Russian college basketball learns from US experience
Russia`s national basketball teams could be in for a much needed boost in the near future. The College League, which was set up in 2008, is starting to bear fruit, with rising stars on show in the women`s national final.
ґOver the last decade, college sport in Russia has received plenty of government support to try and get more people to keep playing the games they love after they finish school.
Basketball has benefited from this immensely. A new league was set up in 2008 to give those who go to university the chance to play the sport to a high and competitive level.
A number of Russia`s top players like Sasha Kaun, Maria Stepanova and Svetlana Abrosimova played college basketball in the States.
The final saw Moscow Agricultural University battle it out with their counterparts from Ufa in Russia`s Ural Mountains.
The Moscow side eventually ran out comfortable winners 77-53, with Maria Davydova, who`s only just turned 18, looking very impressive.
And her head coach, the former Soviet basketball legend, Anatoly Myshkin, who won two Olympic bronzes with the national team at the 1976 and 1980 Games, predicts she and some of her team-mates have very bright futures.
"We have a lot of very talented players on our team. They have the potential to have great careers. I`ll be very surprised if one of them doesn`t go on to play in a top club or the national team," he said.
Myshkin believes it would be wrong for the Russian College League to try and copy what their counterparts in the States are doing. Nevertheless, he believes there are things that can help the development of the league in this country.
"We have a model which we need to look up to in the US college system. This will take a lot of time and won`t happen overnight. However, we love our basketball in Russia and we`ll continue to do this even if it`s not successful," Myshkin said.
And hopefully in the not too distant future, the College League in Russia will become strong enough to feed the national team with talented players for generations to come.
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