 Gal Knaz, 1978 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 December 1960 Gan Shmuel in Israel |
| Listed height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Position | Point Guard |
| Career history | |
| 1976–1983 | Hapoel Gan Shmuel |
| 1983–1984 | Hapoel Galil Elyon |
| 1984–1985 | Hapoel Gan Shmuel |
| 1985–1988 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 1988–1993 | Hapoel Gan Shmuel |
| 1993–1994 | Maccabi Kiriat Motzkin |
| 1994–2001 | Hapoel Gan Shmuel |
Gal Knaz (born December 25, 1960 ) is a former Israeli basketball player and current basketball coach. He played the role of the point guard , his height is 1.82 meters.
Early Life and Career
editGal Knaz was born in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, to the cartoonist, painter and writer Shaul Knaz.[1], and Iris, a painter, sculptor and art teacher. From a young age Gal was an outstanding basketball player in Hapoel Gan Shmuel basketball club. With Gan Shmuel Educational High School he won the 1978 Israel national high schools championship and awarded tournament's most outstanding player award[2].
Professional Career
editAt the age of 15 and a half he made his debut with the Kibbutz men's team that played in the second league. In his second year with the team he helped it qualified for the first national league. In the championship game he Knaz helped the team scoring 26 points[3] which brought Gan Shmuel back from a big deficit and secured promotion. In 1983 he played one season for Hapoel Upper Galilei and after another year in Gan Shmuel moved to play in Hapoel Jerusalem for three seasons. In his first season he helped Jerusalem team qualify for the first national league[4]. In the decisive game against Elitzur Ramla he led the team by scoring 33 points[5]
In total, Knaz played 9 seasons in the first league as a play maker and scored 2241 points[6]. He is Hapoel Gan Shmuel all-time leading scorer[7]. He excelled in three points shooting, in those days second in it only to Doron Jamchi[8].
After leaving Jerusalem Gal returned to play five more years in Gan Shmuel in second league and a year in Maccabi Kiriat Motzkin.
Coaching Career
editIn 1994-2008 Gal served as a player-coach for Gan Shmuel's men's team in the forth league and the coach of the club's U18 and U16 youth team's in the first youth league. He also been the professional coordinator at the club. Later he served in this jobs for different clubs such as Elitzur Natania, Maccabi Hadera ,Jat ' Baka el Gharbia and Givat Olga. Also coached and been manager of activities to children age 6-18 basketball schools. Today he promotes basketball among the youth and coach in Jisr El Zarka[9] and Or Akiva.
International career
editKnaz was a member of Israel national team's. As a player in Israel's cadet team, he participated in the European Championship held in France 1977, leading the team in scoring with 18.7 points per game[10], and finishing third in the tournament's scoring ranking. Knaz participated in 26 games with the national men's team, and scored 50 points in them. He was a member of the team for the European Championship in 1981[11] held in Czechoslovakia.
Personal Life
editGal Knaz is married to Ronit Asher Knaz and they have four sons.
Footnotes
edit- ^ "Portfolio, Noga Knaz". Globes. January 5, 2017.
- ^ Avituv, Yaron (14 March 1986). "אחרון הפועלים". כל העיר. p. 63.
- ^ Zamri, Uriel; Paz, Israel (1988). 40 Years of Sports in Israel (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Shelgy. p. 96.
- ^ Hazan, Erez. "National Nostalgia".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Avituv, Yaron (14 March 1986). "אחרון הפועלים". כל העיר.
- ^ "All Time Players - Gal Knaz". Basket.co.il.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "All Time Players - Hapoel Gan Shmuel". Basket.co.il.
- ^ Yitzhak, Vishof (25 January 1985). "Tight In The Kibbutz". "Sport News". p. 10.
- ^ "הפועל ג'סר אל זרקא - IBBA". ibasketball.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "1977 European Championship for Cadets".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "1977 European Championship for Cadets Israel Team".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)