JR Holden

Even Russia
Another comeback try
David Blatt made a risky decision in agreeing to take over as coach of the Russian National Team. The drawn-out process of rebuilding the once great national side has already morphed Blatt’s new coaching position from desirable to repellent for local experts. But the American remembers the proverb - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Biggest EuroBasket Success

The basketball world tends to see Russia as the heir to the great teams of the Soviet Union, but it would be unfair to the current team if all the pressure and expectations of 14 EuroBasket titles were placed on their shoulders. A fantastic silver debut of the newly independent country at EuroBasket 1993 in Germany was undoubtedly worth its weight in gold. On the eve of the tournament nobody was predicting much for coach Yuri Selikhov’s side. The mix of almost unknown youths like Mikhail Mikhailov, Andrei Fetisov, Vasily Karasev and Sergei Panov plus the battle-hardened Sergei Bazarevich and Sergei Babkov didn’t look too attractive.  The first few games seemed to prove the skeptics right – even managing a loss to a mediocre Sweden team. But after their lethargic start, the Russians strangely enough caught fire. Their momentum grew and soon they became almost unstoppable and unexpectedly made the final by beating the reigning Olympic silver medalists from Croatia in the semifinals.  A last-second 71-70 loss at the hands of the hosts forced the Russians to end the tournament without a gold medal but with plenty of pride.

Biggest EuroBasket Disaster

EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade looked like it could be a coming out party for the Russian team. Three players from the NBA, a quartet of unselfish veterans plus newly-minted citizen and cat-quick combo guard JR Holden raised hopes of success for rookie coach Sergei Babkov and his team. Unfortunately, those high expectations were not to be realized. A quarter-final drama against Greece perfectly demonstrated the duality of the Russian team. Hard-nosed on the defensive end and limited on offense, the Russians didn’t shy away from the battle with the future European champions and even had a seven-point halftime lead. However, the lead was frittered away mainly due to the poor shot selection of Andrei Kirilenko, Viktor Khryapa and Holden. A loss to Lithuania would relegate the Russians to eighth place in the final standings.

Best Individual Performance/Best Player of All-Time

Sergei Belov was a member of the Soviet National Team for 14 years and led the USSR to gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics, four European and two World Championships. The final torchbearer at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Belov was the first European to be inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Known by some as “The Jerry West of Russia”, Belov was named the “Best European Player Ever” by FIBA and his impact on basketball history cannot be underestimated. The shooting guard of the future, Belov was way ahead of his time with his fabulous athletic abilities and “jack-of-all-trades” mentality. After finishing his playing career, Belov proved himself a successful coach bringing Russia two silver medals on the World Championship level (1994 and 1998) and EuroBasket bronze in 1997.

Scouting Report

With a thin frontcourt and no pure point guards with experience, the backbone of the Russians is defensive intensity. Few teams feature such a depth of defensive specialists like Kirilenko, Holden, Khryapa and Samoylenko, so Blatt will try to maximize their talents. There is also a fair amount of speed and athleticism on the roster but that’s where the good news ends.  A tendency to struggle on the boards can become a bigger issue on a cold shooting night which, by the way, can be expected from the Russians with their lack of shooters. However, Blatt’s decision to omit Fedor Likholitov illustrated his unwillingness to change course and a solid team rebounding effort is now vital for Russia. But what is most important is what Andre Kirilenko brings to the table after a down season in the NBA. In the past he has been criticized for falling in love with his less-then-reliable shooting stroke.

Likely Squad

You wouldn’t like to be in David Blatt’s shoes. It’s hard to have much confidence when two of your three stars are coming off their worst seasons ever. Andrei Kirilenko spent most of the regular season arguing with Utah coach Jerry Sloan because of his limited offensive role and finished with the lowest numbers of his NBA career. Viktor Khryapa has been buried on the end of the Chicago Bulls bench and moreover it seems that only the more stable CSKA duo of JR Holden and Alexei Savrasenko can cheer Blatt up a little. This year was awful for the likes of Sergei Monya, Yaroslav Korolev and Pavel Podkolzin while only decent for Petr Samoylenko, Sergei Bykov and Fedor Dmitriev. The latter trio certainly don’t have guaranteed tickets. The lone bright spots have been Nikita Shabalkin and Vitaly Fridzon, both of whom have yet to show the worth of their talent to Blatt.

Prediction

Reaching the semifinals would be too good to be true for Russia. Everybody knows there is little room for outsiders on the EuroBasket podium. Even to make the qualifying round, Russia must leave behind one of four teams of great ambition, vitality and talent in Greece, Serbia or Croatia. It’s a tough task for Mr. Blatt, who is still getting his feet wet with the Russian National Team.  With the big names coming off of horrible seasons and little progress for the younger players, Russia’s status on paper is much closer to “outsider” than “favourite”. Still, logic usually plays little part in the fortunes of Russia. The country will make it back eventually, so why not now?