A young veteran club in its sixth consecutive Eurocup season, Unics is back in the competition ready to use its experience, deep roster and overall talent to finally lift the trophy. Indeed, Unics faces the 2010-11 Eurocup knowing it is arguably one of the top favourites to win the title. Coach Evgeniy Pashutin reached the Euroleague Final Four with CSKA last season and hopes to lead Unics to new heights in 2010-11. Its starting point guard will be Terrell Lyday, a physical playmaker with court sense and deep range. Petr Samoylenko comes off the bench to offer on-the-ball defense, intensity and hustle. Off-guard Marko Popovic is a scoring machine right at the prime of his career. He has learnt to read double-team situations to find the open man and can destroy any opponent with his wild shots from downtown and quick first step. His perfect complement is Kelly McCarty, a veteran small forward with high basketball IQ, determination, clutch and leadership. McCarty is Unics' main addition and that make the difference like he did in the 2004 ULEB Cup final with Hapoel Migdal. Three-point specialist Igor Zamanskiy, athletic forward Viktor Zvarykin and well-rounded veteran Zakhar Pashutin - coach Evgeny's brother and former CSKA Moscow captain - will provide a helping hand off the bench. Unics has arguably one of the deepest frontcourts in the competition. Maciej Lampe offers talent, deep range and great ballhandling for a player his size. Hasan Rizvic is a post player with solid skills and know-how. Slavko Vranes, the tallest player in European club basketball at 229cm, offers his impressing defensive skills - but he can be dangerous in the other end, too. Vladimir Veremeenko is an all-around player able to shoot from outside, drive to the basket or rebound well at both ends. With such an interesting roster and one of the best young coaches in Europe, expect Unics to reach high - maybe higher than any other team - in this Eurocup season.

Unics has put Kazan, Russia, on the European basketball map and become an ideal ambassador for the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian federation. Founded in 1991, Unics soon secured a berth in Russia's first division in 1997 and made its European debut in the 1997-98 Korac Cup, but the new millennium was the turning point for the club. Unics ranked second in the Russian League in both 2001 and 2002, the year in which it also made it to the Saporta Cup semifinals, losing against Maroussi. Unics lifted its first trophy, the Russian Cup, in 2003 with an electrifying 81-82 overtime win over CSKA. Soon after that, Kazan earned the right to host the FIBA Europe League final four in April 2004 and Unics made the most of it. The club signed Saulius Stombergas, Eurelijus Zukauskas and Chris Anstey, won its regular season group and advanced to the final four on its own floor, where it was crowned the champion - and took revenge in the process - as MVP Martin Muursepp scored 22 points in an 87-63 win over Maroussi in the final. Unics went one level up in the 2005-06 season, making its ULEB Cup debut and matching the best regular season record in the competition’s history. Unics suffered its only home loss in the eighthfinals' second leg and was knocked off by Virtus Roma. Unics reunited the Lavrinovic twins - Darjus and Ksistof - for the next season along with Yahor Meshcharakou and Dusko Savanovic to reach the ULEB Cup semifinals in 2007, losing to eventual champ Real Madrid. It also reached the Russian League finals, but CSKA stood in its way. In 2007-08, Unics made it to the ULEB Cup Final Eight, but lost against Akasvayu Girona in the quarterfinals. Back home, Unics reached the Russian Cup final four and the Russian League playoffs. In 2008-09, Unics lifted another Russian Cup title with Kresimir Loncar and Popovic as its superstars. Last season, Unics was knocked off in the Eurocup Last 16 for the second consecutive year, but reached the Russian Cup final and earned a Euroleague Qualifying Rounds spot by placing third in the Russian League. Despite a shocking loss in its two-way series against Spirou Basket, Unics is set to bounce back by reaching deep in the Eurocup.

Marko Popovic

PROVISIONAL ROSTER Terrell Lyday G 191 Marko Popovic G 185 Igor Zamanskiy F 202 Petr Samoylenko G 186 Zakhar Pashutin G 196 Vladimir Veremeenko F 208 Amiran Amirkhanov G 193 Hasan Rizvic C 210 Kelly McCarty F 201 Victor Zvarykin G 200 Maciej Lampe C 210 Slavko Vranes C 229 Coach: Evgeny Pashutin