From Deseret News archives:
Cosic's life makes interesting movie
Produced by: Lindsey Jurdana
Length: 43 minutes
OREM — The documentary of Kresimir Cosic's life was informative, interesting and well done, as it explored his life on and off the basketball court, his losing battle with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and his legacy.
The film began with a montage of Cosic's highlights, as family, friends, former teammates and even President Thomas S. Monson of the LDS Church's First Presidency talked about Cosic's basketball skills.
It was interesting to learn just how good of a player he was. He was the first European to be drafted by an NBA team. He turned down NBA offers to return to Croatia.
Considering the proliferation of European players into today's NBA that has been ongoing since the early 1990s, it was particularly informative to learn of Cosic's career from decades earlier.
As interesting as his basketball exploits were, his life off the court was even more compelling. Cosic converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while at BYU and did as much as he could to share his beliefs with others, particularly in his native Croatia.
At first, he was the only member of the church in Communist Yugoslavia, but he did a lot to change that.
It was interesting to learn that he recruited the best translator he could find to translate the "Book of Mormon" into his native language, and his translation is still the official translation for the church today.
Viewers will also be interested in getting perspective on Cosic's life from famous LDS people such as Monson, Truman G. Madsen and Hugh Nibley, as well as friends and family.
Overall, the documentary was worth watching for anyone interested in Cosic's life, and it will be particularly informative to younger viewers who don't remember Cosic's playing career.
