Detroit — It was when Battle Creek’s Jason Washburn arrived in Cherkasy, Ukraine, in 2013 for his new life as a professional basketball player when he first heard of the local wunderkind.
“Svyat” was a Cherkasy 16-year-old prodigy, already a Ukrainian fascination.
The boy was not there for the start of training camp with Cherkaski Mavpy, as he was playing a tournament abroad with the Ukrainian youth national team.
When Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk eventually came home, Washburn was underwhelmed at his first look.