Ukraine and The Czar

I talked with ESPN correspondent Mark Woods about Ukraine’s performance at EuroBasket 2013 and the likelihood of seeing a European coach at the helm of an NBA team in the near future.

NEXT? EUROPEAN HEAD COACH IN NBA by Mark Woods

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Mike Fratello believes the time may have arrived to break down a barrier in the NBA and give a European a shot at becoming a head coach.

The former Atlanta, Memphis and Cleveland playcaller has spent the past two weeks pitting himself against some of the continent’s most accomplished tactical minds in his capacity in charge of Ukraine’s national team at EuroBasket.

Fratello, 66, prominent now during the NBA season as a broadcaster, has been traveling across the Atlantic in a basketball capacity for more than two decades, conducting clinics, sharing his knowledge and broadcasting games back to home.

But since his appointment with the Ukrainians in 2011, he’s gotten a firsthand insight into the abilities of his European counterparts. Read more…