Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk was 17 when he moved from Cherkasy, Ukraine, to enroll at Kansas, the school currently rampaging through the NCAA tournament. Initially, he couldn’t understand a word his teammates said.
Three years later, the Jayhawks’ starting forward has learned to appreciate Applebee's, the comedic stylings of Kevin Hart and the charms of his midsized Kansas town. His English is excellent. But idioms can still be a source of trouble. They can also, inadvertently, be a source of profundity, as when he described the feeling that takes over Kansas in such moments as an overwhelming second half against Purdue.