Vitaly Nikolaevich Potapenko (, pronounced vee-TAH-lee poe-TAH-pen-koe, born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at Wright State University and was selected 12th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1996 NBA draft, also the last pick before Kobe Bryant, believed by many as the best player from the 1996 draft. Nicknamed "The Ukraine Train", he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Sacramento Kings of the NBA, as well as MMT Estudiantes in the Spanish ACB. Since retiring as a player, Potapenko has been serving as an assistant coach for several teams, among them the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Indiana Pacers, the Dakota Wizards, and the Santa Cruz Warriors and later as an assistant director of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping them win their first ever NBA championship. See also List of foreign NBA coaches Notes External links NBA.com Profile Cleveland Cavaliers' Front Office 1975 births Living people Basketball players from Kyiv BC Budivelnyk players Boston Celtics players CB Estudiantes players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Dakota Wizards coaches Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Fort Wayne Mad Ants coaches Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Liga ACB players National Basketball Association players from Ukraine Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings players Santa Cruz Warriors coaches Seattle SuperSonics players Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Spain Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in the United States Ukrainian men's basketball players Wright State Raiders men's basketball players