Omaha, Neb. — Svi Mykhailiuk played his first games at Kansas at age 17.
Reflecting on those early days ahead of KU’s Elite Eight showdown against Duke, the senior opened up about the biggest struggles he faced as a freshman from another country.
“I’m going to be honest,” Mykhailiuk said. “I wasn’t ready my freshman year, like mentally,”
One difference between Ukraine and the U.S., Mykhailiuk noted, was in the way he was coached while playing basketball.
Specifically, Mykhailiuk had to adjust to the shouts of KU coach Bill Self, who got onto Mykhailiuk in a way he hadn’t previously experienced.
“During the years I just learned he just wanted me to get better,” Mykhailiuk said. “He’s not, like, actually getting mad at me.”
