This is about the last third of an article from ESPN Insider (premium service). The piece is filled with Cold War-like stereotypes about Russia and Russians, but does have some interesting information about Russian basketball players, and how some Russians don't want their players going to the NBA (article snip begins now):
That's not to suggest that Russia isn't producing NBA prospects. Far from it. It's just that most scouts aren't adventurous enough to travel to Russia to find them. Scouting Russia is almost impossible for non-Russians. The clubs are small and spread out and there aren't reliable schedules to narrow down who is playing where.
"I think Russia is producing the best basketball players of any European country at the moment," said one scout who spent more than a month in Russia this year. "People just don't know about them. The basketball clubs are so disorganized it's tough to keep track of who's who and who's where. But there are NBA-quality players over here, scouts just don't know how to find them."
At the Euroleague junior tournament in Moscow, NBA scouts were blown away by CSKA's junior team. A 7-foot, 17-year-old center, Anatoly Kashirov, came out of nowhere (I only met one scout who had ever seen him before) to score 25 points and grab eight rebounds in just 24 minutes for CSKA. Kashirov's fundamentals and poise in the post are staggering for someone his age.
Afterwards, scouts were a little disappointed to hear that Kashirov had the game of a lifetime, and he's normally less impressive.
Another 17-year-old, Yaroslav Korolev, looked like a young Tayshaun Prince out there. The 6-9 forward with long arms was as complete a player as you can find at his age. The son of a former CSKA player, Korolev is off the charts fundamentally. He can handle the ball and shoot the 3-pointer, and made a couple of perfect no-look passes.
Almost every Russian on the junior team was quicker, stronger and more athletic than your typical European prospect.
"As Russia continues to mature, they have the potential to make a major impact on the NBA," said Ronzone, who's done extensive scouting in Russia. "Andrei Kirilenko is just the beginning. He was found by accident, too. As the Russian league gets more sophisticated and scouts start coming here more, I think you'll start seeing a lot of Russians in the NBA. There's just too much talent here to ignore."
Kirilenko, who is in Moscow for the Final Four, agreed.
<DIV =phinline>
<DIV style="WIDTH: 195px">
<DIV =photosubtext>Monya is a Blazers' draftee who sees little action with CSKA Moscow.
"The NBA is just now discovering Russia. There are many good players here," he said. "They just have to keep focused on getting better, and not on the NBA. We still have room for improvement, but you can see that the raw talent is there."
Tapping it has proven difficult. Russian teams have been reluctant to let scouts see their young players and even more reluctant to let them go to the NBA.
But they aren't the only ones.
Insider had breakfast on Friday with Euroleague president Jordi Bertomeu and a small group of international journalists. One area of major concern was the growing influence of the NBA abroad, the strip-mining of European junior leagues by scouts, and the influx of Americans that could be coming to Europe this summer if the league imposes another lockout.
Several international journalists were outspoken about their beliefs that America and the NBA was diluting the sport in Europe.
While Bertomeu and the Euroleague have had a long and prosperous relationship with the NBA, he doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic about the league's plans to eventually plant franchises in Europe, nor was he thrilled that so many of Europe's youngest prospects are leaving early for the NBA.
However, Bertomeu is a realist. The NBA has helped generate interest in the sport, and he pledged to keep working with the league on its <!it's-->newest initiatives to start holding training camps and more preseason games in Europe. He's also lifted Euroleague restrictions on the number of Americans who can be on a Euroleague roster. Before, each team was limited to two. Now, in what Bertomeu calls an "open border" policy, there are no restrictions. In theory, CSKA could have a team of 12 Americans if it desired.
That's unlikely. But it's clear the Euroleague is changing and adapting to the challenges and opportunities of globalization.
And so is Russia.
It seeks to have large international sporting events held in Moscow and worked for several years to get the Euroleague Final Four played here.
"This is more than a sports competition full of tension," Bertomeu said. "It is is also the moment to get together to talk and share our ideas."
Alexander Gomelskiy, the president of CSKA and a legendary Russian coach who led CSKA to its last European title in 1971, has an even bigger goal in mind - the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.
"I think this is confirmation of the sporting significance of our capital," Gomelskiy said. "I am very glad for the changes that have occurred over the last few years. ... Everything has changed [in Russia]."
And the Euroleague and the world has not let it go without notice.
That's not to suggest that Russia isn't producing NBA prospects. Far from it. It's just that most scouts aren't adventurous enough to travel to Russia to find them. Scouting Russia is almost impossible for non-Russians. The clubs are small and spread out and there aren't reliable schedules to narrow down who is playing where.
"I think Russia is producing the best basketball players of any European country at the moment," said one scout who spent more than a month in Russia this year. "People just don't know about them. The basketball clubs are so disorganized it's tough to keep track of who's who and who's where. But there are NBA-quality players over here, scouts just don't know how to find them."
At the Euroleague junior tournament in Moscow, NBA scouts were blown away by CSKA's junior team. A 7-foot, 17-year-old center, Anatoly Kashirov, came out of nowhere (I only met one scout who had ever seen him before) to score 25 points and grab eight rebounds in just 24 minutes for CSKA. Kashirov's fundamentals and poise in the post are staggering for someone his age.
Afterwards, scouts were a little disappointed to hear that Kashirov had the game of a lifetime, and he's normally less impressive.
Another 17-year-old, Yaroslav Korolev, looked like a young Tayshaun Prince out there. The 6-9 forward with long arms was as complete a player as you can find at his age. The son of a former CSKA player, Korolev is off the charts fundamentally. He can handle the ball and shoot the 3-pointer, and made a couple of perfect no-look passes.
Almost every Russian on the junior team was quicker, stronger and more athletic than your typical European prospect.
"As Russia continues to mature, they have the potential to make a major impact on the NBA," said Ronzone, who's done extensive scouting in Russia. "Andrei Kirilenko is just the beginning. He was found by accident, too. As the Russian league gets more sophisticated and scouts start coming here more, I think you'll start seeing a lot of Russians in the NBA. There's just too much talent here to ignore."
Kirilenko, who is in Moscow for the Final Four, agreed.
<DIV =phinline>
<DIV style="WIDTH: 195px">
<DIV =photosubtext>Monya is a Blazers' draftee who sees little action with CSKA Moscow.
"The NBA is just now discovering Russia. There are many good players here," he said. "They just have to keep focused on getting better, and not on the NBA. We still have room for improvement, but you can see that the raw talent is there."
Tapping it has proven difficult. Russian teams have been reluctant to let scouts see their young players and even more reluctant to let them go to the NBA.
But they aren't the only ones.
Insider had breakfast on Friday with Euroleague president Jordi Bertomeu and a small group of international journalists. One area of major concern was the growing influence of the NBA abroad, the strip-mining of European junior leagues by scouts, and the influx of Americans that could be coming to Europe this summer if the league imposes another lockout.
Several international journalists were outspoken about their beliefs that America and the NBA was diluting the sport in Europe.
While Bertomeu and the Euroleague have had a long and prosperous relationship with the NBA, he doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic about the league's plans to eventually plant franchises in Europe, nor was he thrilled that so many of Europe's youngest prospects are leaving early for the NBA.
However, Bertomeu is a realist. The NBA has helped generate interest in the sport, and he pledged to keep working with the league on its <!it's-->newest initiatives to start holding training camps and more preseason games in Europe. He's also lifted Euroleague restrictions on the number of Americans who can be on a Euroleague roster. Before, each team was limited to two. Now, in what Bertomeu calls an "open border" policy, there are no restrictions. In theory, CSKA could have a team of 12 Americans if it desired.
That's unlikely. But it's clear the Euroleague is changing and adapting to the challenges and opportunities of globalization.
And so is Russia.
It seeks to have large international sporting events held in Moscow and worked for several years to get the Euroleague Final Four played here.
"This is more than a sports competition full of tension," Bertomeu said. "It is is also the moment to get together to talk and share our ideas."
Alexander Gomelskiy, the president of CSKA and a legendary Russian coach who led CSKA to its last European title in 1971, has an even bigger goal in mind - the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.
"I think this is confirmation of the sporting significance of our capital," Gomelskiy said. "I am very glad for the changes that have occurred over the last few years. ... Everything has changed [in Russia]."
And the Euroleague and the world has not let it go without notice.
