This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kyrylo Fesenko sat at his locker after Monday night's game in the Rocky Mountain Revue and said he could score 100 points and have it mean nothing if his team lost. On the other hand, he could play 1 minute in a win and go home happy.
It's a universal sentiment in basketball, no matter if the game is being played a world away in Ukraine or at a community college outside of Salt Lake City.
But while Fesenko couldn't have been more disappointed with the Jazz's 75-71 loss to San Antonio, the 20-year-old center so often described as a work in progress offered plenty to think about in terms of his NBA readiness.
Fesenko finished with nine points in his best showing of the summer league and played the last 11:11 of the game, staying in as the starters came back to close the fourth quarter while Rafael Araujo nursed an injured groin.
He did pick up five fouls in the fourth quarter, but Fesenko also had a six-point run of his own - driving for a three-point play, earning a trip to the foul line, then hammering a dunk after his missed free throw was tipped back to him.
Though they tied the game, the Jazz were unable to close out the Spurs in the last 2 1/2 minutes. But it raised the question for assistant coach Tyrone Corbin if anything he has seen out of Fesenko can translate to an actual NBA game.
"Just his aggressiveness, his athleticism, the way he can run and catch the ball on the move,'' Corbin said of Fesenko, who measures 7-foot-1, 280 pounds.
"A couple times on the pick and roll, he rolled to the basket, he was a little twisted, but they threw the ball and he caught it and was able to get something at the basket. Just the way a big guy like that can move and his hands is really good."
For all the good humor that Fesenko has inspired - with stories about wanting to buy a $3,000 junker to drive around and the "Fess" earring he has taken to wearing - the Jazz face serious business decisions about their second-round draft pick.
They could keep Fesenko and negotiate a buyout with his Ukrainian club team, deciding that his development is best accelerated in Utah. But they also have to decide about re-signing Araujo, who has support in the organization.
The roster math is complicated for the Jazz, who would have 13 players under contract should Dee Brown and C.J. Miles both sign their qualifying offers. For his part, Kevin O'Connor said it was too early in July to make such decisions.
Asked if he was making a case to play in the NBA next season, Fesenko said, "I hope so because it is my dream and I will do everything to be there."
Fesenko has a kamikaze-like style on the court and has lived up to his reputation for embracing physical play, described in every scouting report before the draft.
Fesenko missed the first day of Revue practice while his contract situation was worked out, but blocked three shots in one quarter of his first game. The early returns are that Fesenko is ahead of where the Jazz expected him to be.
"He's kind of learning on the run here,'' Corbin said, "so anything that's positive for him that he gets out on the floor is good because now he feels a little more comfortable."
Araujo, meanwhile, went for an MRI on his groin, which has been bothering him since the playoffs. The exam showed tendinitis, but not a tear, and Araujo was hopeful he could play the last three games of the Revue.
He finished with six points Monday, but started the game by getting stripped on a post move, then committing a foul, and following with a defensive three seconds violation. Araujo has totaled 10 turnovers in three games so far.