Marko_Kešelj

Marko Kešelj

Marko Kešelj

Serbian basketball player

Marko Kešelj (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Кешељ, born 2 January 1988) is a Serbian politician and retired professional basketball player serving as the state secretary in the Ministry of Sports since 4 November 2022.[1] He previously served as a member of the National Assembly from 1 August 2022 until his resignation on 10 November 2022.[2]

Quick Facts State Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Minister ...

He is also a presidency member of Crvena zvezda. He represented the Serbia national team in the international competitions. He is a 2.08 m (6'10") tall small forward.[3]

Professional career

Kešelj started his career in his hometown with a club called Mega Ishrana. Despite his young age, Kešelj already has the experience of playing for two top-quality foreign clubs, the Spanish ACB League club Akasvayu Girona and the German League club Köln 99ers. During the summer of 2006, his talents were spotted by Serbian coach Svetislav Pešić, who brought him to Girona in the Spanish ACB League at the age of 18.

However, Kešelj could not establish himself in the squad and got very little playing time. In the summer of 2007, he transferred to the German League to the Köln 99ers, which were led by another Serbian coach, Saša Obradović. Following a so-so season, Obradović left to coach Kiev, and Kešelj also started looking for a transfer.

Upon rumors that Pešić, his mentor from his Girona days, might be taking over Crvena zvezda, Keselj decided to sign with the club during the summer of 2008, even before Pešić's arrival had become official. In 2010, he signed a 3-year contract with the Greek League club Olympiacos.[4] With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague and Greek League championships in 2012.[5]

On 14 August 2012 Kešelj signed one-year contract with Valencia.[6] On 5 February 2013 he left Valencia and signed with Le Mans Sarthe Basket for the rest of the season.[7] On 8 August 2013 he signed a one-year contract with ASVEL Basket.[8]

On 14 October 2014 he signed an open contract with the Serbian team Mega Vizura.[9] On 17 June 2015 it was confirmed that Kešelj would play with the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2015 NBA Summer League.[10]

On 6 January 2016 Kešelj signed with the Greek club Lavrio for the rest of the 2015–16 Greek Basket League season.[11] On 18 September 2016 Kešelj signed with Belgian club Telenet Oostende.[12]

On 28 July 2017 Kešelj returned to Crvena zvezda, signing a two-year deal.[13] On 4 January 2019 he scored 20 points for the night and his 1,000th point for the Zvezda.[14][15]

National team career

Kešelj was a member of the Serbian junior national teams, and he played at the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Novi Sad and at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. Kešelj was also a member of the senior Serbia national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where Serbia was defeated by Lithuania, in the game for the bronze medal. He was also capped for the national team of Serbia at the EuroBasket 2011, in Lithuania, where Serbia finished in 8th place.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
† Denotes seasons in which Kešelj won the EuroLeague

EuroLeague

More information Year, Team ...

Post-playing career

In August 2020, Kešelj was appointed as a presidency member of Crvena zvezda in charge of the sport issues.[16] He was re-elected for 5-year term on 27 December 2021.[17][18]

Political career

Kešelj appeared on the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)-led Together We Can Do Everything ballot list for the 2022 general election, as an independent candidate.[19] Following the election, Kešelj was elected to the National Assembly as MP.[20] Kešelj was appointed state secretary in the Ministry of Sports on 4 November 2022.[1] On 10 November, he resigned as MP.[2]

Personal life

Kešelj owns and operates a blueberry orchard.[21]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Marko Kešelj imenovan za državnog sekretara u Ministarstvu sporta". N1 (in Serbian). 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  2. [2]
    "Marko Kešelj". otvoreniparlament.rs. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  3. [3]
    KESELJ, MARKO HEIGHT: 2.08.
  4. [4]
    Skountis, Vassilis. "OLYMPIACOS adds talent with Keselj". Euroleague.net. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  5. [5]
    Woods, Mark (13 May 2012). "OLYMPIAKOS STUN CSKA FOR EUROLEAGUE CROWN". mvp247.com. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  6. [6]
    "Valencia tabs Marko Keselj". Sportando. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  7. [7]
    "Marko Keselj dissatisfied with playing time, moves to Le Mans". court-side.com. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  8. [8]
    "ASVEL VILLEURBANNE inks forward Keselj". Eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  9. [9]
    "VELIKO POJAČANJE ZA MEGA VIZURU! KEŠELJ DEBITUJE PROTIV CRVENE ZVEZDE!!". .bcmegabasket.net (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  10. [10]
    "Marko Keselj will play the NBA Summer League for the Blazers". Sportando.com. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  11. [11]
    "Marko Keselj inks with Lavrio GS". Sportando.com. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  12. [12]
    "Marko Keselj signs with Oostende". Eurohoops.net. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  13. [13]
    Crvena Zvezda acquired Marko Keselj
  14. [14]
    "🚨 @keselj11 u klubu 1000 crveno-belih👏🏼🔴⚪️". twitter.com. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  15. [15]
    "Kešelj već "prebacio" 1000 poena za Zvezdu: Markov jubilej za ponos, a kod Alimpijevića je samo popunjavao broj". telegraf.rs. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Kešelj i Dozet ponovo u Zvezdi – u novoj ulozi". b92.net. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  17. [17]
    "Čović još pet godina na čelu Zvezde, najveći saziv Skupštine u istoriji kluba". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  18. [18]
    "Čoviću novi mandat, u Skupštini Vučević, Miličić, sportisti, glumci..." b92.net. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  19. [19]
    "Lazar Ristovski i dr Danica Grujičić - neke od nestranačkih ličnosti na listi SNS". www.021.rs (in Serbian). 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  20. [20]
    "MARKO KEŠELJ". Narodna skupština Republike Srbije. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  21. [21]
    "Intervju, Uroš Tripković: Od "bloka za Uroša" do plantaža borovnica". moravainfo.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2019.
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