Kansas Jayhawks Basketball: Expectations For Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, or better known by his short yet sweet nickname “Svi”, has a chance to really make a name for himself this year for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team. With Kelly Oubre Jr. electing to leave Kansas after just one season, there is a pretty large gap in the starting lineup as Oubre really started to shine as the season came to a close.

Svi and fellow wing Branden Greene figure to be the most likely two to replace Oubre together, but I think that Svi might get the starting nod over Greene and so does KC Kingdom’s own Charlie Sides in his “Predicting The Starters For Next Season” article.

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Greene is a lights out shooter most of the time and can really provide a spark any time he is in the game, but his lack of defensive ability and his lack of skill to drive to the rim on the offensive end of the floor will give Svi the starting position at the small forward position.

Svi is a good shooter himself, and has a fantastic basketball body at 6-foot-8 and the ability to play the 2-guard spot as well as the 3. He was very young last season, as he was only 17 years old when the season began. He comes from the Ukraine and graduated his high school in time to be on last year’s Kansas roster.

In Ukraine, Mykhailiuk always played up with older level kids and has always been a play-maker wherever he’s been and continued to shine more and more as the competition got tougher.

Having a year under his belt in the Big 12 Conference and really the American way of playing basketball, which is much more about athleticism and physicality rather than the finesse game that most European players are brought up with, is paramount to Svi’s improvement. I believe he will be ready this year for the starting role in what should be a stacked lineup for the Jayhawks.

Look for him to compete with Branden Greene as well as freshman Lagereld Vick for minutes, but I don’t see either of them being able to keep up with the still growing and improving Mykhailiuk. This year, I see him being able to get to the rim much more often and being the beneficiary of a much improved point guard in Frank Mason III.

Next year’s Kansas squad could be one that really makes a splash in the post-season. They have a tremendous starting lineup and have even better depth. The injury to reserve defensive-minded guard Devonte Graham may cause for a setback, but I think this is a team to watch right off the bat next season with Ukrainian-born sophomore Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk being one of the go-to guys from game one.

Next: Devonte Graham Injury Leaves Hole On Roster

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