Cosic's life makes interesting movie

AN OFF-COURT STORY: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KRESIMIR COSIC —

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.