Team Profile: Dynamo Kursk
KURSK (EuroLeague Women 2017) - We continue to take a look at teams preparing to step out in EuroLeague Women 2017 by shining our spotlight on Dynamo Kursk, who are being touted as possible frontrunners in the competition under new head coach, Lucas Mondelo.
Last season: Dynamo Kursk missed out on successive Final Four appearances by slipping up in the post-season against Nadezhda, which ultimately led to play-caller Gundars Vetra being replaced. During the Regular Season they finished with a 10-4 record.
Vamos a por esa #Copa. @KurskBasket @Lmondelo @CesarRuperez pic.twitter.com/MEetqh8HHp
— paula garcia (@pgarcia_11) September 22, 2016
Roster: The backcourt has a new general in Anna Cruz and she will play alongside her former Nadezhda colleague Elena Kirillova who also flies in from Orenburg. That backcourt rotation sees young gun Kseniia Levchenko looking to break through, with the combo option of the naturalised Russia national team player, Epiphanny Prince still around. Kursk have made two of the biggest signings of the summer in bringing in USA winger Angel McCoughtry and the outstanding teenager Maria Vadeeva. There is particular excitement about the latter who will compete in the frontcourt with the returning Tatiana Vidmer who is enjoying a renaissance, while there is also a new face in Les Bleues center Helena Ciak who arrives via Tango Bourges for a first-ever season outside of France. The star of the show may still be American forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike who will continue to be a colossus in the competition, during what will be her third-straight season with the side.
Key player: While Ogwumike is the real star of this Kursk team for her sheer consistency and high level performances in past years in EuroLeague Women, it looks as if the arrival of Anna Cruz will mean she is the most important component. She played last season in the Final with Nadezhda and makes the switch as a trusted lieutenant of Mondelo from her duties with Spain.
A genuine combo guard who switched more to the one spot relatively later in her career, she is getting better with age and from also playing in the WNBA. As long as she remains durable, her wise-head will be essential to implement the ethos of Mondelo on the floor.
‘X-Factor’: To win big competitions like EuroLeague Women, you need top class players to shine and in McCoughtry, Dynamo Kursk have one. But, will the American wing suit being back on European soil as a slightly smaller fish in a bigger pond – or is she best suited to being the big fish like she was at Mersin last year or at Good Angels Kosice earlier in her career? It's a fascinating dynamic and what kind of season McCoughtry delivers and the role she plays looks like having the biggest bearing on the success [or otherwise] of Kursk.
Stat attack: Kursk have never lost a Regular Season game in EuroLeague Women and are currently 13-0.
Social media stars: Follow Angel McCoughtry [@angel_35] on twitter and Tatiana Vidmer [Tanchous] on Instagram.
Outlook: Dynamo Kursk have all the pieces in place to replicate their third place finish of 2015 and after such a significant financial investment in the coaching staff and players – a place at the Final Four appears to be the minimum price on the ticket. Last time it was their home form which proved their biggest strength and that should serve them well again. They have the talent and the coach, so should be in the title shake-up. They could be super-fun to watch with so many interesting characters on board, but can Coach Mondelo mould the chemistry he needs to possibly deliver a maiden title?
FIBA
