Yuri Korneev

Who is Yuri Korneev?

Yuri Korneev, was a Russian basketball player. A 1.98 m tall small forward, he started his career for Dynamo Moscow, but moved to CSKA to become one of its cornerstones in the 1960s. Together with the Red Army's club, Korneev won a Euroleague championship in 1963, scoring 15 crucial points in the tie-break final game against Real Madrid, as the two first contests were not enough to crown a champion. He reached the continental final once again two years later, when Real took their revenge for what had been a bitter loss. In addition to that, Korneev led CSKA to five Soviet Union League titles.

A regular of the Soviet Union national basketball team, Korneev won two Eurobasket titles in 1959 and 1961, two Olympic silver medals in 1960 and 1964 as well as a bronze medal at the 1963 FIBA World Championship.

Korneev left CSKA in the prime of his career due to a Soviet rule that did not allow players above 25 years old to play for the Army-supported team.