101 Greats of European Basketball

had as a superstar, he had an even greater reason to
stay: Paquita Torres, Miss Spain of 1968. Their marriage
was on the cover of many newspapers and raised a lot
of interest back in the day.
After his great career as a player, Luyk would start another
as a coach. He worked from 1978 to 1981 with the
Real Madrid junior team and during that stint, his team
never lost a game. After that, he was an assistant coach
for Lolo Sainz during six seasons (1983 to 1989) and
for another year with George Karl (1989-90). Luyk left
Real Madrid to be the coach of Atletico Madrid Villalba
in 1990-91 and Murcia in 1991-92. He came back to Real
Madrid as head coach and won two Spanish Leagues,
a national cup and a Saporta Cup. What he had won so
many times as a player, the European crown, he would
lose in 1993 to Limoges in Athens, in a game marked
by low scoring (59-55). Points that, on a good day, Luyk
would have scored by himself as a player.
Clifford Luyk
Intercontinental Cups. The two naturalized Americans
formed a great duo and set an example for everyone.
Luyk’s performance in Europe caught the attention
of several teams in the NBA and the ABA, especially
after a friendly game in 1968. Luyk scored 26 points
against the Cincinnati Royals, but the attempts to take
him back to the States always clashed with Luyk’s desire
to stay in Madrid. Apart from all the privileges he
101 greats of european basketball
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