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SPORTSCENTER PROJECTS HELP FORMER VCU GREATS
2-20-06
Eugene Kissourine played basketball for VCU in the early 90’s under head coach Sonny Smith. “Eugene is a great player and even better person” said VCU’s assistant athletic director Mike Ellis, who was an assistant coach under Smith at the time Eugene played. After his time at VCU Eugene moved on to play professionally in Italy. During his career he played for various professional teams throughout Europe and also played on the Russian national team during the 1990’s and the year 2000. During that time he played in world championships as well as the Olympics, even playing against the United States’ Dream Team 2.
Eugene, a current coach in Russia, will attend the VCU SportCenter/Nike Villa 7 Consortium which will be held in May. Villa 7 gives assistant basketball coaches the opportunity to network and possibly find their next jobs as several Athletic Directors attend this event as well. Past speakers at Villa 7 events have included Bob Beaudine, the president and CEO of Eastman & Beaudine which is one of the top recruiting firms in college sports, Fran Fraschilla, former college basketball coach and current ESPN analyst, and Morgan Wootten, former DeMatha High School head coach who holds the record for most all-time wins at the high school level. Eugene hopes to network with other coaches while attending Villa 7 and also hopes to learn more about American basketball philosophies.
Currently Eugene coaches the Russian Junior Team CSKA in Moscow, the top basketball program in Russia. Because of his connections in the United States, Eugene is a huge resource for the Russian players. He is able to give some Russian players an opportunity to come to the United States to study and play basketball, which is a unique and exciting experience that few enjoy.
Recently Eugene has been in the Richmond area watching practices and games of some of the top high school and college programs in the area. He has even visited the top ranked men’s ACC programs at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. While in the area, Eugene was also nice enough to sit down and share some time with SportsCenter students. He opened our eyes to the differences between the European sports culture and the American sports culture, and told us many stories of his sports career. Eugene is one of the many resources available to the students here at the VCU SportsCenter who can provide valuable information on careers in the sports industry.
By: Romain Ambert, Kevin Dwan, Mike Genovese, Tom Myrick, Amanda Olivas, Riad Ouled, Derick Sabbatini, Tripp Wilkinson
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