Mykhailiuk on Ukraine national team roster

On Sunday, Bill Self announced that Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk will miss at least a week of school but for good reason. Mykhailiuk, who just turned 17, was selected to be on Ukraine’s FIBA World Cup roster. 

The FIBA World Cup is an international tournament that runs from August 30-September 14.  This year’s tournament takes place in Spain. Mykhailiuk is listed on the Ukraine roster and is by far the youngest player of the team. The next youngest player on the team is 22-years-old. 

“We anticipate him making the team and being tied up the next couple weeks,” Self told the media on Sunday after his team took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

“I think it’s good, more good than bad,” said Self on the selection. “It’s an unbelievable honor for him, for a guy that young, who just turned 17 to have a chance to compete against the elite players of the world I think it’s awesome.

Mykhailiuk will miss at least a week of school and if Ukraine doesn’t make the medal round, he’ll arrive around September 8-10.

“It’s a good thing but it will put him behind. There’s no question when he gets here he’ll be a couple weeks behind everybody else. Since he wasn’t here this summer he’s going to have some catching up to do but he’s also played more ball than anybody this summer, too. It’s been nonstop for him since June,” Self continued.

“We’ll enroll him, obviously,” Self said on Monday about his academic situation. “And then we’ll talk to his professors to make sure that there’s a way to do some things. We may even have him do some things potentially online that could get (him) caught up. He’s a really really bright kid. I mean really really bright, considering his English is good. But it’s not exceptional yet. He’s in that Sasha Kaun-type category, so I would still predict he’d be a 3.5 student at the end of the semester.”

The competition in the World Cup will be a great test for Mykhailiuk. Ukraine faces the United States on September 4th in the last game of the group phase.

Self said he’s most concerned about Svi’s weight training, which he’ll be most behind on compared to his teammates.

“I’m more concerned about him strength wise. He wasn’t here with Andrea (Hudy, strength coach) all summer and of course he needs it. He weighs 193 pounds, still yet he’s not strong,” Self said on Svi. “You don’t get strong overnight. It takes time. He’ll be a little behind in that area. But we’ve sent him programs. He knows what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s responsible, so he’s probably doing it. He’ll be behind from a basketball standpoint. But the kid is so bright. I can’t believe he can’t get caught up faster than most.”