Here’s to thinking Fratello will rely on past experience to guide his new team. His historical preference for grind-it-out defense is sure to mesh well with a big, physical Team Ukraine; the side is also blessed with lots of shot blocking at its disposal. Will the Czar be imagining past glories as he trains in Europe? To when in the past will he look while watching his players in the present? BallinEurope looks at some potential role models for Eurobasket 2011.

• Serhiy Gladyr

Current team: Basquet Manresa

Scouting report: “Gladyr is a 6’5” shooting guard with nice athletic ability … What makes Gladyr intriguing is his shooting: He’s one of the better pure shooters in the draft. His shooting numbers are not overwhelming (36% on three-pointers), but he clearly has a sweet-shooting stroke … [at 19 years old, he] already shows the ability to drill shots coming off screens. … He’s not strictly a shooter thanks to his athleticism and good ball-handling. Pretty nice handle where he loves to use his left hand, and has an effective crossover dribble. Did have some issues when trapped on pick-and-rolls … had some issues in general when a second defender approached him … Solid rebounder for a 2-guard … Sergiy is a pretty good athlete by Ukrainian League standards, but how he rates as a NBA athlete is hard to gauge. If he was a Top 10 scorer in Spain or Italy then I’d feel more assured of his potential.” (The Painted Area, June 2009)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: So now Sergiy is 21 and, while averaging 9.1 points per ACB game – second-highest on his team to Uros Slokar – doesn’t put him onto Spain’s top 10 scorers list, BiE thinks The Painted Area must be pleased with Gladyr’s progress. It seems Gladyr’s three-point shooting still underwhelms, as he averages 1.6-for-4.7 shooting beyond the arc per ACB game, good for right around – you guessed it – 35%. Nevertheless, the future looks bright for this Ukrainian; could an NBA draft selection be in his future…?

Role model: Dan Majerle, who Fratello himself may barely remember, as Deadly Dan played just a single season with the Cavaliers and started only 15 times. Like Majerle, Gladyr is noted for his ball-handling skills and is particularly difficult to stop (or to stop from shooting) anywhere on the floor if single-covered. As Majerle is today one of the relatively unsung heroes of those Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns teams of the 1990s, so would a sharpshooting Gladyr should Team Ukraine surprise.

• Oleksiy Pecherov

Current team: AJ Milano

Scouting report: “[Pecherov] has shown the ability to create his own shot off the dribble and pulls up quickly and efficiently, squares to the basket very well and gets vertical… Tough to guard close to the basket … Free throw shooting is excellent … High flyer … Good defender, has excellent foot speed, especially laterally … It is rare to find a player with his type of size, speed and strength combination … His passing ability has shown some improvement, but he lacks great vision to find teammates off the dribble … Must get a lot better at protecting the ball … Mental toughness has been a question for him in the past.” (Coast 2 Coast, January 2010)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: After missing two months due to injury, Pecherov is back on track with AJ Milano, playing over 20 minutes per game to score 10.6 and grab 6.2 boards per in Serie A play.

Role model: Fratello will certainly be looking for a Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a.k.a. “the best foreign player that I coached in terms of what he has achieved during his career,” and similarly to Big Z has enviable ball-handling skills for such a big guy (2.13 meters, or a sliver under 7’0”). For Pecherov’s sake, let’s hope Fratello can help him evolve that passing ability to Ilgauskasian levels. Or maybe the Czar should just play him like Hot Rod Williams … nah.

• Kyrylo Fesenko

Current team: Utah Jazz

Scouting report: “Blocks shots and rebounds pretty well … Likes to take the outside shot … Very green yet (Hoops Hype, mid-2009); “Best case: Andris Biedrins. Worst case: Mario Kasun.” (Draft Express, 2009)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: Touts who have been following this guy since at least 2005 would surely enjoy seeing some dividends paying off for the Jazz already. Unfortunately, this ultra-talented 24-year-old is buried on the Utah bench behind Al Jefferson and Mehmet Okur. Here’s to hoping that Fesenko gets a bit more than eight minutes’ worth of playing time for Team Ukraine in Eurobasket 2011 (he will) and thus gets more TV time.

Role model: Tree Rollins and Kevin Willis rolled into one. Talk about the evolution of the athlete in the 21st century: in their time with those then-superpowered Atlanta Hawks of Fratello, Rollins and Willis were huge. Now? Fesenko has 40 pounds (18.2 kilos) on either of those guys and he many still be growing, having added 30 pounds (13.6 kg) in the past three years. With a little mobility, Fesenko could be scary indeed.

• Serhiy Lishchuk

Current team: PE Valencia

Scouting report: “Serhiy Lishchuk, the top shot-blocker this season in the Eurocup, is a major part of Azovmash having given itself a chance to qualify [for the final eight round]. The 26-year-old power forward has been the most distracting defensive presence in the competition, averaging 1.6 blocks over the first 11 games this season. In the Last 16, when Azovmash needed it most, Lishchuk elevated his game even higher, scoring 12.2 points per game, second on the team, while remaining a force on the defensive end with 1.8 blocks on average.” (Eurocup, March 2009)

What he’s doing in 2010-11: In his second season with Valencia, Lishchuk is seeing less court time at about 17.0 minutes a game but is contributing 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds perRole model: One of the few bright spots in Fratello’s tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies was the emergence of Shane Battier not only a double-digit point-scorer but as a classic do-it-all contributor, a player whose importance was magnified on defense and mostly kept off the stats. While Lishchuk brings a game dissimilar to Battier’s, the 28-year-old is bound to have a magnified role in terms of court time but will mostly be key to the half-court defense.

• Maksym Pustozvonov

Current team: Azovmash Mariupol

Scouting report: “Excellent small forward, who can also play position 4. Can play pick-and-roll at either position with the ball and as a screener. Very good outside shooter…” (BeoBasket, July 2010); “One of the key players of BC Kiev … nailed 13.3 ppg in Eurochallenge and 13.6 in the Ukrainian Superleague.” (Sportando, July 2010).

What he’s doing in 2010-11: Pustozvonov had a decent campaign with Azovmash in Eurocup play this season, producing steady double-digit performances in six games and shooting 47.2% overall. In Ukrainian play, Pustozvonov has been good for 9.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game on 43.6% overall shooting.

Role model: Danny Ferry. But wait, before you form the lynch mob in Cleveland: Consider Ferry’s Duke days when he could shoot from anywhere and still crash the boards. Plus, like it or not, Ferry’s most productive years came during Fratello’s reign as head coach there. In 1995-96 and 1996-97, Ferry was typically used as a starter and was encouraged to shoot frequently; Ferry managed 46% shooting on twos in his best year with Fratello, but nevertheless increased his rebounds, assists and steals to almost acceptable levels in those seasons. Visualize Pustozvonov as a potential-realized Ferry…

In 16 seasons with the Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, Albert compiled a 666-542 record in the regular season plus a 20-42 mark in 11 playoff appearances.

Though his two-plus years with the Grizzlies ran from 2004 to 2007, Fratello has been more well-known for his television work since at least 2000, typically teaching up with Marvelous Marv on American TV.

Volkov played for Fratello’s Hawks in two seasons, averaging 6.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16.5 minutes played per game

Team Ukraine will be playing in its first-ever Eurobasket tournament this summer in Lithuania, qualifying for the round of 24 by dint of FIBA Europe’s decision to expand the former tournament of 16 by invite.

Press release follows.

(Sports Features) – Former NBA coach Mike Fratello will lead Ukraine at the EuroBasket this summer in Lithuania.

Fratello, the former boss of the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies who turned 64 on Thursday, has reached agreement on a deal with Ukraine’s basketball federation and will sign a contract in the coming days.

Olexandr Volkov, who once played for Fratello and the Hawks, is the president of the Ukrainian Basketball Federation and he said: “We have a verbal agreement and will sign an official contract any day now.

“This will be a short-term deal to prepare the team for EuroBasket 2011.

“Mike might arrive in Ukraine next week to introduce his coaching staff and to tell everyone about his plan.

“The national team is expected to start practicing in early July.”

Fratello was a celebrated coach in the NBA who has become even more famous in the United States as an NBA analyst for television where he has earned the nickname the ‘Czar of the Telestrator’.

Valeriy Kondratiev, Ukraine Basketball Federation Vice President and president of club side, BC Dnipro, said: “We’ve been in contact with Mike for quite a while over the phone and it’s great that this meeting has allowed us to finally agree on the deal.

“A coach of this caliber will head the national team for the first time in history and with Mike’s experience and talent, we’ll be able to expect to at least advance from the group.”

Ukraine will play in Group D with Slovenia, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria and Georgia.

Citing health reasons and poor performance by the team in this year’s FIBA EuroChallenge competition, team co-founder Diadechko posted a statement announcing his course of action last night following the final EuroChallenge game involving Donetsk.

It appears not even interim coach Drazen Anzulovic, who hurriedly took over after the Ramunas Butautas experiment exploded in Donetsk’s faces, will be spared the ax in the house-cleaning measure.

Diadechko is currently in hospital, recovering from illness first suffered “last week after feeling unwell following the team’s 92-81 defeat at Enisey Krasnoyarsk.”

The quartet is comprised of group winners UNICS Kazan and CSKA Moscow plus runners-up Khimki Moscow region and Zalgiris Kaunas. Though Kaunas and Moscow both posted 5-1 records in the pool play portion of the season, CSKA took the group based on point differential earned in the October opener with a 90-74 win over the Lithuanian squad.

Teams eliminated as of the final games this weekend were Kalev Tallinn, VEF Riga, Azovmash and Mariupol Donetsk.

Beyond homecourt advantage, the Zalgiris club is also hoping to sell locals on various Lithuanian connections in the Final Four’s other three teams such as Kazan head coach Valdemaras Chomičius and his former Zalgiris/Team Lithuania player Saulius Štombergas; national teamer Robertas Javtokas with Khimki; and of course Ramunas Šiškauskas.

Tickets for the VTB Final Four are available here.

Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu is currently displaying all his negotiation and lobbying charms in order to get the teams and leagues at one table in order to finalize the qualification system for the Euroleague. It looks like the system with A/B/C licenses as has been proposed will end up as part of a compromise solution before month’s end. It’s time to clarify the situation, as most European domestic leagues have come to an end, with GMs and executives wanting to know in which competition they will play next season.

According to the proposed model, besides the already predefined A License teams, the fate of the B-Licenses is still undetermined. And this is not only the case because of continuing playoffs in Germany, Belgium and France.

One of the main points is that, with the integration of an eight-team qualification round, Euroleague candidates next season will increase from 24 to 30. And not only the number of teams increases, the number of participating countries grows, too. With this new “dynamic system,” as it is called by the Euroleague, up to 18 national champions can play the competition. But what happens if these national champions (or other B License candidates) cannot fulfill Euroleague infrastructure rules, particularly the 5000-seat arena? We checked with the Euroleague Media Office, who gave us a pretty clear answer on this issue.

Teams from the Qualification Round need to fulfill the same criteria in terms of arena capacity as Euroleague Regular Season teams. If a team does not find an Arena suitable for its participation in the Qualification Round, the License will go to the next team in the Ranking.

When we talk about Rankings, it always means Ranking referring to country and not domestic Ranking. So the License will go to the next Country and not the next team in the domestic Ranking.

This is quite important, as it means that if a team qualified in a given country cannot fulfill the rules the Euroleague has set, the License will be lost by the country and goes to next country in the Euroleague internal league ranking, which has been released officially today. Right now, there are already several potential Euroleague candidates that don’t have the necessary arena size.

The third-place finisher in the Greek championship, Maroussi, is a B-License candidate but cannot fulfill the criteria to earn the license, as reports Talkbasket. A GM leaving the club, a 1200-seat arena and too few fans are not really speaking in favor of the team from Athens. If Maroussi does not get these issues straightened out, the license originally owned by Greece will move downwards to the next league in the ranking.

Belgium is one country earning a Euroleague Qualification Round spot through this new system; the Belgian finals are currently going on in Belgium between Spirou Charleroi and Dexia Mons-Hainaut. While Charleroi has all the necessary tools to play in the Euroleague, the story is different in Mons, as explained GM Thierry Wilquin to BallinEurope yesterday.

The most important thing is to know how this new system works. This has not been revealed officially so far. I think that the size of the arena should not matter, having a small but packed arena (Dexia Mons-Hainaut has a 3700-seat arena) is of course more attractive than a half-empty 5000-seat gym. We have not analyzed the criteria so far as we are currently not in the situation to play the Euroleague. But if we win the title, we will of course do everything to accept the honor to play in the best competition.

Wilquin seems to be ready to do anyything if Mons wins the championship. However, the arena problem is major for the Belgian team, as there are no alternatives available in the surrounding area.

Similar is the case of the Latvian champion BK Ventspils. The Latvians know already that they will be in the qualification round of the Euroleague, but their own arena has only 3000 seats. Will they move to Riga? Will they decline the license? Still to be determined. For Ukrainian champions Azovmash Mariupol, the arena may also become an issue in earning the Euroleague license.

Today, another Euroleague team announced a major change in their structure as Prokom Sopot moves to Gdynia. The transfer will be only 10 kilometers, but it’s an important move for the Polish team, as Gdynia has always been the home of Polish women’s basketball team Lotos Gdynia. The main asset of Gdynia is, of course, the 5000-seat arena, a major improvement for a team that once played in the old Hala Olivia.

As you can see, it is far from set which teams will compete next season in the Euroleague. We will keep you updated as various country representatives speak out officially on this subject.

Maybe it was not enough this season, as Donetsk lost in the finals against Azovmash, but the team made a huge bang in Ukraine in beating the highly touted BC Kyiv in the semis. BallinEurope asked a Ukrainian expert how it is possible that a team that nobody really knew before this season can reach this level of competition. Here is what Alexander told us:

The question of having such a good team until now has a simple explanation: BC Donetsk management around Serhi Diadechko made a good decision according to the rules of a real businessman. When crisis came, BC Donetsk sacrificed half of its front office, canceled some youth teams, but was able to save the roster.

In fact, as BC Kyiv and other teams in Ukraine released all of their foreigners during the season, Donetsk could stay with Demetrius Alexander, Chris Owens, P.J. Tucker, Andres Rodriguez and Miludin Aleksic, and therefore took the  deeper roster into the semifinals. Azovmash could guard their main foreigners throughout the season, too, so the two strongest teams finally reached the finals. I won’t comment whether that is the right way to handle financial slowdowns, but in the end, it was the correct short-term decision for the team.

Now, a lot will depend on how the financial crisis impacts the Ukrainian teams for next season. It is imaginable that the team around Bubka invests more money, as the new Euroleague qualification system will give Ukrainian teams opportunities to get a spot in the best competition in Europe.

Bubka was already highly involved in the wild card spot that BC Donetsk got for this year’s edition of the FIBA EuroChallenge; the team was eliminated in the first qualification round by the Cypriot team of Proteas EKA AEL, however.

With the win in Finland this weekend, Italy will determine its own fate as to whether the team finishes second in their group. The decisive game will be played this Wednesday at home against Bulgaria, in which Italy must win by at least 2 points to take any potential tiebreaker with Bulgaria in the final standings. This scenario is quite possible, as Bulgaria’s final game in the group phase is against Serbia; Bulgaria could fall back into third place with two consecutive defeats.

The injury of Filip Videnov further hurts the team, as the Bulgarian roster is particularly shorthanded at guard, with only Videnov and Jaaber playing consequential minutes. So it will be the game of the year for Italy this Wednesday in Torino, as a defeat would mean that they must enter the additional qualifying round next summer; on the other hand, this would not necessary be a disadvantage, with the team coming out of this round to be particularly fired up.

In Group B, the top two finishers have already been determine. Presently, Latvia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have two games each against other pool opponents to win the top spot in direct qualifying. Should the teams have the same number of victories, the tiebreaker goes to FYROM over Latvia by 1 point.

In Group C, France has a super important game on Wednesday against Ukraine; the team must win in order to remain in the race for second place. Turkey already looks like the sure winner of the group, and by beating Belgium at home can secure them first place. So all eyes will be on France and Ukraine, with both teams still competing for that precious second place.

The last group is still very open and current leaders Great Britain can qualify for Eurobasket 2009 by going for one more win; the team plays its last two games against their direct opponents. The difficulty of the task is that the games are abroad; plus, both the Czech Republic and Bosnia-Herzegovina are known as tough places to win a game. And the real misery in the Great Britain story is that, since GB only beat Israel by less than 11 points, two defeats could mean a last-place finish in the group.

When I go over these names, it remembers me a bit of the Polish Euroleague team Prokom Trefl Sopot and their crazy summer signings of 2007. Don’t remember? Well, they signed Travis Best, Milan Gurovic, Ruben Wolkowyski, DaJuan Wagner and Thomas van den Spiegel.

The results turned in by Sopot in the Euroleague were poor. Not only did they played some of the worst games in the whole competition, they managed to win just four games in the season. And these came after the roster was completely rebuilt and the stars departed.

I don’t wish the Ukrainians the same destiny, but these new signings remind me of the assemblage of stars that happened in Poland last year. We’ll see if coach Memi Becirovic manages to build a real team out of these guys. At least Becirovic has one quality last fall’s Prokom Trefl coach lacked: He speaks English.

The champions of the respective countries may be found in bold when the final is already decided. And the MVP cited is the Finals MVP, if such an award has been given.

Albania: ?

Austria: Fürstenfeld Panthers 3-2 Oberwart Gunners

Belarus: Vitalyur Minsk 3-0 OZAA Osipovichi

Belgium: Spirou Charleroi 3-0 Euphony Bree

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Bosna Sarajevo 2-1 Igokea Partizan Aleksandrovac

Bulgaria: Lukoil Academic 3-0 Balkan Botevgrad

Croatia: Zadar 3-2 KK Split

Cyprus: Keravnos 3-2 Apoel Nicosia

Czech Republic: Nymburk 4-1 Geofin

Denmark: Bakken Bears 4-0 Svendborg Rabbits

Estonia: Tartu Rock 4-0 BC Kalev (MVP: Brian Cusworth)

Finland: Honka Playboys 3-1 Kouvot Kouvola (MVP: Akeem Scott)

France: SLUC Nancy 1-0 Chorale de Roanne (MVP: Jeff Greer)

FYR Macedonia: Feni Industrija 4-3 Strumica

Georgia: Energy Rustavi 3-1 Avia Tblisi

Germany: ALBA Berlin 3-1 Telekom Baskets Bonn (MVP: Julius Jenkins)

Greece: Panathinaikos 3-2 Olympiakos

Hollang: Myguide Amsterdam 4-3 Eiffel Towers (MVP: Peter van Paassen)

Hungary: Falco Szombathely 3-1 Kormend

Iceland: Kevflavik 3-0 Snaefell (MVP: Gunnar Einarson)

Ireland: Abrakebabra Tralee Tigers 1-0 DART Killester (MVP: Michael Quirke)

Israel: Hapoel Holon 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Italy: Montepaschi Siena 4-1 Lottomatica Roma (MVP: Terrell McIntyre)

Kosovo: Sigal Prishtina 3-2 BC Peja

Latvia: Barons/LMT Riga 4-1 ASK Riga (MVP: Armands Skele)

Lithuania: Zalgiris Kaunas 4-1 Lietuvos Rytas (MVP: Marcus Brown)

Luxembourg: Sparta Bertrange 2-0 Musel Pikes (MVP: Larrie Smith)

Malta: BUPA Luxol 2-1 Compleet IS

Moldova: ?

Montenegro: Buducnost Podgorica 3-0 Mogren Budva

Norway: Asker Aliens 3-0 Harstad Vikings

Poland: Prokom Trefl Sopot 4-3 Turow Zgorzelec

Portugal: Ovarense Aerosoles 4-3 FC Porto Ferpinta (MVP: Graham Brown)

Romania: CSU Asesoft Ploesti 4-3 UMobitelco Cluj

Russia: CSKA Moscow 3-0 Khimky Moscow (MVP: JR Holden)

Scotland: Edinburgh Kings

Serbia: Partizan Belgrade 3-1 Hemofarm Vrsac

Slovakia: Pezinok 3-1 Inter Bratislava

Slovenia: Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 Helios Domzale

Spain: TAU Cerimca Vitoria 3-0 AXA FC Barcelona (MVP: Pete Mickeal)

Sweden: Solna Vikings 3-0 Sundsvall Dragons

Switzerland: Benetton Fribourg 3-0 Lugano Tigers

Turkey: Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul 4-1 Türk Telekom Ankara

Ukraine: Azovmash Mariupol 3-1 BC Kyiv (MVP: Robert Archibald)

United Kingdom: Guildford Heat 1-0 Milton Keynes Lions

Aside from all champions and runners-up, it’s always nice to hear the names of teams I am not that familiar with and of course, I have my favorites: the Svendborg Rabbits and the Abrakebabra Tigers Tralee.