U22 National Team of Belarus: 1994 FIBA U22 European Champion
That team had not only great basketball players but, first and foremost, great and remarkable human beings. This page will provide the information about my "teammates forever" and where they are now:
Associate Head Coaches:
Michael Taitz (1930-2007) - a basketball God Father for all of us, a man, who brought all of us together from different parts of Belarus and made us gel into the real winning team. His wisdom and passion for team basketball were the key factors that propelled our team towards European success. Prior to winning Euro Championship, he led the team to two Soviet Union Junior Championships in 1990 and 1991.
Alexander Borisov - a long time head coach of RTI-Minsk basketball club - the one and only top division Belarus club during the Soviet Union Era.
Players:
Andrei Krivonos - GWU Basketball class of 1998, after playing professionally in Europe for many years, in 2008 became a head coach of the best Belarusian club Minsk-2006 with whom he won three Belarus Championships and Belarus Cups. Andrei also became a head coach of National Basketball Team of Belarus since Spring 2011. Here are the articles about Andrei GWU experience that can be found on www.gwhatchet.com
Alexander Rodionov (1972-2011) - a true natural-born leader of our team, Alexander was a passionate player, who had always fought no matter what the circumstances. Disregarding the injuries, he continued to pursue his basketball career in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine for many years, eventually moving to France along with his family. Even after ceasing pro-basketball, he devoted lots of time to coaching children and believing in his life-long passion. Unfortunately, as it happens to the best of us, Alexander was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2009 and passed away a little after his birthday in January of 2011. It is our responsibility to carry on his unique love for the game and pass the torch to the new generations.
Alexander Koul - GWU Basketball class of 1998, a legendary pivotal player who brought unprecedented amount of media attention to GWU Basketball program. Ranks #1 on GWU all time list in shots blocked. Before joining GWU, was also a member of Soviet Union Junior National team and won a bronze medal in 1992 European U20 Championships. For the last 13 years, has been successfully playing for various teams in Poland, Belarus, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus. Passionate about computer science and modern technology.
Alexei Pintikov - became a legendary figure in Belarusian basketball due to its unique ability to score three pointers. Won Belarus Championships multiple times with Grodno-93 and proved to be the three-point specialist by winning countless three-point contests during All-Star games. Over the last years, became a prominent sports commentator on Belarus National TV Network while pursuing his passion for coaching and working withing the structure of Minsk-2006 with various youth teams.
Andrei Sviridov - GWU Basketball class of 1997, after playing professionally for some years, became an actor in Hollywood and Russia; has a total of 52 roles in different movies - 45 of which were shot in Russia. While in Hollywood, co-starred in the music videos with Enrique Iglesias and Robbie Williams. Andrei has a movie blog with the samples of his work at http://blog.andrei-sviridov.ru/
Gennadi Kuznecov - after playing numerous seasons in Russia and Ukraine, became a head coach of Women's basketball team in Odessa, Ukraine.
Ruslan Boidakov - one of the most prominent players in Belarus basketball history, was known for his relentlessness on the court and unpredictable style of play. Became MVP of the 1994 U22 Championship in Slovenia, and was rumored to be heading to play for Barcelona (Spain). Later, continued his career in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Germany. Currently is being considered one of the most promising Belarus coaches as Ruslan leads his hometown team Lokomotiv-Vitebsk along with head coaching post at U20 National Team.
Alexei Olshevskiy - has been successfully playing basketball in Poland for over a decade and became a resident of Belarus western neighbor.
Alexander Lobazevic - has played few more seasons after 1994 and moved to France along with his family.
Oleg Yushkin - after playing all of his post-Belarus career in Ukraine, became a head coach of Men's basketball team in Odessa, Ukraine.
Dmitri Kuzmin - a seasoned veteran who still plays for Krivonos under the Minsk-2006 flag. Enjoyed many successful seasons in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as one of the best point-guards of these championships.
