BC UNICS

BC UNICS
Leagues	VTB United League Eurocup
Founded	1991
History	1991–present
Arena	Basket-Hall Kazan
Capacity	7,500
Location	Kazan, Russia
Team colors	Green, White
President	Yevgeny Bogachev
Head coach	Evgeniy Pashutin
Championships	3 Russian Cups 2003, 2009, 2014 1 North European League 2003 1 EuroChallenge 2004 1 Eurocup 2011
Website	unics.ru
Uniforms
Home Away

BC UNICS (Russian: БК "УНИКС") is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia playing in the VTB United League. Their home arena is Basket Hall Arena.

Though officially the professional club was founded in 1991 (when began its appearance at the lowest of pro leagues), UNICS traces its origin back to KSU's college team Burevestnik which participated in USSR student championships since 1957 winning 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 it was promoted to the Russian Basketball Super League 'A', the top Russian league. A year later Yevgeny Bogachev, the chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Tatarstan, became the president of the club.

History

The club 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 already played 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 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, named now FIBA EuroCup, in April 2004 and UNICS made sure of its opportunity. UNICS signed Saulius Štombergas, Eurelijus Žukauskas or Chris Anstey, won its regular season group and advanced to the final four on its own floor, where it was crowned the FIBA Europe League champion as MVP Martin Müürsepp scored 22 points in an 87-63 win over Maroussi in the title game. By 2005-06, UNICS went one level up and made its ULEB Cup debut, tying the best regular season record in the competition's history. Things turned south quickly, as it lost at home against Roma for the only time all season in the eighth finals’ second leg and crashed out earlier than expected. UNICS got stronger for last season, keeping the core group of the previous seasons side while adding Darjuš Lavrinovič to reunite with twin brother Kšyštof Lavrinovič in a twin towers set full of talent. The team made it to the ULEB Cup semifinals before losing to eventual champs Real Madrid. It also returned to the Russian League finals, losing against perennial champion CSKA. UNICS is back in the ULEB Cup with the only goal to reach even higher and make the city of Kazan proud of its mighty basketball team.

In 2007-08, UNICS made it to the ULEB Cup Final Eight, but fell to Akasvayu Girona in the quarterfinals. Last season UNICS broke through in the Eurocup, winning its regular season and Last 16 groups before sweeping its quarterfinal series against Pepsi Caserta. Once in Finals, Unics thrashed KK Cedevita 87–66 in the semifinals behind 27 points from Lyday and registered a no-doubt-about-it 92–77 win against Cajasol Sevilla in the title game. Popovic had 18 points and a Eurocup final record 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. Now this blossoming club enters new waters eager to prove it belongs among the continent’s best in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.

On the heels of one of the greatest seasons in club history, UNICS looks to continue Its rise to greatness as it makes its Euroleague debut. The reigning Eurocup champion was a force to be reckoned with last year, not only marching through the Eurocup, but also making 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 is that it has managed to keep a core of star players for several years. Players like Marko Popović, Maciej Lampe, Terrell Lyday, Vladimir Veremeenko and Kelly McCarty have helped write a golden chapter in UNICS history. Before that, UNICS put Kazan, Russia, on the European basketball map and became the perfect ambassador for the sports-crazy Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian federation.

Season by season

Season	Tier	Division	Pos.	Postseason	Cup competition	European competitions	Regional competitions
1997–98	1	Superleague A	5	Seventh place	–	3 Korać Cup – Group stage	–
1998–99	1	Superleague A	5	Fifth place	–	2 Saporta Cup – Eightfinals	–
1999–00	1	Superleague A	3	Third place	–	3 Korać Cup – Eightfinals	–
2000–01	1	Superleague A	2	Runner-up	–	2 Saporta Cup – Semifinals	–
2001–02	1	Superleague A	2	Runner-up	–	2 Saporta Cup – Quarterfinals	–
2002–03	1	Superleague A	3	Third place	Winner	3 FIBA Champions Cup – Quarterfinals	NEBL – Winner
2003–04	1	Superleague A	2	Runner-up	Third place	3 FIBA Europe League – Winner	–
2004–05	1	Superleague A	3	Third place	Runner-up	3 FIBA Europe League – Quarterfinals	–
2005–06	1	Superleague A	4	Fourth place	Third place	2 ULEB Cup – Eightfinals	–
2006–07	1	Superleague A	2	Runner-up	Runner-up	2 ULEB Cup – Semifinals	–
2007–08	1	Superleague A	3	Sixth place	Semifinals	2 ULEB Cup – Quarterfinals	–
2008–09	1	Superleague A	4	Third place	Winner	2 Eurocup – Top 16	–
2009–10	1	Superleague A	3	Third place	Runner-up	2 Eurocup – Top 16	VTB League – Runner-up
2010–11	1	PBL	1	Third place	–	2 Eurocup – Winner	VTB League – Third place
2011–12	1	PBL	6	Fifth place	–	1 Euroleague – Quarterfinals	VTB League – Runner-up
2012–13	1	PBL	6	–	–	2 Eurocup – Quarterfinals	VTB League – Quarterfinals
2013–14	1	VTB United League	1	Semifinalist	Champion	2 Eurocup – Runner-up	–

Roster

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

BC UNICS Kazan roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age SG 5 Langford, Keith 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 32 – 15 September 1983 SF 7 Ponkrashov, Anton 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 29 – 23 April 1986 C 9 Parakhouski, Artsiom 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 122 kg (269 lb) 28 – 6 October 1987 PG 10 Colom, Quino 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 27 – 1 November 1988 SF 11 Likhodey, Valeriy 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 29 – 23 October 1986 F/C 13 Banić, Marko 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 113 kg (249 lb) 31 – 31 August 1984 PF 15 Gubanov, Petr 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 29 – 3 April 1987 F 19 Fidii, Evgenii 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 24 – 1 November 1991 G/F 20 Panin, Vadim 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 32 – 10 February 1984 PF 21 Kaimakoglou, Kostas 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 113 kg (249 lb) 33 – 15 March 1983 F/C 22 Williams, Latavious 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 27 – 29 March 1989 G/F 24 Milaknis, Artūras 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 29 – 16 June 1986 G 33 Khabirov, Ruslan 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 25 – 5 March 1991 F 77 Yevstafev, Vladislav 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 110 kg (243 lb) 22 – 9 April 1993 G 99 Nezvankin, Dmitriy 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 81 kg (179 lb) 22 – 11 October 1993	Head coach Evgeniy Pashutin Assistant coach(es) Emanuele Molin Alexandr Zryadchikov Roman Pashutin Team manager Valery Kolesnikov Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: August 2, 2015

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Kostas Kaimakoglou	Artsiom Parakhouski
PF	Latavious Williams	Marko Banić	Petr Gubanov	Evgenii Fidii
SF	Valery Likhodey	Vadim Panin	Vladislav Yevstafev
SG	Keith Langford	Artūras Milaknis
PG	Quino Colom	Anton Ponkrashov	Ruslan Khabirov	Dmitriy Nezvankin

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; Lamar 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; Jamal 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; 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 (2001-2002, 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 (2012–13) - 37 games, 12.5 ppg; Artūras Milaknis (2015–present)

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

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–

References

1. http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/138238/180/unics-kazan-tabs-pedoulakis-for-bench#
2. http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/145174/180/unics-releases-pedoulakis-welcomes-back-pashutin

External links

• Official Site (Russian)
• Eurobasket.com Team Info
• BC UNICS on Facebook
• BC UNICS on Twitter
• UnicsTV's channel on YouTube