UMPI basketball player Kristijan Gavrilovs
At UMPI you can always see students who are busy shuttling between the classroom, library and gymnasium as they pursue knowledge with hope. Kristijan Gavrilovski is one of them. KG is a 22-year-old senior transfer from Central Community College in Columbus, Neb., and now in the business administration program at UMPI.
Gavrilovski is so busy with school. He is pursuing his business degree, serves as a resident assistant and is devoted to UMPI basketball. But KG always can balance the workload.
Playing basketball is considered a huge, essential part of Gavrilovski’s life from the when he first started playing when he was 6 years old. Uninterrupted practice helped him get chances, again and again. Gavrilovski got chances in his birthplace, which is Macedonia. He played for the national team of Macedonia up until his senior year. Also, he played a year of high-school basketball in Nebraska City when he came to the United States. After that, the first two years of college of he attended Central in Nebraska, where he started his college basketball career. Then he got recruited by the UMPI men’s basketball (now ex) coach Mike Holmes two years ago.
In playing basketball, the guard is the organizer and director in attacking and safeguarding the whole team. That was Gavrilovski’s position. Also, he has a wealth of experience, robust physical condition, pure talent and basketball skills. “Every day, every game, every practice is special to me, and I enjoy it as much as I can,” Gavrilovski said. He also did a fantastic job.
Life will never always be calm or smooth. Last season, which was Gavrilovski’s first season here at UMPI, he suffered a career-ending knee injury. That made him decide to join the coaching staff for this season and learn more about that side of the game.
Now Gavrilovski is still on his basketball dream, working for this season as assistant coach for men’s basketball. Being a college basketball coach is an exceptional experience for his basketball career. “He brings good leadership qualities to the coaching staff with a strong connection to the team. He is a highly motivated individual who brings energy to the team,” Frank Nunez, an UMPI student, said.
“I think KG was an excellent shooting guard until his college career was cut short due to injuries. When it comes to coaching, he goes above and beyond for his players and he is well respected among the student population and school staff,” Kim Collins, one of the basketball team members, said.
Gavrilovski has shown a knack for turning adversity into opportunity. It will be exciting to see where his wings will take him.
