Jaroslav SIP

Inducted into the Czech Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, Jaroslav Šíp was successful both as a basketball player and as a coach. Starting out for Sokol Žižkov (1950-51) and Slavia Praha (1951-53), his top days came for ÚDA Praha (1953-56) and Slovan Orbis Praha (1956-1964), winning a total of five national titles (1954-57 and 1959). With Slovan Orbis, he also played in the European Champions Cup, reaching the semis in 1960. He was selected for the national team 111 times, playing at five European Championships and winning four medals (silver in 1951, 1955 and 1959; bronze in 1957). In 1952, he also played on the Olympic squad that placed 10th. From 1964 on he was active as a coach, mostly for Slavia Praha, coaching nearly continuously from 1964 through 1985, with one break coaching in Italy and two other short interruptions. In all, he claimed the title seven times during that period (1965-66, 1970-71, 1974, 1981-82). In 1966 Slavia also reached the finals of the European Champions Cup, losing to Olimpia Milano. After his coaching career he remained involved in basketball, as a member of the Czechoslovakian Basketball Federation and the Czech women's league.