Sergey Karasev:
There are a lot of talented young players in the League

Triumph (Russia) guard Sergey Karasev has been named Young Player of the Year. The official announcement was made April 4 at the VTB United League gala ceremony, where Karasev received his prize from League President Sergey Ivanov and Vasily Titov, First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board.

The VTB United League and Championat.com inaugurated the Young Player of the Year award (players 23 years or younger are eligible) at the beginning of this season.

Karasev won the Young Player of the Month award five times during the regular season (Maxim Grigoriev won in December). In 18 VTB United League regular-season games (13 as a starter), he averaged 16.3 points (4th in the League), 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals and a 14.3 efficiency rating.

Karasev played a key role for Triumph Lyubertsy during the regular season, helping the team reach the playoffs as its leading scorer. Triumph will play Krasnye Krylia Samara in the first round of the playoffs. Karasev, who only turned 19 last fall, will have a major impact on the outcome of the series.

- Were you surprised at all to win the Young Player of the Year award? After all, you took home the monthly award almost every time.
- It was still a competition. We have a talented generation growing up in Russia and in other countries represented in the League. It’s a big honor to win an award like this. I’m grateful to my coaches and teammates for their trust. I tried to do my part and help Triumph win. Making the playoffs is a shared achievement. Now we’re going to try to make the second round. I think we’re up for the task.

- Who else among the young guys in the league, who were 23 or younger when the season started, did you view as a rival for the award?
- Obviously, Nikita Balashov from Krasnye Krylia and Lokomotiv’s Maxim Grigoriev. Andrei Zubkov in Krasnodar also played well in a few games when head coach Evgeniy Pashutin gave him playing time. I hope these guys are the future of the Russian national team. All of them, just like me, have a lot of work to do. But they understand that and practice hard. I think that we’ll put together a nice national team in the not-so-distant future.

- Everyone knows that young players struggle to get playing time, especially on big clubs like CSKA and Khimki. Next season the limit on foreign players on the court when two Russian teams are playing in the VTB League will be done away with entirely. Do you think that’s going to have an impact on the new generation of Russian players?
- I’m not going to judge if it’s a good or bad decision, but it definitely will be a lot more difficult for young players to earn a place on the roster of a top club. There’s no time to help your bench improve when the team is expected to always win. It means that young guys will now need to work three times as hard to prove they’re no worse than foreigners and deserve playing time. But if you really give it everything you have, you can make yourself into an excellent player.

- Triumph overachieved last season, finishing in fourth place in the Russian league. This season you only finished in sixth place in your group in the VTB League. You didn’t expect to match last season’s performance, did you?
- Everyone knew it would be difficult. Especially since the competition is more challenging and more interesting in the VTB League. Our minimum goal was to reach the playoffs, which we did. We could have done better. We lost four games by four or less points. If we could have won half of those games, we could have finished in 4th place in the group and guaranteed home-court advantage in the first round. But it turned out the way it did. We’ve got to play Krasnye Krylia for a shot at the quarterfinals. We can take them and our recent win over Spartak St. Petersburg should lend confidence to the team. Everyone understands what’s at stake… A place in European competition next season hinges on the series with Samara.

- What does it mean to you to outscore [Tywain] McKee, who once led the Russian league in scoring?
- Yeah, there’s a bit of a competition between the two of us on Triumph. I wouldn’t call McKee a natural-born scorer, though. He’s an excellent point guard who’s aggressive on offense and can both shoot and pass. It’s nice that I could pass him up. Last season Jerry Jefferson led Triumph on offense and I guess the baton was passed to me this year. I could have played better, but, overall, I think I met the challenge.

- You also have the most free-throw attempts for Triumph – 5.8 per game – and the best percentage, 88.6%. Did you have to practice a lot to reach that level?
- Of course, it took a lot of work at practice. It’s worth it, though. The coaches pick me to shoot technicals and my teammates trust me with the ball at the end of a close game, hoping I’ll get fouled and make both attempts.

- Your dad Vasily Karasev, who’s also Triumph’s head coach, says he plans to spend a summer teaching you how to play the point guard position. Are you still open to the idea?
- Of course. I know that it would be an enormous advantage to have in my career. The ability to play multiple positions is much better than simply knowing how to score. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me – controlling the ball, dribbling speed. I work on it almost every day. It’s not easy, but I think that if I’m determined, I’ll get there eventually.

- You only play two PBL [Professional Basketball League] games in April, then the VTB United League playoffs pack a bunch of games into a short period of time in May. How do you deal with the choppy schedule?
- It’s difficult, of course. Not that long ago, we were playing in three competitions. Now, after elimination from the Eurocup and PBL scheduling changes, we’ll only play two games in a month. We’ll try to keep ourselves busy and do stuff outside of practice, like hold master classes. It’s good for us and for the community. We have a young team and we get along well, so everyone enjoys hanging out after practice. We won’t forget about preparing for upcoming games, either.

- It’s no secret that CSKA was interested in you last year, but, according to your dad, there was no chance you would make the move. Do you know where you’ll be playing next season? Who will make the decision – you or your dad?
- I always talk things over with my dad. Right now there’s no decision to be made. We’re thinking things over carefully, so that we don’t make a mistake. I don’t want to go to CSKA and just sit on the bench. I’d rather earn less money, but get more playing time when I’m 19. We’re going to think about it. I hope my career doesn’t go downhill.

- I can’t help but ask about the NBA Draft, which you’re eligible for this summer. What are the chances you head overseas next season already? What effect does Alexey Shved’s success in his rookie season for Minnesota have on you?
- Lyokha [Alexey] is in a different situation. It turned out well for him that he wasn’t drafted – he got to choose the best team for him. I could still remove my name from the Draft this season and wait for next year. I’ve got to think it all over carefully and decide.

- What’s most likely at this point – that you sign with an NBA team or join a stronger Russian club?
- It’s hard to say. I’d need to talk with the management of the club that would invite me. Of course, anybody would probably promise playing time on the court to try to get a player to sign, even if that didn’t end up being the case. You also have to take into consideration who’s already playing at your position on that team. There’s a lot to think over. I’ll make a final decision soon, though.

Championat.com