He is according to Mike Barret, but that's forgetting Viktor "the next Schrempf" Khryapa, born in Kiev. While he may play for the Russians now, he was born in what is now Ukraine. On such a crappy ('cause of the water, get it? ) night, do we have to conceded the title of NBA's 1st Ukrainian to the Jazz as well? I say we take it back - long live Viktor Khryapa!
in all seriousness, we could've used his hustle tonight. looks like he's put on a bit of weight since his time here though
Actually it's neither. First Ukrainian was Alex Volkov. He was born there and played in the NBA when it was still the USSR. http://nbahoopsonline.com/History/internationalplayers.html
Anyone who followed the Sonics knows that the Ukraine Train was one tough looking hombre. Vitaly Potapenko, the 12th pick in the 1996 draft by Cleveland, played 4 1/2 years in Seattle of his 10+ year career. He averaged 22 mpg in 65 games in 2003-04. In his career, this ruggedly handsome monstrous mountain of a Moldavian molehill had almost 12,000 minutes, 4000 points, and 3000 rebounds. Don't talk about his stats or he might hit you.
Ukraine declared its independence from the USSR on August 24, 1991. Given that Volkov and Potapenko and Khryapa and Fesenko were ALL born before that date, it's arguable that we're still waiting for our first Ukrainian in the NBA. At least our first non-Soviet Ukrainian... Ed O.
