KU signee Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk joins Ukraine senior team for FIBA World Cup

Last month, Kansas signee Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk traveled to Bulgaria to compete for his native Ukraine in the U-18 Division B European Championships. He led his team to the finals, was selected MVP of the tournament and was expected to head to KU after spending most of August practicing with Ukraine’s senior national team.

Now that timeline has changed.

Mykhailiuk has made Ukraine’s final roster cut before the FIBA World Cup, which runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14 in Spain. Mykhailiuk, 17, will be among the youngest players in the tournament, which was known as the FIBA World Championships until this year. The United States, led by NBA stars Stephen Curry, James Harden and Derrick Rose, are considered the pre-tournament favorites, even after losing Paul George to injury and Kevin Durant to a late withdrawal.

Ukraine, in Group C, will play five group games, finishing against the United States on Sept. 4 in Bilbao, Spain. Mykhailiuk is expected to arrive at Kansas after Ukraine is eliminated from the tournament. Monday is the first day of fall classes at KU.

It is unlikely that Mykhailiuk will see much court time in the tournament. A 6-foot-6 guard, Mykhailiuk averaged 16 points and 4.7 rebounds while playing 26 minutes per contest in the tournament. But he shot just 41.8 percent from the floor and 26 percent from three-point range (13 for 50).

This story was originally published August 24, 2014 at 7:30 PM with the headline "KU signee Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk joins Ukraine senior team for FIBA World Cup."