University of Tartu basketball team

University of Tartu basketball team (Estonian: Tartu Ülikooli korvpallimeeskond), is a professional basketball team based in Tartu, Estonia. The team plays in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. They play their home games at the University of Tartu Sports Hall.

Tartu Ülikool University of Tartu
Leagues	Latvian–Estonian Basketball League
Founded	1937
History	List Tartu EASK (1937–1940) Tartu Ülikool (1948–1992) Tartu KK (1992–1994) Tartu Gaas (1994–1995) KK Tartu (1995–1997) SK Polaris (1997–1999) Tartu Ülikool (1999–present)
Arena	University of Tartu Sports Hall
Capacity	1,650[1]
Location	Tartu, Estonia
Team colors	White, Black, Blue
President	Priit Kaasik
Head coach	Toomas Kandimaa
Championships	26 Estonian Championships 16 Estonian Cups 1 Soviet Championship
Website	Official website
Home Away

Founded in 1937 as division of the University of Tartu Academic Sports Club, the team have won a record 26 Estonian Championships, a record 16 Estonian Cups and one Soviet Championship.

History

The team was founded in 1937 by Herbert Niiler as Tartu Estonian Academic Sports Club (Estonian: Tartu Eesti Akadeemiline Spordiklubi), or simply Tartu EASK. The team won the regional series and was promoted to the top-tier Estonian Championship.[2] Led by Estonia national team players Oskar Erikson, Aleksander Illi, Heino Veskila and Ralf Viksten, the team won the 1938 Estonian Championship and managed to defend the title in the two following seasons. The club's success was cut short by World War II and the Soviet occupation.[3][4]

University of Tartu returned to the Estonian Championship in 1948. On 28 August 1948, the team defeated Tartu Dünamo with a record score of 132–6, with Ilmar Kullam scoring 40 points.[5] Led by a generation of star players such as Kullam, Heino Kruus and Joann Lõssov, the team won five consecutive Estonian Championships from 1948 to 1952. In 1949, the team also won the Soviet Championship.[2]

The team, now coached by Ernst Ehaveer, won another Estonian Championship in 1956 with a team of players from different generations like the veteran Kullam and the young Mart Laga. In 1957, center Jaak Lipso joined the team and Tartu won two more championships in 1958 and 1959.[2] After Lipso's departure, the team struggled in the 1960s before acquiring Aleksei Tammiste in 1968. The team won the 1968–69 season by defeating Tallinna Kalev 82–80 in the final, fielding an unorthodox starting lineup of 4 guards and 1 forward.[2][6] Led by Tammiste and Anatoli Krikun, the team won eight Estonian Championships from 1969 to 1978. In 1983, Ehaveer ended his 27-season tenure as the head coach. Under Ehaveer, the team had won a total of 11 Estonian Championships and 5 Estonian Cups.[2] In the 1980s, the team entered into a period of decline, failing to finish above third place.

Tartu continued to struggle after the restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991. In the 1995–96 season, the team reached the finals, but lost the series to Kalev 0–3. In 1997, University of Tartu hired Teet Laur as head coach. In 1998, the team signed Marek Doronin. University of Tartu finished the 1999–2000 regular season in third place, but reached the finals in the playoffs and won their first title since 1978, defeating Tallinna Kalev in three games.[2] The team also made their debut in Europe, entering the 1999–2000 FIBA Saporta Cup, but failed to advance past the group stage with just one win in 10 games. In 2000, Jüri Neissaar returned to the team and replaced Laur as head coach. The team defended their KML title in the 2000–01 season, defeating Tallinna Ülikoolid-A. Le Coq in three games in the finals.[2] Tanel Tein was named Most Valuable Player of the season, while Neissaar won the Coach of the Year.[7] The team failed to win their third consecutive KML title as Tartu lost the series to Tallinna Kalev 2–3. Nevertheless, Tein was named MVP for the second year in a row.[8]

Tanel Tein was named MVP on the season in 2001, 2002 and 2006, Finals MVP in 2007 and Estonian Player of the Year in 2008.

In 2003, Tõnu Lust was hired as head coach. University of Tartu won the 2003–04 regular season and won the title, defeating EBS/Nybit in 4 games to 2 in the finals.[2] Augenijus Vaškys was named MVP and Lust won the Coach of the Year award.[9] The team finished the 2004–05 regular season with a 12–4 record, but lost the finals to Ehitustööriist 3 games to 4. After the season, Lust was replaced as head coach by the assistant coach Paavo Russak. The team reached the finals in the 2005–06 season, but were once again defeated by Kalev/Cramo (former Ehitustööriist) 3 games to 4, losing the deciding seventh game by a single point, 68–69. Despite the loss, Tein was named MVP of the season for the third time.[10] University of Tartu signed Gert Kullamäe, Martin Müürsepp and Giorgi Tsintsadze for the 2006–07 season, while Algirdas Brazys replaced Russak as head coach. The team won the regular season and reached the finals in the playoffs, where they defeated Kalev/Cramo 4 games to 2. Tein was named the KML Finals MVP. Üllar Kerde was hired as the new head coach for the next season. University of Tartu competed in the 2007–08 FIBA EuroCup and made Estonian basketball history by reaching the Final Four, where they were defeated by Barons LMT 82–88 in the semifinals.[11] In the third place games, the team faced Proteas EKA AEL, but lost 70–79. University of Tartu defended their KML title in the 2007–08 season, defeating Kalev/Cramo in a four-game sweep in the finals.[2] Brian Cusworth was named the KML Finals MVP, in addition to regular-season MVP, while Tein was named Estonian Player of the Year and Kerde won the Coach of the Year award.[12]

On 20 December 2008, Kerde was replaced by assistant coach Indrek Visnapuu. University of Tartu won the 2008–09 regular season and advanced to the finals in the playoffs. In the finals, the team faced Kalev/Cramo once again and lost the series 2 games to 4. The team won the 2009–10 season, defeating Rakvere Tarvas 4 games to 2 in the finals.[13] Janar Talts was named KML Finals MVP.[14] On 25 January 2012, Visnapuu was replaced by assistant coach and former University of Tartu player Gert Kullamäe. The team won their next Estonian Championship in the 2014–15 season, defeating Kalev/Cramo 4 games to 1 in the finals.[15] Tanel Kurbas was named the KML Finals MVP and Kullamäe won the Coach of the Year award. University of Tartu participated in the 2015–16 season of the newly established FIBA Europe Cup, reaching the round of 32. In Estonia, the team finished the 2015–16 regular season in second place. The team advanced to the finals, but were defeated by Kalev/Cramo 4 games to 1.[16]

Sponsorship naming

The team has had several denominations through the years due to its sponsorship. From 2001 to 2016, the club was sponsored by Saku, an Estonian brewery company, which led to the team featuring Rock, one of Saku's brands, in their team name. As a result, the name Rock was used frequently to refer to the team.

• Tartu Gaas: 1994–1995
• SK Polaris: 1997–1999
• University of Tartu-Delta: 1999–2001
• University of Tartu/Rock: 2001–2016

Logos

• 
  Rock sponsorship logo
• 
  BC Tartu (2016–2018)

Home arenas

• Estonian University of Life Sciences Sports Hall (1960–1982)
• University of Tartu Sports Hall (1982–present)

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

University of Tartu roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age SG 2 Aav, Sverre 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 19 – 3 January 2002 SG 4 Saar, Hannes 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 19 – 10 October 2001 PG 5 Eelmäe, Hendrik 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 20 – 26 October 2000 SF 9 Vene, Kent-Kaarel 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 92 kg (203 lb) 26 – 21 February 1994 SG 10 Kivi, Robin 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 21 – 17 March 1999 PF 13 Hermet, Kregor (C) 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 23 – 9 June 1997 C 16 Parrol, Heivo 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 24 – 2 November 1996 SG 20 Valge, Robert 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 23 – 20 April 1997 PF 21 Urvik, Erki 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) 18 – 7 May 2002 PF 24 Saal, Patrik 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 20 – 16 June 2000 PG 28 Jürgenstein, Joonas Anton 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 20 – 24 August 2000 PG 31 Suurorg, Oliver 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 21 – 8 January 2000 PG 40 Peemot, Patrik 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 19 – 7 August 2001 PF 24 Balčiūnas, Tomas 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 20 – 4 April 2000	Head coach Toomas Kandimaa Assistant coach(es) Joosep Toome Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 19 September 2019

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3	Inactive
C	Adomas Drungilas	Heivo Parrol
PF	Kregor Hermet	Patrik Saal
SF	Grantas Vasiliauskas	Kent-Kaarel Vene			Erki Urvik
SG	Robert Valge	Robin Kivi	Hannes Saar	Sverre Aav
PG	Hendrik Eelmäe	Martynas Mažeika	Oliver Suurorg	Joonas Anton Jürgenstein	Patrik Peemot

Head coaches

Aleksander Illi 1937 Oskar Erikson 1938–1940 Edgar Naarits 1948–1955 Ernst Ehaveer 1956–1983 Arne Laos 1983–1992 Jüri Neissaar 1992–1993

Tõnu Lust 1993–1994 Jüri Neissaar 1994–1997 Teet Laur 1997–2000 Jüri Neissaar 2000–2003 Tõnu Lust 2003–2005 Paavo Russak 2005–2006

Algirdas Brazys 2006–2007 Üllar Kerde 2007–2008 Indrek Visnapuu 2008–2012 Gert Kullamäe 2012–2017 Priit Vene 2017–2020 Toomas Kandimaa 2020–

Season by season

Season	Tier	Division	Pos.	Postseason	RS	PO	Estonian Cup	Regional competitions			European competitions
1991–92	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	8	–	7–22	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1992–93	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	5	–	20–16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1993–94	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	4	Fourth place	15–13	0–4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1994–95	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	6	Fifth place	13–15	5–4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1995–96	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	3	Runner-up	19–17	6–3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1996–97	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	4	Third place	12–13	4–3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1997–98	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	5	Third place	10–15	3–6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1998–99	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	4	Fourth place	14–11	5–5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1999–00	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	3	Champion	20–10	9–2	Champion	–	–	–	2 Saporta Cup	RS	1–9
2000–01	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Champion	28–7	6–0	Champion	–	–	–	–	–	–
2001–02	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Runner-up	23–7	5–5	Runner-up	–	–	–	–	–	–
2002–03	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Third place	20–4	4–3	Champion	–	–	–	4 Europe Champions Cup	QR	2–6
2003–04	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Champion	18–6	6–3	Quarterfinalist	–	–	–	4 Europe Cup	QR	2–4
2004–05	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Runner-up	12–4	8–4	Champion	Baltic Basketball League	10th	3–15	4 Europe Cup	QR	2–6
2005–06	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	2	Runner-up	18–6	6–6	Runner-up	Baltic Basketball League	14th	11–21	–	–	–
2006–07	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Champion	33–3	9–3	Runner-up	Baltic Basketball League	9th	14–12	4 EuroCup Challenge	RS	3–3
2007–08	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Champion	33–3	7–0	Runner-up	Baltic Basketball League	R16	5–15	3 EuroCup	4th	9–4
2008–09	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Runner-up	26–2	5–4	Quarterfinalist	Baltic Basketball League	3rd	11–12	3 EuroChallenge	RS	2–4
2009–10	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Champion	23–5	7–4	Champion	Baltic Basketball League	QF	10–11	3 EuroChallenge	RS	1–5
2010–11	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	2	Runner-up	28–4	3–4	Champion	Baltic Basketball League	QF	14–10	3 EuroChallenge	RS	2–4
2011–12	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Runner-up	25–3	3–4	Champion	Baltic Basketball League	RS	6–14	–	–	–
2012–13	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	2	Runner-up	28–4	6–4	Quarterfinalist	Baltic Basketball League	QF	14–4	3 EuroChallenge	RS	2–4
2013–14	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Runner-up	30–2	6–4	Champion	Baltic Basketball League	3rd	14–6	3 EuroChallenge	QF	10–5
2014–15	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	1	Champion	26–6	10–3	Champion	Baltic Basketball League	4th	4–1–3	3 EuroChallenge	T16	6–6
2015–16	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	2	Runner-up	25–7	7–4	Runner-up	Baltic Basketball League	RU	7–1	3 Europe Cup	L32	4–8
2016–17	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	2	Third place	29–3	7–3	Runner-up	Baltic Basketball League	3rd	4–1–3	3 Champions League	QR2	1–1–2
											4 Europe Cup	RS	0–4
2017–18	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	2	Runner-up	19–7	3–4	–	Baltic Basketball League	3rd	12–6	4 Europe Cup	QR2	0–2
2018–19	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga	3	Quarterfinalist	–	1–3	–	LEBL	QF	14–16	–	–	–
2019–20	1	Korvpalli Meistriliiga		Cancelled [lower-alpha 1]	–		–	LEBL	CNX [lower-alpha 1]	10–14	–	–	–

1. Season cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trophies and awards

Trophies

Estonian Championship

• Winners (26): 1938, 1939, 1940, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1968–69, 1970, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1977–78, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2014–15

Estonian Cup

• Winners (16): 1950, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1974, 1976, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014

Soviet Championship

• Winners (1): 1949

BBL Cup

• Winners (1): 2010

Individual awards

Estonian Player of the Year Tanel Tein – 2008 KML MVP Tanel Tein – 2001, 2002, 2006 Augenijus Vaškys – 2004 Brian Cusworth – 2008 KML Play-offs MVP Tanel Tein – 2000 KML Finals MVP Tanel Tein – 2007 Brian Cusworth – 2008 Janar Talts – 2010 Tanel Kurbas – 2015 KML Best Defender Janar Talts – 2015, 2016 KML Best Young Player Veljo Vares – 2001 Rain Veideman – 2011 KML Coach of the Year Jüri Neissaar – 2001 Tõnu Lust – 2004 Üllar Kerde – 2008 Gert Kullamäe – 2015

All-KML Team Janar Talts – 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018 Tanel Tein – 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008 Tarmo Kikerpill – 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 Vallo Allingu – 2004, 2006 Toomas Liivak – 2001 Toomas Kandimaa – 2002 Augenijus Vaškys – 2004 Marek Doronin – 2005 Gert Kullamäe – 2007 Brian Cusworth – 2008 Giorgi Tsintsadze – 2008 Scott Morrison – 2010 Sten Sokk – 2011 Bill Amis – 2012 Augustas Pečiukevičius – 2014 Tanel Kurbas – 2014 Janari Jõesaar – 2017 Tanel Sokk – 2018

References

1. "Tartu Ülikooli Spordihoone" (in Estonian). Spordiregister.ee.
2. "Tartu korvpall timeline" (in Estonian). Postimees.
3. "Heino Veskila". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
4. "Veskila, Heino". ESBL. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
5. "Tartu ÜSK 132:6 Tartu Dünamo". Estonian Basketball Association. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
6. "TRÜ 82:80 Tallinna Kalev". Estonian Basketball Association. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
7. "Enden ainus kandidaat" (in Estonian). Postimees. 26 May 2001.
8. "Selgunud on Eesti korvpallihooaja parimad" (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 31 May 2002.
9. "Müürsepp Eesti parim" (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 8 June 2004.
10. "Selgusid korvpallihooaja 2005/06 parimad" (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 1 June 2006.
11. "Barons fight back to book place in final". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
12. "Valiti korvpallihooaja parimad" (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 4 June 2008.
13. "Kullaklubi". Basket.ut.ee. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
14. "Rock krooniti Eesti meistriks! Talts finaalseeria MVP!" (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 14 May 2010.
15. "Eesti meister 2015 on TÜ/ROCK!" (in Estonian). Estonian Basketball Association. 22 May 2015.
16. "Kalev/Cramo kindlustas meistritiitli koguni 27-punktise võiduga!" (in Estonian). Delfi Sport. 27 May 2016.

External links

• Official website (in Estonian)