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What everyone is wondering is how Lishchuk and his teammates will perform under recently appointed national team coach, Mike Fratello. It turns out that Lishchuk met Fratello several years ago. "In 2004, I was in the pre-draft camp in Memphis and I spoke with him," Lishchuk said to Basketball World News. "I know him a little bit. But I don't know." FIBA Europe

Coaching, Mike Fratello, Ukraine 

What he doesn't know is if Fratello will be a good fit for Ukraine. "He will be the first American coach in our national team, but I don't know," Lishchuk said. "I think he'll have a lot of problems because if you don't know European basketball, it will be very tough for him. "We'll see." FIBA Europe

Coaching, Mike Fratello, Ukraine 

Former Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello, 64, has agreed to coach Ukraine's national team at the European Championship this year. The Ukrainian Basketball Federation says it has a verbal agreement with Fratello, who has been working as an NBA television analyst for Turner Sports. The European Championship is scheduled for Aug. 31-Sept. 18 in Lithuania. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Mike Fratello, Ukraine 

Al Iannazzone: People I've spoken to said Mike Fratello has not yet accepted the job to be the Ukraine's national team coach this summer Twitter

Coaching, Mike Fratello, Ukraine 

Former NBA coach Mike Fratello has agreed to coach Ukraine's national team at the European Championship this year. USA Today

Mike Fratello, Ukraine 

In an interview to Vladimir Kotsur of sport-express.ua , Alexander Volkov confirmed that the Ukrainian federation of basketball and former Atlanta Hawks head-coach Mike Fratello are in talks that could lead to the TNT analyst coaching the Ukrainian national team at the 2011 Eurobasket which will be held in Lithuania in September. As mentioned by Kotsur in the interview, the connection between Fratello and Volkov exists through Atlanta, where Volkov played from 1989 to 1992 and Fratello coached from 1983 to 1990. Volkov also mentions on the interview that they are still negotiating and that there are other candidates, which he preferred not to mention. The Basketball Post

FIBA, Mike Fratello, Ukraine