BC UNICS

BC UNICS
BC UNICS
Leagues	VTB United League; EuroCup Basketball
Founded	1991
History	BC UNICS; (1991–present)
Arena	Basket-Hall Kazan
Capacity	7,482
Location	Kazan, Russia
Team colors	Green, White;
President	Yevgeny Bogachev
Team manager	Valery Kolesnikov
Head coach	Dimitrios Priftis
Championships	1 EuroCup; 3 Russian Cups; 1 North European League; 1 EuroChallenge
Website	unics.ru
Uniforms
Home	Away

BC UNICS (Russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League and EuroCup. Their home arena is Basket-Hall Kazan.

Though officially the club's men's professional club was founded in 1991, (when it first began to play in the lowest level of the national pro leagues), UNICS traces its origins back to KSU's college team Burevestnik, which participated in the USSR student championships from 1957, and won the all-Soviet college title twice – in 1965 and 1970. Because of this, the name 'UNICS' is quite an abbreviation – UNI(versity), C(ulture), S(port).

In 1997, UNICS was promoted to the Russian Basketball Super League A, which was, at the time, the top-tier level Russian league. A year later, Yevgeny Bogachev, the chairman of the National Bank of the Tatarstan, became the president of the club.

History

UNICS has gone a long way towards helping Russian basketball since the club was established in 1991. Between 1994 and 1997, UNICS secured a berth in Russia's first division, and then made a smashing debut, establishing itself among the top five teams in the country. UNICS had already played in European competitions in 1997, but the new millennium happened to be a turning point for the club. The team placed second to CSKA in the Russian Basketball Super League in 2001 and 2002, the year in which it also reached the Saporta Cup semifinals, losing against the Greek club Maroussi in the semifinals. UNICS' first title was the Russian Cup in March 2003, with an electrifying 81–82 overtime victory over CSKA. UNICS' fans did not have to wait long to see their team win a European title, too. Kazan hosted the FIBA Europe League final four, which was eventually named the FIBA EuroChallenge, in April 2004, and UNICS made sure of its opportunity. UNICS signed Saulius Štombergas, Eurelijus Žukauskas, and Chris Anstey, and then won its regular season group, and advanced to the final four, which was held on its own floor, and where the club was crowned the FIBA Europe League champions. The MVP of the tournament's final four, Martin Müürsepp, scored 22 points, in an 87–63 win over Maroussi, in the title game. By the 2005–06 season, UNICS went one level up, and made its ULEB Cup (later named EuroCup) debut, where they tied the best regular season record in the competition's history. However, things turned south quickly, as UNICS lost at home against Roma, for the only time all season, in the tournament's eighth finals’ second leg, and crashed out earlier than expected. UNICS got stronger for the next season, keeping the core group of the previous season's side, while adding Darjuš Lavrinovič to reunite with his twin brother Kšyštof Lavrinovič, in a twin-towers set full of talent. The team made it to the ULEB Cup semifinals, before losing to the eventual league champs Real Madrid. It also returned to the Russian League finals, losing against perennial champion CSKA.

In the 2007–08 season, UNICS made it to the ULEB Cup (now called EuroCup) Final Eight, but fell to Akasvayu Girona in the quarterfinals. UNICS finally broke through in the EuroCup in the 2010–11 season, by winning its regular season and Last 16 groups, before sweeping its quarterfinal series against Pepsi Caserta. Once in the finals, UNICS thrashed KK Cedevita 87–66, in the semifinals, behind 27 points from Terrell Lyday, and registered a no-doubt-about-it 92–77 win against Cajasol Sevilla, in the title game. Marko Popović had 18 points and a EuroCup Finals record of 11 assists, to lead UNICS to the title. In the Russian League, UNICS marched to a 21–6 record, to finish the regular season atop the standings with room to spare, but then went out in the playoff semifinals, after a grueling five-game duel against BC Khimki. The club then entered into new waters, eager to prove that it belonged among the European continent’s best, as it would compete in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in the following season.

On the heels of one of the greatest seasons in club history, UNICS looked to continue its rise to greatness, as it made its EuroLeague debut in the 2011–12 season. The reigning EuroCup champion was a force to be reckoned with in the previous season, as it not only marched through the EuroCup, but also made noise in the Russian League, where it finished first at the end of the regular season, and reached the playoff semifinals. One of the secrets to the club’s success was that it had managed to keep a core of star players for several years. Players like Marko Popović, Maciej Lampe, Terrell Lyday, Vladimir Veremeenko, and Kelly McCarty helped write a golden chapter in UNICS' club history. Before that, UNICS had put Kazan, Russia, on the European basketball map, and became the perfect ambassador for the sports-crazy Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian federation.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Russian Cups

Champions (3): 2003, 2009, 2014

European competitions

EuroCup

Champions (1): 2011

EuroChallenge

Champions (1): 2004

North European League

Champions (1): 2003

Season by season

Season	Tier	Division	Pos.	Russian Cup	European competitions		Other competitions
1997–98	1	Superleague A	7th		3 Korać Cup	GS
1998–99	1	Superleague A	5th		2 Saporta Cup	R32
1999–00	1	Superleague A	3rd		3 Korać Cup	EF
2000–01	1	Superleague A	2nd		2 Saporta Cup	SF
2001–02	1	Superleague A	2nd		2 Saporta Cup	QF
2002–03	1	Superleague A	3rd	Winner	3 FIBA Champions Cup	QF	NEBL	C
2003–04	1	Superleague A	2nd	Third place	3 FIBA Europe League	C
2004–05	1	Superleague A	3rd	Runner-up	3 FIBA Europe League	QF
2005–06	1	Superleague A	4th	Third place	2 ULEB Cup	EF
2006–07	1	Superleague A	2nd	Runner-up	2 ULEB Cup	QF
2007–08	1	Superleague A	6th	Semifinals	2 ULEB Cup	QF
2008–09	1	Superleague A	3rd	Winner	2 Eurocup	T16
2009–10	1	Superleague A	3rd	Runner-up	2 Eurocup	T16	United League	RU
2010–11	1	PBL	3rd		1 Euroleague	QR2	United League	3rd
2010–11	1	PBL	3rd		2 Eurocup	C	United League	3rd
2011–12	1	PBL	5th		1 Euroleague	QF	United League	RU
2012–13	1	PBL	6th		1 Euroleague	QR2	United League	QF
2012–13	1	PBL	6th		2 Eurocup	QF	United League	QF
2013–14	1	VTB United League	3rd	Winner	2 Eurocup	RU
2014–15	1	VTB United League	6th	Second qualifying	1 Euroleague	RS
2014–15	1	VTB United League	6th	Second qualifying	2 Eurocup	SF
2015–16	1	VTB United League	2nd	First qualifying	2 Eurocup	EF
2016–17	1	VTB United League	5th	Round of 64	1 EuroLeague	RS
2017–18	1	VTB United League			2 EuroCup	QF

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

UNICS roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Age
C	7001200000000000000♠20	Bille, Aleksandr	7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	22 – (1996-01-19)19 January 1996
SF	7000300000000000000♠3	Ejim, Melvin	7000200999999999999♠2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	27 – (1991-03-04)4 March 1991
PG	7001490000000000000♠49	Henry, Pierriá	7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	25 – (1993-01-20)20 January 1993
PF	7001880000000000000♠88	Kaimakoglou, Kostas	7000206000000000000♠2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	35 – (1983-03-15)15 March 1983
C	7001120000000000000♠12	Klimenko, Artem	7000214000000000000♠2.14 m (7 ft 0 in)	24 – (1994-01-10)10 January 1994
SG	7001420000000000000♠42	Kolesnikov, Evgeny	7000195000000000000♠1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	32 – (1985-12-26)26 December 1985
PF	7001270000000000000♠27	Koshcheev, Andrey	7000204999999999999♠2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	31 – (1987-02-25)25 February 1987
SF	7000400000000000000♠4	Lockett, Trent	7000196000000000000♠1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	27 – (1990-12-10)10 December 1990
PG	7000600000000000000♠6	McCollum, Errick	7000188000000000000♠1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	30 – (1988-01-22)22 January 1988
PF	7000200000000000000♠2	Morgan, Raymar	7000202000000000000♠2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	30 – (1988-08-08)8 August 1988
C	7000500000000000000♠5	Ndour, Maurice	7000206000000000000♠2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	26 – (1992-06-18)18 June 1992
SG	7000700000000000000♠7	Ponkrashov, Anton	7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	32 – (1986-04-23)23 April 1986
PG	7000100000000000000♠1	Sergeev, Pavel	7000185000000000000♠1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	31 – (1987-07-28)28 July 1987
SF	7001450000000000000♠45	Sheleketo, Maxim	7000204999999999999♠2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	31 – (1987-01-04)4 January 1987
SG	7001150000000000000♠15	Smith, Jamar	7000191000000000000♠1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	31 – (1987-04-07)7 April 1987

Head coach

Dimitrios Priftis

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Roster

Updated: September 21, 2018

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Maurice Ndour	Artem Klimenko	Aleksandr Bille
PF	Raymar Morgan	Kostas Kaimakoglou	Andrey Koshcheev
SF	Trent Lockett	Melvin Ejim	Maxim Sheleketo
SG	Jamar Smith	Anton Ponkrashov	Evgeny Kolesnikov
PG	Pierriá Henry	Errick McCollum	Pavel Sergeev

Notable Russian players

bold – FIBA World and FIBA Europe champions and medalists

Ruslan Avleev (1997–01, 04–06) – 301 games, 19.2 ppg;
Victor Kurilchuk (1997–00) – 201 games, 8.9 ppg;
Eduard Soobtsokov (1997–00) – 204 games, 7 ppg;
Petr Samoylenko (1998–07, 08–13) – 774 games, 5.8 ppg;
Andrey Sepelev (1998–99) – 53 games, 11 ppg;
Anton Yudin (1999–03, 04–06) – 243 games, 10.7 ppg;
Alexander Petrenko (1999–00) – 58 games, 13.2 ppg;
Andrey Kornev (1999–01) – 76 games, 6.1 ppg;
Aleksandr Gutorov (1999–00) – 35 games, 8.4 ppg;
Evgeniy Pashutin (2000–02) – 86 games, 8.5 ppg;
Igor Grachev (2000–02) – 74 games, 8.6 ppg;
Valentin Kubrakov (2000–02, 03–04) – 121 games, 8.5 ppg;
Igor Zamansky (2001–03, 08–13) – 246 games, 5.3 ppg;
Igor Kudelin (2002–03, 06–07) – 35 games, 8.1 ppg;

Sergei Chikalkin (2002–03, 05–09) – 187 games, 10.6 ppg;
Andrei Fetisov (2002–03) – 20 games, 6.2 ppg;
Alexandr Miloserdov (2003–05, 06–07) – 125 games, 9.3 ppg;
Viktor Keirou (2003–05, 07–08) – 83 games, 5.4 ppg;
Sergei Toporov (2004–06) – 93 games, 7.3 ppg;
Vadim Panin (2006–07) – 35 games, 6.1 ppg;
Dmitri Sokolov (2006–09) – 128 games, 6.8 ppg;
Nikolay Padius (2007–08, 10–11) – 59 games, 5.3 ppg;
Fedor Likholitov (2009–10) – 10 games, 2.5 ppg;
Zakhar Pashutin (2010–12) – 102 games, 4.3 ppg;
Aleksey Savrasenko (2011–12) – 56 games, 4.6 ppg;
Artyom Yakovenko (2011–12) – 22 games, 6.2 ppg;
Nikita Shabalkin (2012–13) – 28 games, 6.3 ppg;

Notable foreign players

bold – former NBA players; Olympics, FIBA World and FIBA Europe champions and medalists

USA

Glen Whisby (2000–01) – 51 games, 10.4 ppg;
Anthony Bonner (2001–02) – 8 games, 14.9 ppg;
Michael McDonald (2001–02) – 45 games; 12.2 ppg;
Acie Earl (2001–02) – 30 games, 11.8 ppg;
Dickey Simpkins* (2002–03) – 38 games, 12.3 ppg;
Kebu Stewart (2002–03) – 18 games, 8.3 ppg;
LaMarr Greer (2003–04) – 41 games; 12 ppg;
Joe Ira Clark (2004–05) – 41 games, 7.8 ppg;
Paul Shirley (2004–05) – 9 games, 4.9 ppg;
Shammond Williams (2004–05) – 57 games, 17.1 ppg;
Travis Best (2005–06) – 40 games, 11.5 ppg;
Samaki Walker* (2005–06) – 4 games, 7 ppg;
Sam Clancy, Jr. (2005–06) – 30 games, 4 ppg;
Jarod Stevenson (2006–07) – 32 games; 10.4 ppg;
Mateen Cleaves (2006–07) – 11 games, 5 ppg;
Jerry McCullough (2006–08) – 80 games, 6.8 ppg;
Tariq Kirksay (2007–09) – 95 games, 9.3 ppg;
Joseph Forte (2007–08) – 11 games, 8.4 ppg;
Marc Jackson (2008–09) – 19 games, 6.5 ppg;
Terrell Lyday (2008–13) – 243 games, 12.2 ppg;
Ricky Minard (2010–11) – 48 games, 7.4 pts;
Kelly McCarty (2010–13) – 114 games, 9.5 ppg;
Henry Domercant (2011–12) – 58 games, 13.4 ppg;
Lynn Greer (2011–12) – 55 games, 8 ppg;
Mike Wilkinson (2011–13) – 63 games, 7.1 ppg;
Mire Chatman (2012–13) – 45 games, 8.5 ppg;
Chuck Eidson (2012–13) – 48 games, 13.6 ppg;
Drew Goudelock (2013–14) – 46 games, 19.3 ppg;

Australia

Chris Anstey (2003–05) – 93 games, 13.1 ppg;
Nathan Jawai (2011–12) – 46 games, 8.7 ppg;

Europe

Slobodan Šljivančanin (1998–00) – 117 games, 10 ppg;
Leonid Yailo (2000–01) – 50 games, 13.5 ppg;
Branislav Vićentić (2001–02) – 29 games, 10.4 ppg;
Oliver Popović (2001–03) – 80 games, 14.6 ppg;
Damir Mršić (2002–03) – 31 games, 7.7 ppg;
Valery Dayneko (2002–03) – 35 games, 10 ppg;
Eurelijus Žukauskas (2002–04) – 78 games, 10 ppg;
Mykola Khryapa (2003–05) – 86 games, 6.1 ppg;
Martin Müürsepp (2001–02, 03–04, 05–06) – 86 games, 11.3 ppg;
Saulius Štombergas (2003–04, 05–07, 09–10) – 144 games, 11 ppg;
Stevan Nađfeji (2004–05) – 40 games, 7.4 ppg;
Kaspars Kambala (2004–05) – 54 games, 14.5 ppg;
Egor Mesheryakov (2005–07) – 93 games, 10.2 ppg;
Kšyštof Lavrinovič (2005–07) – 78 games, 12.7 ppg;
Darjuš Lavrinovič (2006–08) – 68 games, 12.9 ppg;
Duško Savanović (2006–08) – 71 games, 10.3 ppg;
Marko Tušek (2007–08) – 36 games, 10.1 ppg;
Krešimir Lončar (2008–10) – 114 games, 11.8 ppg;
Marko Popović (2008–11) – 142 games, 13.9 ppg;
Vladimir Veremeenko (2008–13) – 249 games, 8.8 ppg;
Maciej Lampe (2009–11) – 96 games, 15.9 ppg;
Hasan Rizvić (2010–11) – 64 games, 5.4 ppg;
Slavko Vraneš (2010–11) – 39 games, 2.6 ppg;
Boštjan Nachbar (2011–12) – 22 games, 3.6 ppg;
Ian Vougioukas (2012–13) – 47 games, 10.9 ppg;
Kostas Kaimakoglou (2012–present) – 37 games, 12.5 ppg;
Artūras Milaknis (2015–16)

Milan Gurović (2004) and Hüseyin Beşok (2005) shortly were under contract with UNICS Kazan, but never played a single game for the team.

(*) former NBA champions

Head coaches

bold – Olympics, FIBA World and FIBA Europe champions and medalists

Aleksandr Zryadchikov – 1994–96;
Georgy Korolev – 1996–98;
Dragan Višnjevac – 1998;
Yevgeny Kovalenko – 1998–00;
Stanislav Eremin – 2000–06;
Antanas Sireika – 2006–08;
Aco Petrović – 2008–09;
Valdemaras Chomičius – 2009–10;
Evgeniy Pashutin – 2010–12;
Aco Petrović – 2012–2013
Stanislav Eremin – 2013;
Andrea Trinchieri – 2013–2014
Argiris Pedoulakis – 2014–2014 ^[1]^[2]
Evgeniy Pashutin – 2014–2017
Dimitrios Priftis – 2017–

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] ttp://www.euroleague.net/news/i/138238/180/unics-kazan-tabs-pedoulakis-for-bench#

[2] ttp://www.euroleague.net/news/i/145174/180/unics-releases-pedoulakis-welcomes-back-pashutin

2018–19 EuroCup
Champions
Runners-up
Semifinals
Quarterfinals
Top 16	Group E Group F Group G Group H
Regular Season	Group A Crvena zvezda mts Galatasaray Odeabank Germani Brescia Leonessa Monaco MoraBanc Andorra ratiopharm Ulm Group B ALBA Berlin Arka Gdynia Cedevita Limoges Lokomotiv Kuban Tofaş Group C Dolomiti Energia Trento LDLC ASVEL Partizan NIS Türk Telekom Valencia Basket Zenit Saint Petersburg Group D Fiat Torino Fraport Skyliners Mornar Rytas Unicaja UNICS

UNICS current roster
1 Sergeev 2 Morgan 3 Ejim 4 Lockett 5 Ndour 6 McCollum 7 Ponkrashov 12 Klimenko 15 Smith 20 Bille 21 Kaimakoglou 27 Koshcheev 42 Kolesnikov 45 Sheleketo 49 Henry
Head coach: Priftis

UNICS Kazan 2003–04 FIBA Europe League champions
Anstey Štombergas Müürsepp Žukauskas Greer Samoylenko Kubrakov Khryapa Miloserdov Zozulin Keyru Lobanov Shevel Osipov
Head coach: Yeryomin

UNICS Kazan 2010–11 Eurocup champions
4 Lyday 6 Popović 7 Zamanskiy 9 Samoylenko 11 Pashutin 12 Veremeenko 13 Amirkhanov 16 Rizvić 21 McCarty 22 Minard 30 Lampe 33 Vraneš
Head coach: Pashutin Assistant coach: Jeremić