Geof Kotila

Geoffry Claude Kotila^[1] (24 February 1959 – 20 March 2023) was an American basketball coach and player. He played college basketball for Michigan Tech before going into coaching.^[2]

Geof Kotila

Personal information
Born	(1959-02-24)24 February 1959
Died	20 March 2023(2023-03-20) (aged 64)
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High school	Glen Lake (Maple City, Michigan)
College	Michigan Tech (1978–1982)
Coaching career	1985–2013
Career history
As coach:
1985–1987	Michigan Tech (assistant)
1987–1994	Michigan Tech
1995–2002	Horsens IC
2002–2006	Skovbakken Bears
2006–2008	Snæfell
2008–2013	Team Fog Næstved
Career highlights and awards
As coach: Basketligaen champion (1998, 2004, 2005) Danish Cup (1996) Icelandic Cup (2008) Icelandic Company Cup (2007) Basketligaen Coach of the Year (2005, 2011) Danish All-Star Game Coach (2004–2006, 2011)

Playing career

Kotila played high school basketball at Glen Lake School in Maple City, Michigan,^[3] before enrolling at Michigan Technological University. He was a four-year starter for the Huskies, earning the team's outstanding newcomer honors in 1978–79, garnering the team’s most improved player award in 1980–81 as well as team MVP honors and the Raymond L. Smith Award as the university's outstanding senior male student-athlete in the 1981–82 campaign. In 1981–82, he also earned All-GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) first team honors.^[4] Kotila scored 1,394 points in 102 games for MTU.^[5] He ranked third all-time in career points, when his playing career at Michigan Tech came to an end in 1982.^[6] In 2002, Kotila was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame.^[5]

Coaching career

From 1985 to 1986, Kotila served as head men's cross country coach at Michigan Tech and was an assistant men's basketball coach between 1985 and 1987, before being appointed MTU head men's basketball coach. He stayed on the job until 1994 and had a record of 82 wins and 120 losses.^[7] He went to Denmark, where he coached in the pro ranks. From 1995 to 2002, Kotila served as head coach of Horsens IC in the country’s top division Basketliga,^[8] leading the team to a Danish national championship title in 1998^[9] and a Danish cup title in 1996.^[10] During his four-year stint at Skovbakken Bears (2002–2006), Kotila won the Danish championship in 2004 and 2005, and the Danish Cup in 2005.^[11] In the 2004–05 season, he was recognized with Danish Basketliga Coach of the Year honors.^[12] He also coached the Bears in their first ever appearance in the EuroCup.

In May 2006, Kotila signed a two-year deal with Snæfell of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla.^[13][14] During his first season, the team ended with the third best record in the league^[15] before a 76–74 overtime loss in game five in its best-of-five semi-finals series against KR in the Úrvalsdeild playoffs brought the season to a close.^[16] In the 2007–08 season, he led Snæfell to winning the Icelandic Cup and to the runner-up spot in league play.^[17]

Kotila left the team afterwards, returning to Denmark, where he was named head coach of Team Fog Næstved in June 2008.^[18] In his five-year stint at Næstved, Kotila was named Basketliga Coach of the Year in the 2010–11 season^[12] and guided the team to a third-place finish in the national championship in the 2011–12 campaign, which was the best result in club history. Following the conclusion of the 2012–13 season, Kotila decided to step down as Næstved head coach.^[19] Besides his job as head coach in the pro ranks, Kotila worked alongside Craig Pedersen^[20] as basketball coach and English teacher^[21] at EVN (Efterskolen ved Nyborg) school in Nyborg, Denmark since 2008.^[22]

In 2016, he started working as a business developer for Denmark's top flight Basketligaen,^[23] before taking over the job as Basketligaen commissioner in 2017.^[24]

Kotila died on March 20, 2023, at the age of 64.^[25] He was survived by his wife and their two daughters.^[26]

References

1. "Geoffry Claude Kotila, Nyborg". www.krak.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-03-10.
2. James Cook (6 April 2023). . Traverse City Record-Eagle. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
3. "Miller's Mentoring Spans Into 7th Decade". Michigan High School Athletic Association. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
4. "All-Time League Honors". Michigan Technological University.
5. "Geof Kotila". Michigan Tech Athletics.
6. "Men's Basketball Individual Season and Career Records". Michigan Tech Athletics.
7. "Men's Basketball Coaching Records". Michigan Tech Athletics. October 16, 2010.
8. . Eurobasket.com. 2002-03-17. Archived from the original on 2002-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
9. "Vindere af DM". Basketligaen.
10. "Pokalvindere - Pokalturnering - Rækker - Turnering". Danmarks Basketball Forbund.
11. "Ekki lengi að ákveða sig". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 10 January 2007. p. 31. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
12. . basketligaen.dk (in Danish). Basketligaen. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
13. Dagur Sveinn Dagbjartsson (29 October 2006). "Fannst Stykkishólmur vera á enda veraldar". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 32. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
14. "Geof Kotila samdi við Snæfell til tveggja ára". www.mbl.is.
15. "Iceland Express deild karla 2007". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
16. "KR í úrslit eftir sigur á Snæfelli í framlengdum leik". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 5 April 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
17. . eurobasket.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
18. "Basketliga - Geof Kotila ny head coach for Team Fog Næstved". www.danskbasket.dk.
19. "Geof Kotila takker af som head coach for Team FOG Næstved efter 5 gode år". www.basketligaen.dk.
20. Keseric, Boba (March 19, 2013). "Et portræt af Geof Kotila, der officielt forlader Næstved". Fullcourt.dk.
21. "EVN - Nyheder - Uddannelse". Danmarks Basketball Forbund. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
22. "Gevinst for efterskole". Fyens Stiftstidende. August 11, 2008.
23. "Geof Kotila er gået bort". Basketligaen (in Danish). 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
24. "Ansatte". Basketligaen.
25. Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (21 March 2023). "Geof Kotila látinn". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 21 March 2023.
26. "Det er med stor sorg, vi hører om Geof Kotilas dødsfald". Efterskolen ved Nyborg / facebook.com (in Danish). 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-03-21.

External links

• Profile at Eurobasket.com