Mike Brkovich

Mike Brkovich (/ˈbɜːrkəvɪtʃ/ BURR-kə-vitch;[1] born April 6, 1958) is a Canadian former basketball player from Windsor, Ontario. He is currently a Windsor-based automotive exporter and real estate developer.[2]

Mike Brkovich
Personal information
Born (1958-04-06) April 6, 1958
NationalityCanadian
Career information
High schoolW. D. Lowe (Windsor, Ontario)
CollegeMichigan State (1977–1981)
NBA draft1981 / Round: 8 / Pick: 181st overall
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Career highlights and awards

Basketball career

Of Serbian background (Serbian: Брковић, Brković), Brkovich played high school basketball at W. D. Lowe in Windsor. The team won the Ontario Provincial Championship in 1976 and 1977.[3]

Brkovich played as a shooting guard on the Michigan State Spartans team that won the 1979 NCAA tournament, defeating Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores in the final game. Brkovich opened an earlier tournament game against Notre Dame game with a slam dunk, from which the Fighting Irish never recovered.[4] The following year, Brkovich was the team's co-captain.[5]

Brkovich was drafted 181st overall (8th round) by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1981, but never played in the NBA.[6][5]

He was a member of the Canadian national basketball team which finished fourth in the 1979 Pan American Games. He and the rest of the team were unable to play in the 1980 Summer Olympics, due to the boycott that year.[5]

Brkovich was inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.[5]

Business career

Brkovich founded a successful auto export dealership in Windsor, and later expanded into real estate ownership and development.[2] He has advocated for the preservation and restoration of historically-significant buildings in Windsor.[7]

References
  1. "Powerplay Sports Flashback: Mike Brkovich". Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. Joyce, Gare (March 2004). "The Man Behind Magic". TOROmagazine: 37. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  3. "OFSAA Past Champions: Boys' Basketball". Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  4. "Brkovich remains Spartan at heart". The Windsor Star. April 2, 2009. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  5. "Mike Brkovich". Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  6. "1981 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  7. Schmidt, Doug (April 26, 2013). "More bulldozers feared by Windsor's heritage lovers". The Windsor Star. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
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