LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Bill Self was at the Final Four last April, like most coaches, just popping around, wondering what might've been if Joel Embiid was never injured.
He could've still been competing for a national title, if not for that injury.
Basketball can be cruel sometimes.
But whatever.
The season was over in the Round of 32, two underclassmen were turning pro, only a couple of Kansas starters -- Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden -- were set to return from a 25-win team, and so Self was at the Final Four, just hanging out in Dallas, enjoying a few days before he had to start refocusing on how he might go about trying to mold the Jayhawks into Big 12 champions for the 11th consecutive season.
And then, Self said, a man approached him.
"He just came up to me and said, 'Hey, I know the best young player in Europe, and here's his contact information,'" Self recalled. "So I just called [somebody I knew over there] cold, and I said, 'Is there a guy from Ukraine who's really good?' "
"Yeah, he's great," Self was told quickly.
And that's the first step in how Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk ended up at Kansas.
You can call him Svi for short -- and you probably should, if only because Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is a mouthful for most Americans, including the public address announcer who mangled the name in his first attempt at this past weekend's Orlando Classic. (By the way, here is audio of the accurate pronunciation, for future reference.)
So, yeah, let's just go with Svi for short.
And it's past time casual college basketball fans were introduced to this 17-year-old import because he's A) the youngest player in the Big 12, B) the youngest player to ever play for Self, C) the only freshman to start more than one game this season for the Jayhawks, and D) the only KU freshman currently averaging more than 20 minutes per game.
"He's not bad for a high school junior," Self said with a smile.
No, he isn't. And that's something literally every NBA scout I talked with during the Orlando Classic reiterated. Never mind that Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander is the reigning Naismith High School Player of the Year, and it doesn't matter that fellow Kansas freshman Kelly Oubre is listed in the top five of mock drafts. What NBA scouts told me is that Mykhailiuk -- again, just Svi for short -- is the best longterm prospect on KU's roster because he's a 6-foot-8 wing who is a good-enough passer, a willing defender, and a top-shelf shooter even though he hasn't actually shot the ball well through six games this season.
"But did you see him in warmups?" asked one NBA executive. "Didn't miss in warmups."
He doesn't miss much in practice, either.
"He's automatic in practice," said Kansas junior Jamari Traylor. "Every time he shoots it, I think it's going in. He [just] hasn't gotten on that roll he usually gets on."
Mykhailiuk's reputation is so solid internationally that, before enrolling, he was presented with opportunities to sign a pro contract in Europe. The Kansas staff forever remained optimistic he'd make good on his commitment. But there was no way to know for sure.
"It was always a concern," said KU assistant Kurtis Townsend. "People were offering his dad money to go play pro right away. But Svi told me his goal all along, growing up, was to play American basketball. So he wanted to play in college, then see if he could play in the NBA."
I asked Mykhailiuk if there was pressure to skip college completely.
"Not a lot ... but some," he answered. "I was talking to my family and coach, and we decided to go to college because I like it more than Europe."
Consequently, Kansas should have this high-level prospect for at least two years, if only because Mykhailiuk won't be old enough to enter the 2015 NBA Draft. So work on that pronunciation, or just call him Svi for short. Either way, NBA scouts will keep calling him special and traveling wherever the Jayhawks play, anxious to see the Big 12's youngest player who could, someday soon, also be the Big 12's best.
