By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Andrei Kirilenko couldn’t finish last season in Euroleague as the champ, however he was the biggest star of the league and the ΜVP of the season. Is there a player that can be compared with him this season in CSKA? Yes! It’s his longtime friend and teammate since their teen years, Viktor Khryapa. One of the more versatile players of Euroleague in the last decade (he made his debut in the competition with CSKA back in 2002-3) and one of the most unsung.
His low profile doesn’t help him to be considered a “marquee name”, however on the court he is a true star, a player who helps his team in every possible way and makes it better. One may argue that even Euroleague overlooked him and specially his defense. He got the best defender award only in the season 2009-10 and maybe he should have more individuals trophies in this category.
Numbers never tell the whole truth, but let’s try to compare Kirilenko’s stat from last season with those of Khryapa this year, without even counting his monster game against Brose Baskets (19 p., 14 r., 4 st.):
Kirilenko 2011-12
The player known as AK-47 played 17 games and his numbers were 29.54 mpg, 14.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.4 asp, 1.5 spg, 1.9 bpg and 5.4 fouls won per game. His average ranking was 24.2, the best in the league. He shot 59,8% in two pointers, 41,7% in three point shots and 75,8% in free throws.
Khryapa 2012-13
When Kirilenko was in Moscow, Khryapa has 22.38 mpg last season. This year in 12 games he has 26.30 mpg, 9.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3,7 asp, 1,4 spg, 1,2 bpg, 2.1 fouls won per game and an average ranking of 16.2! He also shots 55,9% in two point shots, 41.9% in threes and 91.8% in free throws.
He doesn’t score as much as Kirilenko did (in 3,5 mpg more), but he is a better passer. His numbers in steals, rebounds and blocks are really near to those of AK-47, his shooting percentage also and he is a lot more accurate in free throws.
What can’t be translated to numbers is his consistency in his duty as defensive helper, his input in his team creation – every triangle that coach Messina wants to create pass through him – and his impressive teamwork.
The Italian coach of CSKA wants to create the perfect basketball “machine” and in order to do so he needs bigger balance between the front line and the back court and also more creativity by his point guards, but he also knows that the glue of his team, the most versatile player in his roster is Khryapa. After all he can play two positions in the offense, but he can defend every position from “1” to “5”!
For Eurohoops, Viktor Khryapa is probable the best… teammate in this season’s Euroleague. He already proved himself as an adequate replacement of Kirilenko and that could apply not only to his club, but also to the Russian national team, if its super star decides to take a break. It’s not a coincidence that besides Kirilenko, Khryapa was also always a standout in the recent successes of the Russian NT under coach Blatt.