Oded Kattash

Oded Kattash (, born October 10, 1974) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and former player. During his playing career, at a height of 194 cm (6'4 ") tall, he played at the point guard position. He is currently working as the head coach of Hapoel Jerusalem and the senior Israel men's national team. As a player, he won the EuroLeague title in the 1999–2000 season, while playing with Panathinaikos.

Early career
When Kattash was 9 years old, he joined the junior youth department of Maccabi Tel Aviv. He then played with Maccabi Darom, which was Maccabi Tel Aviv's farm team at the time.

Professional playing career
Kattash played with Maccabi Ramat Gan, and Hapoel Galil Elyon, before returning in 1995, to Maccabi Tel Aviv, to join their senior men's team. With Macabbi's senior team, he won 4 Israeli League championships and 2 Israeli State Cups. After leading the 1997 EuroBasket in scoring, he subsequently agreed to play with the New York Knicks, but he never actually played in the NBA, because of the 1998–99 NBA season lockout, that started on July 1, 1998.

Eventually, he signed a three-year contract with Panathinaikos. In the 2000 EuroLeague Finals game, he scored 17 points, against his former team Maccabi Tel Aviv, to win the EuroLeague championship with Panathinaikos. His career ended prematurely a few months later, when he suffered a serious knee injury.

National team playing career
Kattash played at the 1997 edition of the EuroBasket, with the senior Israeli national basketball team, scoring 22 points per game during the tournament.

Coaching career

After Kattash retired from playing basketball, he took up basketball coaching, and he first coached Hapoel Galil Elyon. He was the head coach of Macabbi Tel Aviv, from summer of 2007, until January 1, 2008, when he resigned.

Shortly after, he returned to Galil Elyon, and helped the team stay in the Israeli first division. In 2009, he remained with Galil, leading them against the odds, to the Israeli League Final Four, and coming within a last shot of knocking out Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semifinals. In 2010, he won the Israeli League championship with Galil, after a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the league finals.

In June 2010, Kattash was appointed as Hapoel Jerusalem's head coach, signing a three-year contract.

On June 21, 2012, Kattash was appointed the head coach of Hapoel Eilat, as the team was re-included into the Israeli Premier League, for the 2012-13 season.

On June 27, 2014, at the end of his contract, Kattash signed a three-year contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv. On November 3, 2015, he was dismissed, after only four games, after three consecutive losses. He subsequently returned to Hapoel Eilat. However, On July 18, 2017, Hapoel Eilat and Kattash decided to part ways. During that summer, Kattash led the Israel national under-20 basketball team to a silver medal at the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

On October 10, 2017, The Basketball Federation of Israel, named Kattash the new head coach of the senior Israeli national team, for the next four years.

On February 22, 2018, Kattash returned for a second stint to Hapoel Jerusalem, signing a one-and-a-half year deal.

Personal
Kattash is known to have different-coloured irises, a condition known as heterochromia of the irises (heterochromia iridis).

References

External links

FIBA Profile
FIBA Europe Profile
Article about Kattash
 Kattash and Knicks
News piece about coaching Maccabi

Category:1974 births
Category:Living people
Category:Hapoel Galil Elyon players
Category:Ironi Ramat Gan players
Category:Israeli basketball coaches
Category:Israeli men's basketball players
Category:Israeli Basketball Premier League players
Category:Israeli expatriates in Greece
Category:Israeli Jews
Category:Jewish men's basketball players
Category:Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players
Category:Panathinaikos B.C. players
Category:People from Givatayim
Category:Point guards
Category:Israeli people of Egyptian-Jewish descent
Category:Israeli people of Algerian-Jewish descent