczi averaged 7.0 points per game over five tournament games. At the 1955 FIBA European Championship in Budapest, Hungary, he averaged 8.2 points per game over nine tournament games. On June 10, 1955, he scored a national team-high 16 points in a win over England. At the 1957 FIBA European Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria, he averaged 2.8 points per game over eight tournament games.
Lóczi is the first player who appeared in 100 games for the Yugoslavia national team. He averaged 6.7 points per game over 101 career games for the national team. Lóczi was the national team captain from 1953 to 1957.

Coaching career

Lóczi began his coaching career in Proleter. Also, he coached teams in the United Arab Emirates and the Central African Republic.

Career achievements and awards