Ukraine has taken part in three of the last four European championships but has always failed to make it past the first round. The 2003 tournament was particularly disappointing as the national team lost all three of its games. With the retirement of key figures from the late 90’s a new generation of talented Ukrainian players has now taken over and will try to beat the odds in a very competitive group A.

Youth will be served for Ukraine this summer. Not a single player aged thirty or over will be on the roster for EuroBasket 2005. The first list of potential candidates published by Hennadiy Zaschuk even featured a large number of players from the U20 squad that played in Chekhov, Russia, in early July.

		Sasha Volkov

The godfather of Ukrainian basketball, Alexander Volkov, attended the event. At 41 years old, the former NBA player and gold medalist with the USSR back in 1988 is a major figure within European basketball. A member of the board of FIBA Europe, he’s also the president of domestic champion BC Kyiv and the vice-president of the Ukrainian Federation. Volkov came back from Russia a bit depressed about the results of Ukraine. The U20 team could only manage two wins against the the Czech Republic and was relegated to Division B. Fortunately, the U18 did the exact opposite, earning promotion to Division A.

Ukraine needs its youngsters to shine as a generation of marquee players will not wear the national team jersey in Serbia & Montenegro. Among them is the yellows’ leading scorer from the last two European championships, center Oleksandr Okunskyy. The frontline has taken a hard hit as shot-blocking specialist Grygorii Khizhniak and power forward Oleksandr Lokhmanchuk, familiar figures for fans, are also missing from the squad.

		Stanislav Medvedenko

After a nine year NBA career, center Vitaliy Potapenko has long forgotten what it felt to play in an international competition. But coach Hennadiy Zaschuk eventually caught a break when Los Angeles Lakers’ Slava Medvedenko announced he was ready to play in this year’s EurBasket after a five year absence. His sole presence in the paint will give Ukraine a confidence boost and a great go to guy that will surely attract the attention of opposing squads. His association with Serhiy Lishchuk sounds very promising. The Memphis Grizzlies second round draft pick in 2004 spent part of the summer in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach. The second leading scorer and rebounder of the U20 European Championship in 2002 did not enjoy as good as a year as he had last season but still has a lot of talent and was particularly impressive during last September’s EuroBasket qualifying round. The Lishcuk-Medvedenko duo will lead a group of players coming mainly from the local Superleague. Something quite rare for Eastern European countries.

This year, the Ukrainian teams enjoyed a lot of success in European cups. BC Kyiv reached the final of the FIBA Europe League and Azovmash Mariupol the quarterfinals. The two of them lost to eventual champion Dynamo St. Petersburg and later met in the Superleague finals. Kyiv cruised in the playoffs, sweeping every opponent on its way to the title. An impressive feast but it has to be noted that not a single point was scored by an Ukrainian player in the third game of the finals ! Even the coach and the manager are foreigners. The same thing can be said of Mariupol who relied mainly on former NBA players Art Long and William Avery.

		Serhiy Lishchuk

As a result, it is players coming from lesser known squads that will play a big role in Serbia & Montenegro. If the preparation games played against Poland are of any indication, the inside game will be a strong point for Ukraine. Behind Medvedenko and Lishchuk, Volodymyr Gurtovyy should be more than just a back-up. One of the most efficient players in the Superleague will be looking to explode onto the European scene. He torched the Polish defense for 40 points in two games in late July. One other option could be young prospect Oleksiy Pecherov. On NBA scouts’ radar for the last few years he had a strong showing at the U20 championship and was simply dominat at the Global Games in Texas, leading the international tournament in points and rebounds.

On the wings, coach Zaschuk has a big worry with Artur Drozdov. The talented forward played the French playoffs with a nagging groin injury. Weeks later, he was not sure whether or not he would be able to be at 100% for EuroBasket. His absence would be very damaging as he was the second leading scorer of the team during the last EuroBasket and the qualifying games. Nikolay Khryapa, the brother of Portland Traiblazers’ rookie Viktor, is also a spectacular forward but is coming off a disappointing season in Russia. The quality of guard play will be a key as a point guard Oleksandr Rayevskyy will have a lot of pressure trying to get the ball to his talented frontline.

Still, it remains to be seen if Ukraine can be competitive against top European competition. They made Eurobasket with a 3-3 record in the qualifying round and Germany had no mercy during their two encounters, winning by 20 and 26 points. The Germans will be in the same group again in Vrsac, along with Olympic silver medalist Italy and an ambitious Russia. A group that will make it difficult for Ukraine to qualify for the elimination games.