Diego Kapelan

Diego Kapelan (born July 8, 1987) is a Bosnian-Canadian professional basketball player for the St. John's Edge of the National Basketball League of Canada. He played college basketball for McNeese State.

Diego Kapelan
No. 13 – St. John's Edge
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
LeagueNBL Canada
Personal information
Born (1987-07-08) July 8, 1987
Bihać, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
SFR Yugoslavia
NationalityBosnian / Canadian
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolKing George
(Vancouver, British Columbia)
CollegeMcNeese State (2007–2011)
NBA draft2011 / Undrafted
Playing career2011–present
Career history
2011–2012Zrinjski Mostar
2012ETB Wohnbau Baskets
2012–2013Apollon Limassol
2013–2014Kolossos Rodou
2014ETB Wohnbau Baskets
2014–2015WBC Wels
2015–2017Ourense
2017–2018Melilla
2018Šiauliai
2018–2019St. John's Edge
2019Soles de Mexicali
2019Gimnasia Indalo
2019Fraser Valley Bandits
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school

Kapelan was born in Bihać, a city located in what is now known as Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Zdravko and Hedita Kapelan.[1] He attended King George Secondary School, a small high school in Vancouver, British Columbia.[2] As a senior, Kapelan averaged 32 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game and was named team most valuable player (MVP) for his fourth straight season, leading his team to a lower mainland championship. He also ran cross country, winning a provincial title, and played soccer as a striker.[3]

College career

In his freshman season for McNeese State, Kapelan averaged 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 17.8 minutes per game.[4] On February 9, 2008, he scored 24 points with 7 three-pointers in a 74–71 loss to Nicholls State.[5] Kapelan averaged 11.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game as a sophomore.[4] On February 18, 2009, he scored 37 points with a school-record 9 three-pointers to defeat Northwestern State.[6] In his junior campaign, Kapelan averaged 12.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.[4] In January 2010, he was named player of the week in the Southland Conference, shortly after scoring 31 points with 8 three-pointers against Rice.[7] As a senior, Kapelan averaged 14.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.[4] He scored a career-high 39 points with 9 three-pointers in a February 19, 2011 win over Northwestern State.[8] He earned second-team All-Southland honors.[9]

Professional career

Kapelan played for Zrinjski Mostar of the Bosnian League and Balkan League in the 2011–12 season. Through 18 games, he averaged 14.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.[4] Kapelan scored a season-best 28 points on November 5, 2011, in an 85–77 win over Brotnjo.[10] In January 2012, he left Zrinjski Mostar to sign with ETB Wohnbau Baskets of the ProA, the German second-tier league.[11] Through 13 games in Germany, Kapelan averaged 16.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.[12] For the 2012–13 season, he joined Apollon Limassol of the Cypriot League and FIBA EuroChallenge.[13] Through 23 Cypriot League games, he averaged 12.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, and through 6 EuroChallenge games, he averaged 9.7 points per game.[4] On January 8, 2013, Kapelan scored 25 points in a 96–92 win over APOEL.[14]

On March 8, 2013, he moved to Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League.[15] After 7 games, he was averaging 6.4 points in 12.7 minutes per game.[4] On January 30, 2014, after 3 games for Kolossos Rodou in the 2013–14 season, Kapelan returned to German team ETB Wohnbau Baskets.[16] He scored 28 points on March 1, in a 109–103 win over VfL Kirchheim Knights.[17] On May 28, 2014, Kapelan signed with WBC Wels of the Austrian League.[18] Through 32 games, he averaged 13.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.[4] Kapelan scored 34 points with 6 three-pointers in a December 13 loss to Swans Gmunden.[19] He took part in the league All-Star Game and led his team to the finals, while earning all-league honorable mention accolades from basketball website Eurobasket.com.[12]

On September 16, 2015, Kapelan signed with Ourense of the LEB Oro, the second-tier Spanish league.[20] Through 35 games, he averaged 14.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.[4] On November 20, 2015, he scored 25 points with 6 three-pointers in a 71–62 win over Miraflores.[21] Kapelan remained with Ourense for the 2016–17 season, averaging 11.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game through 38 appearances.[4] On August 16, 2017, he signed with LEB Oro team Melilla.[22] After 48 games, he was averaging 11.3 points per game, leading Melilla to the playoff finals.[12]

Kapelan, on July 14, 2018, signed with Šiauliai of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[23] He left the team after only 6 games, scoring a season-high 11 points in a September 22 loss to Levski Sofia in Basketball Champions League qualification.[24] In November, Kapelan joined the St. John's Edge of the National Basketball League of Canada.[25] On November 18, 2018, in his Edge debut, he scored a team-best 22 points with 6 three-pointers in a 107–103 loss to the London Lightning.[26]

In March 2019, he left the Edge to sign with Mexican team Soles de Mexicali for the 2018–19 LNBP playoffs.[27]

National team career

Kapelan is a dual citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada.[28] He joined the Bosnian national team in preparation for EuroBasket 2011 but did not make the final roster.[29] Kapelan joined Canadian team 3D Global Sports for the 2017 William Jones Cup in Taipei, Taiwan. He was named MVP after averaging 18 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 53.3% from the three-point line.[30]

References
  1. "Diego Kapelan". Balkan International Basketball League. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  2. Tsumura, Howard (March 3, 2009). "Ex-King George Dragon Kapelan now a star at NCAA Div. 1 McNeese State". The Province. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  3. "Diego Kapelan". McNeese State Cowboys. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. "Diego Kapelan Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  5. "Feb 9, 2008 - Nicholls State 74, McNeese State 71". RealGM. February 9, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  6. "Diego Kapelan scores a school record nine three point goals in leading Cowboys to 88-74 win over Northwestern State". McNeese State Cowboys. February 18, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  7. "Kapelan named Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Southland Conference. January 4, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  8. "Kapelan, McNeese shoot past Demons 78-62". Northwestern State Demons. February 20, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  9. "Sam Houston's Gilberto Clavell named Southland Player of the Year". Southland Conference. March 8, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  10. "Nov 5, 2011 - HKK Brotnjo 77, HKK Zrinjski Mostar 85". RealGM. November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  11. "Diego Kapelan u Essenu" (in Bosnian). SportSport. January 30, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  12. "Diego Kapelan basketball profile". Eurobasket. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  13. "Kapelan moves South". Heinrich Sports. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  14. "Jan 8, 2013 - ForexTime Apollon 96, APOEL Nicosia 92". RealGM. January 8, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  15. "Diego Kapelan joins Kolossos Rhodes". Court-Side. March 8, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  16. Unverferth, Dirk (January 30, 2014). "Die ETB Wohnbau Baskets haben Diego Kapelan nachverpflichtet" (in German). Lokalkompass. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  17. "Mar 1, 2014 - ETB Wohnbau Baskets Essen 109, VfL Kirchheim Knights 103". RealGM. March 1, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  18. "Diego Kapelan secures move to Wels". Court-Side. May 28, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  19. "Dec 13, 2014 - Allianz Swans Gmunden 90, WBC Raiffeisen Wels 84". RealGM. December 13, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  20. "El COB ficha al escolta Diego Kapelan". Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). September 16, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  21. "Nov 20, 2015 - San Pablo Inmobiliaria Burgos 62, Ourense Termal 71". RealGM. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  22. "El Club Melilla Baloncesto se hace con los servicios de Diego Kapelan" (in Spanish). Club Melilla Baloncesto. August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  23. "Diego Kapelan is a newcomer at Siauliai". Eurobasket. July 14, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  24. "Sep 22, 2018 - Siauliai 65, BC Levski Lukoil 79". RealGM. September 22, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  25. "Edge Announce 2018-19 Roster". St. John's Edge. November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  26. "Edge Fall Short in London". St. John's Edge. November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  27. "DIEGO KAPELAN ES EL ÚLTIMO REFUERZO DE SOLES DE MEXICALI PARA LOS PLAYOFFS" (in Spanish). Cancha Latina. March 7, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  28. "Diego Kapelan is a newcomer at Siauliai". Eurobasket. July 14, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  29. "Kapelan: Želim dres reprezentacije" (in Bosnian). SportSport. November 13, 2011. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  30. "MVP: Diego Kapelan". 3D Global Sports. August 5, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
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