Dino Meneghin

Dino Meneghin

Nickname(s)	Dino
Position	Center
Height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Born	18 January 1950 Alano di Piave, Veneto, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Career history	Pallacanestro Varese (1966-1980) Olimpia Milano (1980-1990) Pallacanestro Trieste (1990-1993) Olimpia Milano (1993-1994)
Awards	3x European Player of the Year: Mister Europa 1980, 1983 Euroscar 1983 FIBA's 50 Greatest Players

Medal record
Competitor for Italy
Men's Basketball
Olympic Games
Silver	1980 Moscow	Team
European Championship
Gold	1983 France	Team
Bronze	1971 West Germany	Team
Bronze	1975 Yugoslavia	Team

Dino Meneghin (born January 18, 1950) is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered as the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all time greats. A 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall center, Meneghin was born in Alano di Piave, Veneto (northeast Italy). On November 20, 1966, when he was 16 years old, he played his first match in the Italian League with Ignis Varese. He played the last match of his career at the age of 45. Today, he works for the Italian Basketball Federation and for the club Olimpia Milano. On August 20, 2010, Meneghin was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his play in international competition.

Playing career

In total, he played in 836 matches and scored 8,560 points in the Italian Championship. With the Italian national basketball team, he played in 271 matches and totaled 2,847 points scored. Meneghin became the second player from a European league to be drafted by an NBA team when the Atlanta Hawks manager Marty Blake selected him with a late-round pick in the 1970 NBA Draft. He never played in the USA, however.

In 1980 and 1983, he was elected European Player of the Year: Mr. Europa, and also won the Euroscar European Player of the Year award in 1983. In 1991, he was named the greatest European basketball player of all time by Giganti del Basket. On September 5, 2003, he became the second Italian player to enter into the Basketball Hall of Fame after Cesare Rubini, who served Olimpia Milano both as player and coach between the 1940s and the 1970s.

One of the greatest records of his career is his number of Finals appearances in the European Champions Cup. He played in 10 consecutive finals with Ignis Varese, winning 5, and later in 2 more consecutive finals with Olimpia Milano, which he both won. Finally, before his playing career ended, Dino Meneghin played in the Italian League against his son Andrea, who was also a great international player.

Pro clubs

• Pallacanestro Varese (1966–1980)
• Olimpia Milano (1980–1990)
• Pallacanestro Trieste (1990–1993)
• Olimpia Milano (1993–1994)

Honours

Clubs

• 4 World Cup for Clubs (1967, 1970, 1973, 1987)
• 2 European Cup Winners Cup (1967, 1980)
• 12 Italian Championships (1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989). He was also on the runner up team 9 times.
• 6 Italian Cups (1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1986, 1987)
• 7 European Champions Cups (1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1987, 1988)
• 1 Korać Cup (1985)

Italian national team

• Bronze Medal at the 1975 European Championship
• Silver Medal at the 1980 Olympics Basketball Tournament
• Gold Medal at the 1983 European Championship

Individual

• European Player of the Year:
  • Mister Europa European Player of the Year 1980, 1983
  • Euroscar European Player of the Year 1983
• FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991)

External links

• Euroleague.net 50 Greatest Contributors
• Fibaeurope.com Profile
• Dino Meneghin Player Profile (InterBasket)
• Career @ Basketpedya.com

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Vladimir Tkachenko	Mr. Europa 1980	Succeeded by Dragan Kićanović
Preceded by Dragan Kićanović	Mr. Europa 1983	Succeeded by Juan Antonio San Epifanio