Boris Diaw

Yeah I'm surprised that Lithuania doesn't have any players in the NBA as well but maybe their current players aren't ready or willing to come here right now.
Ghettostar85 do you know if they have any good point guards or forwards who might be of use to the Rockets in the future?

 

I was going to start a new thread about this...but who is this Jasikevicius for Lithuania? This guy by far is leading the tourny in assists and seems to be a heck of a player. I think he played his college bal at Maryland but never stuck on with an NBA team.

Anybody know this guys story and why he isn't in the NBA?

 

Isn't Sabonis from Lithuania?

 

Yes he is but he has just retired again.

 

here's a good article I found on Jasikevicius

washingtonpost.com
Jasikevicius Has Continental Flair
Ex-Terp One of Europe's Best Guards

By Tim Warren
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 14, 2003; Page E05


STOCKHOLM, Sept. 13 -- Sarunas Jasikevicius left Maryland in 1998 a solid wing player, known for his shooting and intelligent play. But there was no chance he was going to play in the NBA, so he went back to his native Lithuania and tried his luck at club ball in Europe.

"My goal was always to play professionally, if not in the NBA then somewhere else," he said recently. "I just wanted to play."

Jasikevicius remade himself into a point guard, becoming one of the best at his position in Europe, and in May he led Barcelona to the European club championship.

He also has played sensationally in the European team championship here, perhaps the biggest reason Lithuania has knocked off one big-name opponent after another in reaching Sunday's final.

Today it was France, 74-70, in a tense game that wasn't decided until the final moments. Jasikevicius was matched up against France's sterling point guard, Tony Parker, a rising star with the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. Jasikevicius more than held his own, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

As thousands of exuberant Lithuanian fans rejoiced in their basketball-mad country's clinching of an Olympic berth in Athens next year, and the chance to win the Euro championship for the first time since 1939, Jasikevicius was accepting an award as the outstanding player of the game.

Sunday, he will face another outstanding guard, Juan Carlos Navarro, the second-round draft pick of the Wizards in 2002, who scored 23 points to lead Spain over underdog Italy, 81-79. Spain also has clinched a trip to Athens; the last European bid will go to the winner of the France-Italy matchup for third place, played before the final.

At Maryland, the 6-foot-4 Jasikevicius was an effective though hardly spectacular player. Here, it's been a completely different story. Entering today's game, he was averaging 15 points and a tournament-high 8.3 assists, and he had only four turnovers to go with his 33 assists.

But statistics don't convey the brilliance with which he directs his team, mixing basic-but-effective passes with no-look feeds in traffic that startle even his coaches. He brought down the house in the first half today with a hard pass off the dribble from the top of the key to a cutting teammate, who dunked easily.

"He's a unique player," said Lithuanian Coach Antanas Sireila, shaking his head, after today's game. "He's a very creative player. Sometimes he doesn't do what a coach expects his player to do, but he is so creative we will just sit back and watch."

Jasikevicius's shooting was off today (3 for 10 from the field), due mostly to tight pressure from Parker. But in the quarterfinals against Serbia and Montenegro and its NBA point guard, Marko Jaric of the Los Angeles Clippers, he scored 18 points in the first half and finished with 21 points and 11 assists.

"He's the leader on the floor -- he's always talking to his teammates," Parker said before today's game. "He's a great shooter and a very good passer. He's perfect for Europe. Could he play in the NBA? There might be some questions about his defense, but he runs a team pretty good."

Jasikevicius said he hasn't ruled out trying the NBA, but he is 27 and quite comfortable playing in Europe. He and Navarro formed perhaps Europe's top back court while at Barcelona, but Jasikevicius has a new team now: He will head off to Maccabi Tel Aviv, another European powerhouse, when this championship is over.

"There's a lot about the European style of ball I like," he acknowledged. "And a lot of Europeans have tried the NBA dream and found it is a myth. European ball is getting closer to the level of the NBA, anyway. I don't feel I have to play there to prove myself as a player."

 

Thanks GhettoStar85 and Matador. The article was very informative. Jasikevicius seems like a creative PG.It's remarkable to see him doing so well after having to learn a new and difficult position which is critical to the success of any team.

 

Isn't big Z from Lithuania?

 

Yes he is.I forgot about it.

 

Thats it! Maryland, I know I have heard that name before. Thanks Matador for that article.

Faring as well as he has, I wouldn't be at all surprised that he gets a shot at the NBA.

Stuart

 

I didn't see a link for the game or the tourney. Did Darius Songalia play for Lithuania? He signed with some NBA team this past off-season.

 

Songalia is listed as a member of the Lithuanian team for the European Championship and did sign with the Kings as the 50th pick but did not play in any games during the NBA season.

 

you mean he did not played in any game last season?
he was Celtics pick last year, was in europe with CSKA Moscow, was in euro final four, and when this spring Boston sent him to Kings he signed with them. so i count him as a lihtuanian NBA player, like France NBA -player is Diaw.