Georgi Glouchkov, Bulgaria ...player profiles by Interbasket (original) (raw)

InterBasket > Player Profiles > Georgi Glouchkov, Bulgaria Ibn Notes: Georgi Glouchkov started out his NBA career as the bruising, rebounding machine he had been Europe. But he slowed down quickly throughout that season. There were many rumours as to why Glouchkov's productivity waned, the Suns suspected later that he might have been a steroid user and another one of the perceoved problems was that Georgi developed a liking for American fast food.

And though he would come into camp 25lbs lighter the following season, Glouchkov was cut by the Suns. He was back in Europe, continued his success, Glouchkov returned to Europe where he left off, as a star. And though no international player would play in the NBA again until the late 1980s Glouchkov helped to open the gates and set a precedent for players like Vlade Divac, Arvydas Sabonis, Peja Stojakovic, Andrei Kirilenko and InterBasket.net - thanks Georgi.

Georgi Glouchkov Profile

Name: Georgi Nikolov Glouchkov
Nickname: N/A
Born: 1960
Status: Retired
Origin: Triavna, Bulgaria
Height: 6-8/2,06m
Weight: 235lbs/
Schools: Jambol High School, Jambul, Bulgaria
Drafted: 1985, Seventh Round, 148th pick overall by the Phoenix Suns
Languages: Bulgarian, English
Website: InterBasket
Teams (jersey): Bulgarian National Team, Mobilgirgi Caserta � (ITA,86-87), Snaidero Caserta (ITA,87-89), Phonola Caserta (IT1,89-90), Sidis Reggio Emilia (ITA,90-91), Akademik Varna (91-92), Taugres (ESP,92-93), Akademik/Czernomorec Varna (93-96), Siena (IT1,96-97) 2002-2003: Piscinola (ITA-C1): Phoenix Suns (16)
Ibn Notes: The Phoenix Suns made a guy named Georgi Glouchkov a seventh-round draft pick in 1985 after coming a season in which he averaged 23 points and 19 rebounds. Glouchkov, one of the top-five players in Europe when he was drafted, became the first Eastern European player from behind the curtain to sign an NBA contract. A Bulgarian, Glouchkov was the first Eastern bloc player to play in the NBA. "Part of my success was on the heels of the supposed failure of Georgi," Donnie Nelson told the Houston Chronicle. "My international involvement started about 22 years ago. "During those years, there was virtually no emphasis internationally, and there were a number of reasons for it. The thing that I heard most frequently was, 'Well, Georgi Glouchkov was the best player from over there, and he couldn't even make the NBA, so those guys just aren't good enough.' "I heard that little battle cry for a long period of time." But Nelson said the more he went to the Europe, the more he recognized that players not only could make it in the NBA, but flourish. The trouble was getting through all the tangled red tape. "If you're a general manager, the last thing you want to hear when your rear end is on the line while making a draft pick is 'high risk' " Nelson said. "There are not a lot of guys who are willing to roll the bones when it comes to a first-round pick." How times have changed. Though the experiment "failed,"