Sometimes we forget how much basketball was loved in Soviet times. Sergei and Alexander Belov, Ivan Edeshko, Vladimir Tkachenko, Gennady Volnov, Alexander Gomelsky, Anatoly Myshkin and other equally legendary names immediately come to mind, but few people remember Alexander Kandel. He became interested in basketball quite late, but achieved such success that he was recognized as the best Ural basketball player of the 20th century.
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Alexander was born on February 3, 1935 in Nizhny Tagil in the family of mining engineer Efim Aleksandrovich Kandel. The father of the future basketball player began his career in the mining department of Vysokogorsk, where he rose from an electrician to a chief power engineer. Then Kandel Sr. was the chief engineer of the Sokolovsko-Sarbaisky Mining and Processing Plant in Kazakhstan and then deputy director. In 1957 he headed OKS NTMK (Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant), and from 1962 to 1969 he was the director of the Kachkanar Mining and Processing Plant. In general, Alexander’s father is a respected man who worked for a long time in managerial positions at large factories and at various combines.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to find information about Alexander’s mother, but it is known that his father was a very tall man by USSR standards. Rumor has it that his height was about 2 m. The boy Sasha grew up in Nizhny Tagil. As a child he loved to play football, was fond of model cars and was a good student. Because of his height, the boys in the yard often teased him: “Sashka is as tall as he is forty years old.” This is what they called houses that had exactly 40 apartments. In 1952, Kandel graduated from school and entered the Sverdov Mining Institute – he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
There were no problems with admission, as well as with the educational process. At that time, the city was experiencing a boom in team sports: football, volleyball, hockey and basketball. Alexander was fond of volleyball. Sports fascinated him so much that he began to skip classes in “non-core” subjects in order to participate in the city championship matches. One day, playing volleyball, Alexander Andreevich Saigin, a physical education teacher at the Mining Institute, saw the tall Sasha (he was 195 cm tall). Kandel was invited to attend basketball practice. Just to watch.
Alejandro Kandel (left)
Photo by: BC “Uralmash”
“At that time I didn’t even know what kind of game basketball was. To be honest, I agreed to study only because Saigin promised me exemption from physical education…” Alexander Kandel later admitted. This is where his inseparable love for basketball began! It turns out that in 1954 Sasha started playing basketball and, while still a student, became a member of the master’s team. Two seasons later, the center received a call to the Soviet Union national team.
“I got it and… I didn’t go. Exams were approaching, and in those days failure to show up could easily mean expulsion from school. At that time, I still thought that basketball would not last long. Another year, two or three, and I will return to my hometown and continue my father’s career,” Alexander reasoned. But time passed, and the love for basketball overshadowed everything. In 1958, he was already playing for Uralmash, which played in the top league of the USSR. In the same year, Kandel received the title of “Master of Sports of the USSR.” And in 1961 he was called up to the national team for the European Championship in Belgrade.
Kandel traveled to Serbia with his Uralmash teammate, defender Alexander Novikov. Our hero participated in almost all the matches of that tournament and won gold medals with the USSR national team. The sad thing is that Alexander was not called up to the national team again. Although he was the best center back in the country, playing for a club from the so-called province prevented him from appearing at least once in the USSR. Uralmash basketball players were told almost directly: “Move to Moscow and you will be in the national team.” The interest in Kandel from all the major league clubs was very high, everyone dreamed of having such a player, but Alexander was adamant and loyal to his home team!
Alejandro Kandel
Photo by: BC “Uralmash”
When we talk about Alexander Kandel we cannot help but remember his most important weapon on the court, which is included in basketball textbooks. We are talking about the Kandel hook. This technical element had already been used before, but it was Kandel who took it to the extreme. He could throw a hook from anywhere and could comfortably use it with his right and left hand. It was almost impossible to block such a shot from Alexander, especially from convenient positions. That is why he averaged more than 30 points per game! Imagine how talented and gifted Kandel was for his time.
The famous basketball player and coach Stanislav Eremin, who started his career at Uralmash during the Kandel era, said: “I knew that I just needed to throw the ball to him in the three-second zone, and not even necessarily directly into his hands. At least in a visible space where he can reach. And I knew that Alexander Efimovich would definitely have the ball.” In total, Kandel spent 23 seasons at Uralmash, becoming a 15-time champion of the RSFSR. In the period from 1971 to 1973, he was the club’s player-coach, and then, after the death of the club’s permanent coach Yuri Gustylyov, he finally ended his playing career and moved to the coaching bridge.
Every opponent of Kandel on the court noted his incredible stability. No matter how many players were watching him, he still found a way to put the ball in the basket. It seemed like he was playing elementary school, but this was just an optical illusion. After all, Alexander kept all the country’s centers at bay for three decades. Clubs were no longer preparing for Uralmash, but for Kandel. Every coach in the USSR and not only was wondering how to stop the center.
The Russian footprint in the history of the NBA:
In December 1999, Planet Basketball magazine conducted a poll among various sports media observers to compile the top five best USSR basketball players of the 20th century. The first included Armenak Alachachyan, Sergey Belov, Gennady Volnov, Anatoly Myshkin and Alexander Belov. Second – Stanislav Eremin, Ivan Edeshko, Yuri Korneev, Alzhan Zharmukhamedov and Alexander Kandel. In Russia we must remember those who not only developed basketball here, but were also impressive players!
Kandel coached a whole series of Soviet basketball legends. For example, Sergei Belov, Stanislav Eremin, Anatoly Myshkin and Ivan Dvorny began their professional careers under the guidance of Alexander Efimovich. In 1993, he became a coach of the Uralmash women’s team and won bronze medals at the Russian Championships in 1994 and 1996. Then he worked as a coach in children’s teams for several years. In 2005, at the age of 70, Alexander Efimovich Kandel left our world. But he is a unique phenomenon, without whom Soviet basketball cannot be imagined. His merits will not be forgotten, thank you for everything, the best Ural basketball player of the 20th century!
