BC Avtodor Saratov

"Avtodor" redirects here. For the highway company, see Russian Highways.

Avtodor Saratov
Leagues	VTB United League FIBA Europe Cup
Founded	1960; 59 years ago (1960)
History	List Spartak Saratov (1960–1972) Avtodorozhnik Saratov (1972–1996) Avtodor Saratov (1996–present)
Arena	Sports Palace Kristall
Capacity	6,100
Location	Saratov, Russia
President	Vladimir Rodionov
Head coach	Evgeniy Pashutin
Championships	2 Russian Super League
Website	www.avtodor.ru
Uniforms
Home Away

BC Avtodor Saratov (Russian: БК «Автодор» Саратов), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the VTB United League as of the 2017–18 season.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Establishment and growth (1960–1992)
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Scaling the heights (1992–2004)
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Demise and rebuilding (2004–2014)
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 Back at the top (2014–present)
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Arena
  


• 
  3 Honours
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Domestic competitions
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Season by season
  


• 
  5 Current roster
  


• 
  6 Notable players
  


• 
  7 Notes
  


• 
  8 References
  


• 
  9 External links
  

History

Establishment and growth (1960–1992)

Founded in 1960 as Spartak Saratov, the club took off when former player Vladimir Rodionov became its head coach in the 1982. The club was later renamed into Avtodorozhnik (road engineer) - shortened to Avtodor in 1996 - in reference to a late benefactor.^[1][2]

Scaling the heights (1992–2004)

Joining the Russian League at its creation in 1992, the club competed with CSKA Moscow (being the first club to defeat them in the league) for national supremacy during the rest of the decade, finishing in second place four times between 1994 and 1999.^[3]

It would even win the regular season in both 1997 and 1998,^[4] but lost both finals series against CSKA 2–3,^[5] and 1–3 respectively.^[6]

The Russian outfit regularly took part in European competitions during that period, reaching the semifinals of the 1998 second-tier EuroCup and playing in the 1999 top-tier EuroLeague (exiting at the first group stage).^[7]

Avtodor defeated CSKA in the 2001–02 playoff quarterfinals,^[8] the only team to have prevented the Army men from reaching the top four in Russian basketball history to this day.^[9]

Demise and rebuilding (2004–2014)

After threatening to do so for years because of disputes with the local administration, especially regarding the lack of a convenient arena,^[10] Rodionov moved the organisation to Saint Petersburg during the 2004 summer. He would form Dynamo Saint Petersburg, transferring some of Avtodor's best players such as Vladimir Veremeenko,^[11] and
its place in the Super League.^[12]

Meanwhile, a cash-strapped Avtodor voluntarily relegated itself to the second division for 2004–05, fielding an noncompetitive side made of youngsters,^[12] before moving down to the third division in 2005.^[3] Avtodor would win the second division in 2009 but did not have the financial means to return to the Super League. It did return to the Super League in 2012 but by that time the league had become the domestic second division. Winning that league in 2014, in large part thanks to the play of league MVP Courtney Fortson and promising youngster Artem Klimenko, the club received an invitation to play in the top-tier VTB United League and the European third-tier EuroChallenge for 2014-15.^[8]

The club was able to fund its participation thanks to increased support from the local administration, who reduced the funding of the city's ice hockey club Kristall Saratov to compensate.^[13]

Back at the top (2014–present)

After losing seven of its first nine VTB League games, Avtodor regrouped with the help of November acquisition Kyrylo Fesenko and the play of December league MVP Fortson (who had no problem adapting to the league) to contend for a playoffs place.^[9] Despite three coaching changes, with Vladimir Antsiferov replaced by his assistant Sergey Mokin in late October before Rodionov fired Mokin and took the coaching reins himself on 3 March 2015, the club reached the EuroChallenge quarterfinals where they lost to Trabzonspor.^[14]

In the league, Avtodor beat major sides CSKA Moscow, Khimki Moscow Region, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Unics Kazan to reach the playoffs,^[3] though they lost three contested games against Khimki to exit at the quarterfinal stage.^[15]

Arena

Avtodor formerly played in the Yunost arena, seating only a few hundred and unable to accommodate television broadcasts,^[16] which meant the side had to play its European games in Moscow.^[10] During the 1997–98 season, the club played its regular-season games in the Yunost arena before moving for its playoffs games to an indoor-football arena whilst a new arena was being refurbished.^[5]

It moved to the newly reopened 1,500 seat Zvezdny Sports Palace in May of that year,^[17] though this arena also proved too small as 2,000 fans packed the venue during a 21 May 1998 game against CSKA (albeit the league title decisive game), with some hanging from the balcony.^[6]

Calls for the club to move in the larger Kristall Arena (an ice hockey arena built in 1969),^[16] were finally heeded in 2014. Avtodor remodeled the arena for basketball play, which also raised the capacity from 5,450 to 6,100 seats,^[13] playing their first game there on November 11.^[18]

Honours

Domestic competitions

• 
  Russian First Division
  
  
  
  • 
    Runners-up (4): 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999
  
  
  • 
    Regular season champions (2): 1997, 1998
  
  
  
  


• 
  Russian Second Division
  
  • 
    Champions (2): 2009, 2014
  
  

Season by season

Season	Domestic competitions			Russian Cup	European competitions
	Tier	League	Pos.		Tier	League	Result
1993–94	1	Super League	2nd	Not held	3	Korać Cup	2R
1994–95	1	Super League	4th	Not held	2	Saporta Cup	1R
1995–96	1	Super League	3rd	Not held	3	Korać Cup	16F
1996–97	1	Super League	2nd	Not held	2	Saporta Cup	8F
1997–98	1	Super League	2nd	Not held	2	Saporta Cup	SF
1998–99	1	Super League	2nd	Not held	1	Euroleague	1GS
1999–00	1	Super League	6th	Withdrew	2	Saporta Cup	GS
2000–01	1	Super League	6th	Not held	3	Korać Cup	8F
2001–02	1	Super League	4th	Not held	3	Korać Cup	8F
2002–03	1	Super League	6th	Quarterfinals	4	Europe Cup	CGS
2003–04	1	Super League	10th	Round of 16	4	Europe Cup	QF
2004–05	2	Super League	10th	DNP
2005–06	3	Higher League	8th	DNP
2006–07	3	Higher League	8th	Group stage
2007–08	3	Higher League	8th	Group stage
2008–09	2	Super League	1st	DNP
2009–10	3	Higher League	12th	DNP
2010–11	3	Higher League	9th	Group stage
2011–12	3	Higher League	5th	Round of 16
2012–13	2	Super League	3rd	Round of 16
2013–14	2	Super League	1st	Quarterfinalist
2014–15	1	VTB United League	7th	Group stage[a]	3	EuroChallenge	QF
2015–16	1	VTB United League	6th	DNP	2	Eurocup	L32
2016–17	1	VTB United League	10th	Round of 64	3	Champions League	POQ
2017–18	1	VTB United League	6th		3	Champions League	QR3
					4	FIBA Europe Cup	RS
2018–19	1	VTB United League			3	Champions League	QR1
					4	FIBA Europe Cup

Current roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Avtodor Saratov roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age SF 24 Mikhailovskii, Nikita 7000197000000000000♠1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001810000000000000♠81 kg (179 lb) 18 – (2000-09-10)10 September 2000 F/C 35 Zabelin, Artem 7000215000000000000♠2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) 7002115000000000000♠115 kg (254 lb) 31 – (1988-01-15)15 January 1988 G — Zaryazhko, Viktor 7000195000000000000♠1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb) 26 – (1992-09-29)29 September 1992 PG — Boatright, Ryan 7000180000000000000♠1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 7001790000000000000♠79 kg (174 lb) 26 – (1992-12-27)27 December 1992 G — Golden, Trae 7000188000000000000♠1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb) 27 – (1991-10-05)5 October 1991 F — McLean, Tre' 7000196000000000000♠1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 7001930000000000000♠93 kg (205 lb) 25 – (1993-10-19)19 October 1993 F — Kravish, David 7000208000000000000♠2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 7002109000000000000♠109 kg (240 lb) 26 – (1992-09-12)12 September 1992 G — Moore, McKenzie 7000198000000000000♠1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb) 26 – (1992-05-11)11 May 1992 G/F — Buford, Perrin 7000198000000000000♠1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 7002100000000000000♠100 kg (220 lb) 25 – (1994-01-25)25 January 1994	Head coach Dušan Alimpijević Assistant coach(es) Nebojša Vagić Dmytro Boldaiev Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 19 November 2018

Notable players

2010s Kyrylo Fesenko 1 season: '14–'15 Courtney Fortson 2 seasons: '13–'15 Ivan Strebkov 1 & 1/2 seasons: '13–'14 Artem Klimenko 3 seasons: '12–18

2000s Semyon Antonov 3 seasons: '06–'09 Artem Zabelin 3 seasons: '03–'07, '15-present Yaroslav Korolev 1 season: '03–'04 Beno Udrih 1 season: '03–'04 Vladimir Veremeenko 2 seasons: '02–'04 Nikita Morgunov 1/2 season: '02 Kebu Stewart 1 season: '01–'02 Victor Khryapa 2 seasons: '00–'02 Sergei Monia 2 seasons: '00–'02

1990s Artur Drozdov 1 season: '99–'00 Nikolay Khryapa 3 seasons: '98–'01 Aleksandr Miloserdov 1 season: '98–'99 Andrei Fetisov 1 season: '98–'99 Sergei Chikalkin 1 season: '98–'99 Grigorij Khizhnyak 1 season: '98–'99 Roberts Štelmahers 1/2 season: '98 Julius Nwosu 1/2 season: '98 Darius Lukminas 2 seasons: '96–'98 Evgeniy Pashutin 4 seasons: '95–'99 Zakhar Pashutin 4 seasons: '95–'99 Gintaras Einikis 4 seasons: '95–'99 Vitaly Nosov 1 season: '92–'93 Aleksandr Gutorov 4 seasons: '91–'92, '00–'03 Mikhail Soloviev

Notes

1. 
   ^ Avtodor sent its B squad
   

References

1. 
   ^ Map of the league - Avtodor Saratov. VTB United League. 18 February 2015. Event occurs at 2:40. Retrieved 25 August 2015. The man who ran the Avtodor company died in the 1990s. He was an amazing man. He'd won medals: was very distinguished. We became friends in the end and when he died we named the club in his honor. We took the word "Avtodorozhnik" [road engineer] and shortened it to Avtodor.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ "Astana meets Avtodor". BCAstana.kz. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


3. 
   ^ ^abc "Club profile: Avtodor Saratov". EurocupBasketball.com. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


4. 
   ^ Fyodorov, Gennady (11 April 1998). "Avtodor beats CSKA 98-87, grabs regular-season title". TheMoscowTimes.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


5. 
   ^ ^ab Fyodorov, Gennady (8 May 1998). "Russian League final set despite arena problems". TheMoscowTimes.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


6. 
   ^ ^ab Fyodorov, Gennady (21 May 1998). "CSKA takes crown with road win". TheMoscowTimes.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


7. 
   ^ "Avtodor Saratov - team history". FIBAEurope.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
   


8. 
   ^ ^ab "Vladimir Rodionov: Avtodor is going to be the League's fastest team". VTB-League.com. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


9. 
   ^ ^ab "Game of the Week. Khimki takes on Saratov; Monia returns home". VTB-League.com. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
   


10. 
    ^ ^ab "Russia starts cup drive with 116-73 stunner". TheMoscowTimes.com. 28 November 1997. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


11. 
    ^ Kazankov, Andrei (26 January 2009). "Vladimir Veremeenko, Unics Kazan". EurocupBasketball.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


12. 
    ^ ^ab Snastin, Kiril (12 October 2004). "Саратов остался без большого баскетбола" Русский [Saratov left without elite basketball]. Kommersant.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


13. 
    ^ ^ab Anfinogentov, Andrey; Bezjazychny, Aleksey; Rustamov, Timur (7 December 2014). "Автодор уже обещает Бой ЦСКА" Русский [Avtodor already takes aim at CSKA]. Sport-Express.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


14. 
    ^ "Avtodor's bumpy season finds reward". FIBAEurope.com. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


15. 
    ^ "Quarterfinals. Recap". VTB-League.com. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


16. 
    ^ ^ab Fyodorov, Gennady (25 April 1997). "Avtodor downs CSKA 109-107 for 1-0 lead". TheMoscowTimes.com. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


17. 
    ^ "CSKA heads to Saratov leading 2-1". TheMoscowTimes.com. 16 May 1998. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    


18. 
    ^ "Week 6. Recap". VTB-League.com. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
    

External links

• 
  Official website (in Russian) (in English)
  


• 
  VTB United League profile Retrieved 25 August 2015


• 
  Eurocup profile Retrieved 25 August 2015


• 
  Eurobasket.com profile Retrieved 25 August 2015

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