Gregg Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball head coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. Pop, of Serbian origin, is a 1966 graduate of Merrillville High School and a 1970 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy . He played basketball for four seasons at the Academy, and in his senior year was the captain and the leading scorer. He graduated with his bachelors degree in Soviet Studies, and then served five years in the Air Force, during which he toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and played basketball with the U.S. Armed Forces Team. In 1972 he was named captain of the Armed Forces Team, which won the AAU championship; this earned him an invitation to the 1972 U.S. Olympic team training camp.