Vitalii Mykolayovych Potapenko is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at Wright State Universityand 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.
| Detroit Pistons Current Roster |
|---|
| 00 Holland • 0 Duren • 2 Cunningham • 5 Beasley • 7 Reed • 8 Hardaway • 9 Thompson • 12 Harris • 13 Harper (TW) • 17 Schröder • 19 Fontecchio • 23 Ivey • 24 Jenkins (TW) • 25 Sasser • 28 Stewart • 34 Klintman • 35 Smith (TW) • 43 Waters |
| Players who left during the season: 13 Swider • 14 Moore • 31 Williams |
| Head coach: Bickerstaff • Assistant coaches: Allen • Burleson • Estes • Jack • Lowe • Potapenko • Scalzi • Vinson • Walton |