VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - Ainars Bagatskis was voted unanimously as the coach of the year in Latvia.

And that got me thinking, "Wait, isn't he nicknamed 'The Golden Hand', the best player in Latvian history?"

Well, as it turns out, we go way back, Ainars and I.

The year was 1996 and it was a cold, October night in Leicester.

I had just moved to England and the first basketball game that I covered happened to be England v Latvia in a qualifying contest for EuroBasket 1997.

There were two names that stood out for me that night.

One was Steve Bucknall, who had played for Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina when I was a student there.

Bucknall poured in a game-high 24 points that night, and I couldn't believe it. In my time at Chapel Hill while watching him play, it was all about defense.

Smith, a FIBA Hall of Fame coach, played Bucknall from the minute he arrived on campus because of his defense.

Then there was Ainars.

I had never heard of him but boy, did he make an impression.

He could shoot.

He was 'Cool Hand’ Ainars, a perfect four-of-four from beyond the arc and 22 points on the night in Latvia's 76-66 victory over England.

Latvia would go on to play at the EuroBasket in Spain the following year.

It was that October night when I, an American, was introduced to Latvian basketball.

Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis and the 1992 Olympics, well, I and everyone else in the USA already knew about Lithuanian basketball.

But the Latvians, I discovered, could play the game, too.

Ainars had a terrific playing career and fortunately for Latvia, his basketball days didn't end there.

Ainars decided to become a coach.

He guided Latvia into EuroBasket 2011 where his young team played well but lost all five games.

At EuroBasket 2013, Ainars steered Latvia into the Second Round.

This past summer, Ainars led Latvia to six wins in as many games in the 2nd Qualifying Round for EuroBasket 2015.

They will host a Group D that also has Lithuania, Estonia, Belgium, Ukraine and the Czech Republic.

Ainars has also had a great season with Niznhy Novgorod, a team that currently leads the VTB United League with 10 wins and zero defeats.

Niznhy, making their first appearance in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, also went into the last round of the Regular Season with a chance to advance to the Top 16.

It's time I bought Ainars a pint, don't you think!

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

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