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[QUOTE=goga78;572926]At least I was able to witness the 2007 run by his Russian NT 
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And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Zalgiris 17 times in a row.Comment
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As i remember, Israel Basketball Federation put in idiotic bureaucratic spokes in the wheel for David to get the israeli coaching diploma. Eventually, he chose the offer of our basketball federation,and i suppose he still doesn,t regret that eventually he chose our NT...Originally posted by auris1 View Post
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Kirilenko planning to join Russian National Team
Partial snips from the full article on The Salt Lake Tribune
Kirilenko feels optimistic, his mind is clear and his body has healed. The latter is key. After missing Utah’s final 10 games due to nagging injuries, the Russian native is healthy and plans to play for his home country in the 2011 European Basketball Championship. The tournament is scheduled from Aug. 31 to Sept. 18 in Lithuania.
“I feel pretty good,” said Kirilenko, who is set to fly back to Russia this week and doesn’t plan to return to the United States until August. “I was pretty close at the end of the year. But, obviously, we ended [the season] a little bit early.”Sacramento Kings
HERE WE STAY UNTIL THE COWBELLS COME HOMEComment
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blat will be watching PBL playoff games to look for candidates for nt
and Dinamo PG Hvostov will atend training camp even with youth team to get the palying form fasterComment
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Russia Can Do It Again, Says Kaun
Success comes in cycles. In basketball, as in life, rarely are the twin poles of joy and despair incessant.
Russia felt the elation when they swept to victory at EuroBasket 2007 in Spain, strangling the dreams of the hosts in the final.
Then, their power waned once more, back into the pack, wondering when the next surge would come.
Why not this year in Lithuania, Sasha Kaun asks? It is not a show of impatience from the CSKA Moscow centre, nor mere bravado.
Merely, he says, that there is no reason to discount the chance of a young squad which believes it can raise itself.
"Anything could happen," he states. Anything at all.
Mother Russia will march into the neighbouring Baltics in the hope of a bloodless conquest.
Theirs will be a team which is still headed towards its peak with totems like the Denver Nuggets' Timofey Mozgov approaching their best years.
Even if veteran duo JR Holden and Viktor Khryapa answer the call, the new generation, Kaun confirms, are motivated to surpass their predecessors.
"Especially considering that we didn't do as well as we wanted to at the (2010) World Championship. And we want to qualify for the Olympics next year."
The stars, perhaps, are aligning for Russia. Mozgov, liberated in mid-season from New York, has continued upon the promising break-out he enjoyed at last year's FIBA World Championship, announcing himself as a genuine NBA player.
"It's definitely helpful to have him getting that kind of experience," Kaun asserts. "He works hard. He's got better as he went along."
He might be joined by Andrei Kirilenko, the talisman of the triumph of four years ago, who has hinted strongly that he will re-join his country at a time when his decade-long spell with the Utah Jazz appears to be coming to an end.
"With him back, we're much stronger," Kaun adds.
Yet the biggest lift arguably arrived some months ago when David Blatt, the architect of '07, finally confirmed that he would remain as head coach.
Back for another run, chasing another European title, the Maccabi Tel Aviv playcaller has his team on side.
"He's a great coach," Kaun confirms.
"He has so many good tendencies, coming from the USA but also being a kind of adopted European as well.
"He's had so much success over the last few years, both with us internationally and also with his club teams. You saw this season with Maccabi how well they did to get to the Euroleague Final Four and then to the final. We're happy to have him back."
Kaun has an easy kinship with Blatt. Now into his third season with CSKA Moscow, the 26-year-old is a rarity: a Russian who 'defected' to the West before returning home.
Educated in high school in Florida, and then at the University of Kansas, the Tomsk-born giant has taken precious insights from each stop.
"You get the best of both worlds," he reveals. "I built up my body by playing in America. European basketball was then different. I had to become even smarter and learn the game more, how to position myself on the court and defensively."
The NBA scouts will watch him once more in Lithuania. His rights are currently held by the Cleveland Cavaliers who might hold an interest in his services.
Kaun will not rule out a second instalment of his American odyssey. "It's something I always look into," he admits.
"This year would be tough with the potential of a lock out. You can play more here. But if there were ever an opportunity, I'd consider it."
Pushing himself front and centre at the EuroBasket would broaden his fame.
Russia - in a first round group that includes 2009 semi-finalists Slovenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia - should expect nothing less than progress into the second phase.
One cycle at a time, Kaun counters. "There are a lot of good teams and you still have to win the game. Slovenia will definitely be strong. They have a good team. But you never know what to expect. Having the tournament expand to more teams makes it harder because you play so many games in a short period of time. You have to be ready."
If they weren't before, they are now.Comment
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Russia announced it's preliminar roster:
1st camp (15th of June)
1. Semyon Antonov ("Nizhniy Novgorod")
2. Dmitriy Golovin ("Nizhniy Novgorod")
3. Maksim Grigoryev ("Lokomotiv-Kuban")
4. Petr Gubanov ("Dinamo")
5. Vyacheslav Zaytsev ("Khimki")
6. Viktor Zvarykin ("Krasnye Krylya")
7. Aleksey Zozulin ("Spartak")
8. Vladimir Ivlev ("Dinamo")
9. Anatoliy Kashirov ("Aris")
10. Aleksandr Korchagin ("Spartak")
11. Aleksey Kotishevskiy ("Spartak")
12. Valeriy Likhodey ("Triumph")
13. Ivan Nelyubov ("VEF")
14. Denis Polokhin (CSKA)
15. Dmitriy Khvostov ("Dinamo")
16. Artem Yakovenko ("Nizhniy Novgorod").
2nd camp (15th of July)
1. Sergey Bykov (CSKA)
2. Andrey Vorontsevich (CSKA)
3. Yevgeniy Voronov ("Dinamo")
4. Aleksey Zhukanenko ("Dinamo")
5. Aleksandr Kaun (CSKA)
6. Viktor Keyru ("Dinamo")
7. Andrey Kirilenko ("Utah Jazz")
8. Timofey Mozgov ("Denver Nuggets")
9. Sergey Monya ("Khimki")
10. Anton Ponkrashov ("Spartak")
11. Vitaliy Fridzon ("Khimki")
12. John-Robert Holden (CSKA)
13. Viktor Khryapa (CSKA)
14. Aleksey Shved (CSKA).
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Good point now who's starting at PG. Ponkrashov and Shved both provide them with good passing and size, but I am not sure they can draw enough attention to open up defenses or take over the clutch shooting at times
G- Shved, Ponkrashov, Bykov
G- Fridzon, Keyru
These are the two questionable positions which could be partly resolved if McCarty can take over the place of the retired Holden as a naturalized player in the NT. Also, when it comes to the pure PG position, Khvostov can be an option now for the back up PG, moving Shved at SG (although I think he is more useful at PG)
F- Vorontsevich, Monya
F- Kirilenko, Khryapa
C- Kaun, Mozgov, Zhukanenko
These are the strong positionsSexuality when one reaches their 30s is either mainstream or sick, but no matter what, it isn't pureComment
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like usual Ryssia will be very physical team with some gritty hustle players - Kirilenko, Mozgov, Kaun. I'm not sure any european frontline will be able to match their intensity inside and physical play. Now the question mark are guards, which are not of the highest level and their shooting can go on and off depending on a moon phase. If everything is clicking, Russia can easily "upset" every favourite and repeat their 2007 performance
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It should be...
Ponkrashov - Bykov
Fridzon - Shved - Keyru
Kirilenko - Monya
Khryapa - Vorontsevich
Mozgov - Kaun - ZhukanenkoComment
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NO way man.With Holden gone,no matter how much they hustle,"clicking" is very unlikely to repeatOriginally posted by madmax View Postlike usual Ryssia will be very physical team with some gritty hustle players - Kirilenko, Mozgov, Kaun. I'm not sure any european frontline will be able to match their intensity inside and physical play. Now the question mark are guards, which are not of the highest level and their shooting can go on and off depending on a moon phase. If everything is clicking, Russia can easily "upset" every favourite and repeat their 2007 performanceAnd let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Zalgiris 17 times in a row.Comment
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I agree that they are less frightful without Holden, but good draw could help them get very far. Just like our team, we'll see who will use it better to their advantage. The match between the teams could be crucial for that reason, at it will probably decide which team will be at the top of the later group F and which at the bottom, getting tougher opponents in QF.
Afterall they were eliminated in QF of WC10 against USA, with only one game lost to that point. And they were without Kirilenko.Comment
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What about Dimitri Khostov?
he played great against USA last year and i hoped that he joined Real Madrid.
is not included in the final Russia roster?
Unbelievable.
he seemed better than Holden
what about his season in Dinamo?
greetingsComment
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Russian squad, after-first-cut version. 20 candidates left:
PG/SG/SF Anton Ponkrashov (CSKA)/ PG Dmitriy Khvostov (Khimki)/ PG/SG Maksim Grigoryev (Lokomotiv-Kuban)
SG Vitaly Fridzon (Khimki)/ SG/PG/SF Aleksey Shved (CSKA)/ SG/PG Sergey Bykov (Lokomotiv-Kuban)/ SG Evgeny Voronov (CSKA)/ SG/SF/PG Aleksey Zozulin (Spartak)/ SG/SF Viktor Keyru (Spartak)/ SG/PG Egor Vyaltsev (Khimki)
SF/PF Andrey Kirilenko (free agent)/ SF/PF/SG Sergey Monya (Khimki)/ SF/PF Valeriy Likhodey (Spartak) / SF/PF Semyon Antonov (Nizhny Novgorod)
PF/SF Viktor Khryapa (CSKA)/ PF/C/SF Andrey Vorontsevich (CSKA)/ PF/C Nikita Shabalkin (Lokomotiv-Kuban)
C Aleksandr Kaun (CSKA)/ C Timofey Mozgov (Denver Nuggets)/ C/PF Aleksey Zhukanenko (Khimki)Comment
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Russia started it's preparation, however without Kirilenko, Kaun and Khryapa. AK-47 should join the team on 27th of July, while Kaun and finally seems to be healthy Khryapa on 1st of August.
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