Russia appoint Lukic as new head coach to replace Bazarevich

MOSCOW (Russia) - The Russian Basketball Federation has appointed Zoran Lukic as the new head coach of the men's national team.

The Serbian takes charge to end the five-year spell at the helm for Sergei Bazarevich with a fourth-placed finish at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 a highlight of his tenure.

"It is a great honor to lead the national team, but I would accept such an offer only from two national teams - Russia and Serbia," said Lukic. "At Nizhny Novgorod, we traditionally try to maintain the maximum balance between achieving sports results and providing practice to young players. This is what is expected of me in the Russian team."

President of the RBF Andrei Kirilenko added: "A new page begins in the history of the Russian national team with a new head coach. We were primarily interested in a coach who worked a lot with young players who are starting to show themselves as stars of adult basketball. 

"Through his work in Nizhny Novgorod over the years, Lukic proved his ability to create real leaders out of Russian basketball players. Now an important time of restructuring is coming for the Russian national team, and we want to see the transformation of our players under the leadership of Zoran from promising players into full-fledged players of the national team."

Lukic will combine the new role with club duties with the 50-year-old playcaller currently in a second spell on the sidelines at Nizhny Novgorod. He first joined the Russian club in 2008, spending six years at the helm before returning in 2017 following time in Turkey with Banvit.

Last season saw Lukic claim the Basketball Champions League's Coach of the Year award with the team reaching the Final Eight stage with defeat in the Quarter-Finals.

Lukic has previously been involved with the Russian national team at U16 level and his first task will be the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers with the opening set of games taking place in November.

Russia will face Italy and Iceland in their first two encounters with the Netherlands also making up the Group K quartet.

At next year's FIBA EuroBasket 2022, Russia will head to Tbilisi for the group phase with Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bulgaria and hosts Georgia their opponents.

FIBA