Documentary remembers remarkable Kresimir Cosic

A new documentary takes viewers from the shores of Zadar to the mountains of Utah and back to Croatia, all in an effort to chronicle a life of extraordinary basketball and religious accomplishment."Kresimir Cosic: An Offcourt Story" is part of an ongoing series of documentaries called "LDS Lives" on BYU Television.The mentored student project was written, produced and narrated by Lindsey Erin Jurdana. It begins with images from a pickup game in Cosic's hometown, where it is said that "God created man, and Zadar created basketball."The documentary features interviews with Cosic's friends and family members as well as prominent individuals who witnessed his unprecedented journey as a pioneer of both sport and faith."The basketball that he played was played 20 years later," Neven Berticevic, a Croatian sports writer, says of the man who at 6-foot-11 handled the basketball like a guard.The production follows Cosic's rise to prominence in Europe and his desire to pursue higher goals by playing college basketball in America. His transition to life in the United States, and in particular to a church-owned school with a strict honor code, was so difficult that Cosic once packed his bags and headed to the airport. He never left, however, and went on to become the first European-born all-American.Basketball, however, is secondary to the story of Cosic's spiritual journey. He is described as a kind, charismatic and playful character who captured hearts with both his athletic ability and personality. After initially struggling with the honor code, Cosic began studying the LDS faith and was baptized by Hugh Nibley in 1971.Despite being drafted by three NBA teams, Cosic elected to return to his homeland, where he shared his new faith with enthusiasm. The documentary is full of stories about how Cosic cleverly devised ways to preach the gospel despite the restrictions of the Yugoslavian communist government.President Thomas S. Monson, who shares several thoughts during the documentary, says Cosic knew his return to Croatia would be a "door-opener for the church.""Kresimir Cosic: An Offcourt Story" debuted earlier this week and is scheduled to air again at 8:30 a.m. MDT today (Thursday, March 13), 6 p.m. MDT Sunday and 4 p.m. MDT Monday on BYU Television.