User:Lv11ballin

Lukas Varga
Lukas Varga (born June 19th 1985) is a professional basketball coach and former player who is currently active as Head coach for the Slovakian club BK Iskra Svit.

Early Life
Born in former Czechoslovakia, Lukas Varga made his first basketball memories witnessing the success of his father Karol Varga, who won the Czechoslovak basketball league in 1989 with BC Prievidza. Thereafter the family migrated out to Germany in 1990 where Varga spend his childhood and started playing for a small german club in Donauwörth, Bavaria. After a successful youth career which included a South-German Championship in 1998, the family moved to the United States where Varga would enroll into Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Under the guidance of Coach Dan D'Antoni, Varga would play 4 years of Varsity Basketball, earning All-State Honors in 2003 and leading his team to the SC State Final Four.

Playing Career
After a successful High School career, Varga spent one season back in Europe playing for the German club TSV 1861 Giants Nördlingen in the 2. Basketball Bundesliga and switching mid season to Svit, in the Slovak Basketball League. In 2005 Varga signed with University of South Carolina Aiken, but transferred after his freshman year to Coker University. There he would finish his college career, which included the schools' big upset victory over Coastal Carolina University in 2008, beating them 80-59 on the road.

In 2010 Varga signed with the Danish Club Lemvig Basket where he would spent 2 seasons before joining Horsens IC for the 2012/2013 season and helping the team earn a bronze medal. In 2015 Varga would be part of the Clubs most succesful season winning both the Danish Basketball Cup and League Championship beating the Bakken Bears (4-2) in the Finals. Varga retired after the season to pursue his coaching career.

Coaching Career
While bouncing back and forth from playing to coaching, Varga took his first experience as a Graduate assistant at the University of North Carolina Charlotte on the staff under Coach Bobby Lutz during the 2009/10 season. In 2013, Lukas Varga was hired by MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg as a part of John Patrick's staff where they were able to make the playoffs but got knocked out in the quarterfinals to Svetislav Pesic and the FC Bayern Munchen Team in which Game 4 had to be re-played due to granted protest by Ludwigsburg.

Varga came back from retirement to re-join Horsens as a player for the 2014/15 season. However, In the playoffs he was appointed the responsibility to coach in the decisive Game 5 of the semifinals against Svendborg Rabbits, due to 1 game suspension of Head Coach Arnel Dedic. Horsens IC would win the game convincingly 87:71 on Home Court and Horsens IC went on to beat Bakken to win their 5th Championship.

Lukas then took the full-time Assistant Coaching Role for the next two season, in which Horsens won the Championship again in 2016, returned back to Finals in 2017 but could not complete the three-peat losing the series to Bakken 4:1.

In the summer of 2017, Varga took an offer from Swedish Club Södertälje Kings, where he would join Ludwig Degernäs as an Assistant Coach and they reached the Semifinals, losing to Lulea 2:4.

In 2018, Varga accepted his first Head Coaching job from Danish Club Svendborg Rabbits, in which he led his team to the Cup Final in 2019 losing to his former team Horsens IC still led by his mentor Arnel Dedic. The Team would go on and get knocked out by Randers Cimbria in 5 games of the Quarterfinals. The 2019/2020 would be aborted due the worldwide Covid-Crisis after which Varga decided to opt out of his contract with Svendborg to re-join Horsens IC as Head Coach.

In his first season as Horsens IC Head Coach, Lukas Varga would lead his team to two Silver Medals, losing the Cup Final to Bakken In Overtime 80:82 and also losing to Bakken Bears in the league Finals 2:4 although making a comeback in the series from being down 0:3

Under Varga's guidance Horsens IC would win a Bronze medal in 2021/22 season beating Randers Cimbria 99:96 on Home Floor.

In 2023 Varga was released by Horsens IC after having a 14-6 record in the first part of the season.

Shortly after, Varga re-joined Arnel Dedic as an Assistant coach for Estonian Club KK Rapla to finish the season.