Lithuanian talents.

[Hepcat]

The Lithuanian coach has so many very good players from which to choose that the cuts he has to make must be a very difficult thing for him to do.

[Hepcat]

Will Vytenis Čižauskas be ready for the Lithuanian national team by 2014?

[sagenas]

Will Vytenis Čižauskas be ready for the Lithuanian national team by 2014?

Depends on his club seasons. If he will be bench warmer even in "Kaunas", then, of course, not.

Right now he should play in "Kaunas" together with Vasiliauskas and Janavičius. Quite tough competition for him. We don't know who will get more playing time and what does coach think about these players.

[auris1]

Renaldas Seibutis was the MVP of the 2005 U21 World Championships won by Lithuania. He was a member of the 2010 Lithuanian team that won the bronze at the World Championships but was an early cut this year.

Would you say that his career has been a disappointment since the 2005 U21 World Championships? In what ways does Renaldas need to improve his game?

I know that his carrier had been hampered by his back injury .
But this time around he will be right in front of homecourt,and i think he still has to offer at least another 6-7 years at the highest level.
NO doubt that he is NT calibre player.I think he was trying too hard to be versatile,team player,but once he decided,fuck it,i am going to get my stats in order first,things had change dramatically in his favour.
I know,it is too late,but probably he would had been useful even this year,as he was last time around(2010)

[Darknemo2000]

Pukis so far is playing pretty well with Sakalai, so he might get a contract with them and play together with his U19 teammate - Butkevicius.

Pukis is a very good shooter, and not so bad defender too. Just like most of U19 guys he is fairly athletic.

Butkevicius also keeps on improving his game and was a significant member of U19 this summer.

Redikas - always impresses me with his ability to play in 3 positions, but differently from Jomantas (who is also considered to be able to do the same) - he is much better as he posesses a PG speed.

PG position is still ill adviced as his dribbling and passing lapses make him turnover prone. On a good day he can make 7 assists but on a bad one - 7 turnovers.

He is like a defensive version of Pocius. Very good driver, better finisher from distance than pocius, but has lesser vertical lift than Martynas.

He is much more willing ball passer than Pocius who sometimes ducks his head while driving and completely ignores his teammates and usually end up with his trademark 'climbing up into a tree' move.

Redikas is a good lockdown defender (there he can use his great speed better as it doenst need dribbling skills) and thats why in U19 if the most dangerious guy is a pG its not a Cizauskas that defend him but Redikas. He usually defend all the most dangerious guys on opponents teams.

Very emotional player, sometimes its gopod but sometimes it ends up bad. He is (or at least was) pretty wild in personal life as well.

Very quick first step, quick hands that help him to steal the ball (he usually is the leader in steals).

Is much better spot-on shooter than Pocius but isnt as good in shooting after the dribble like Martynas.

Really hope he continues to progress.

Ulanovas has a very good second jump which is almost as good as his first. Athletic guy, but streaky shooter and not very good defender. Had a pretty bad year but on NT started to shine again under Maksvytis.

Cizauskas is one of our greater 92 generation talents. The problem is that he isnt a good passer for a PG (he gets plenty of assists but its bit deceiving as like 70 percent of them go to Jonas who by himself usually earns Vytenis an assist.

A very good rebounder for a PG. Looks a little bit overweight but is very quick on his feet and uses his mass to control opponents in the air while finishing a layup.

Very poor distance shooter who thinks that he is very good one. Bricks a lot of jump shots but is deadly on the drive and the layups. Turnover prone. Is an OK defender but not someone you would give to defend opponent leaders.

Is also an OK 2x2 player (though Redikas is better at that). Sometimes likes to blame his teammates for his own mistakes aka Jasikevicius. Inst a good passer and does not have a good court vision (Redikas has better court vision that him but is not a good passer).

Smart but sometimes selfish (can keep on bricking shots all day long). Has a bit of injury history so his durability may be at question.

[sagenas]

Redikas - always impresses me with his ability to play in 3 positions, but differently from Jomantas (who is also considered to be able to do the same) - he is much better as he posesses a PG speed.

4 positions, Jomantas can play 4 positions, not 3.

[Darknemo2000]

4 positions, Jomantas can play 4 positions, not 3.

For a PF he can play only against lithuanian PF's as against real PF's he lacks strength. Same goes for PG (just not strength but speed and dribble), for SG he lacks the shooting touch and/or driving.

So despite Jomantas can play all four he is much more suited as a Sf, while Redikas is much better at other positions (I dont even know which is his position Sg or Sf as following his heoight he should be Sg but his gamestyle is more Sf like but he does well on either of them,

[auris1]

Redikas ...Redikas ...Redikas ...Redikas ...Redikas ..

Ok,i think i got the message ).
I fully respect your opinion,but he just does not cut for me.
For me,he is one of those many young Lithuanian players who are more physically advanced for their age group to do well at the moment,yet miserably fail later on.He does his ABC's pretty well ,and he is pretty damn determinant and gritty ,but i saw not one bit of him being more than that.
Ulanovas in this regard looks the best for me - he can improvise and be a bit different than others.
Cizauskas looks for me much more gifted basketball wise too.
But ,who knows.
But one thing sure,i do not see 5 or so of that team making our NT team,as i had been suggested by Maskvytis.
Apart Valanciunas,in all reality we will have one more player if we are lucky to join the grands

[Darknemo2000]

Ulanovas in this regard looks the best for me - he can improvise and be a bit different than others.

That must be the reason why he sucked this whole regular season...

He really had a miserable one and even on the preparation games in U19 he looked like a failure.

Just during the tourney itself he had a couple of better games, but even then his defensive lapses were ugly to watch.

I really cant see how one could take Ulanovas over redikas unless that person has no idea about regular season and only watches U19 games, without following the young talents all year long.

Cizauskas looks for me much more gifted basketball wise too.

Weird that you consider Cizauskas more gifted while he looks like he is the one who benefits from being more physical advanced than all our other players in U19.

He usually physically overpowers his opponents and without the physical power his lay-ups wouldnt be half as effective (he likes to protect the ball with his upper body strength a lot while in the air) and without this his lay-ups he isnt all that good.

He 'loves' making not forced turnovers like dribbling off his feet. He has the quickness but so does Redikas. Cizauskas dribbling is still one of the better in the team but that does not speak much for him, but rather against lithuanian b school as players just are not very good with dribble in general.

Personally I would take Redikas over him because he knows how top defend, something I havent seen Cizauskas on doing all that much. But Cizauskas plays in the deficit position in Lithuania so could have better chances on getting on NT still.

But one thing sure,i do not see 5 or so of that team making our NT team,as i had been suggested by Maskvytis.
Apart Valanciunas,in all reality we will have one more player if we are lucky to join the grands

I am bit more optimistic about this. Apart from Valanciunas I can see Cizauskas, Redikas and Pukis try to go for the NT. I dont see Ulanovas as so good sorry - he fails too much during regular seasons to convince me that he is good for longer periods. Skucas will be a decent player but I dot see him in NT shirt either. Same goes for Mockevicius. Simanavicius isnt great but again - he plays as a PG, position that is the most painful in Lithuania so standards are bit lower than in other positions.

PS I am happy that Redikas joined the main team and will play there but I just hope he gets plenty of PT in LKL. I just dont understand what Rytas see in Dambrauskas - all he has is a good drive but even his finishing is poor, his play-making abilities are poor, his shooting touch is poor. he makes a lot of turnovers, his defense is poor. Seriously , they should have given him on Loan or cut from the team altogether.

The only explanation why he still stays is that he plays as PG and is Lithuanian at that.

[sagenas]

For a PF he can play only against lithuanian PF's as against real PF's he lacks strength. Same goes for PG (just not strength but speed and dribble), for SG he lacks the shooting touch and/or driving.

So despite Jomantas can play all four he is much more suited as a Sf, while Redikas is much better at other positions (I dont even know which is his position Sg or Sf as following his heoight he should be Sg but his gamestyle is more Sf like but he does well on either of them,

Wrong, true.


/////

Ulanovas? Are you joking? He can become really good player but I wouldn't even compare him to Čižauskas and Redikas.

///

Darknemo2000, Pukis isn't better than Ulanovas at least right now for sure.

When did you see Dambrauskas last time? That guy is real prospect, not at the top of class, but he really can become solid guard for Lietuvos Rytas.

[auris1]

Ulanovas? Are you joking? He can become really good player but I wouldn't even compare him to Čižauskas and Redikas.

Well,it seems no one agrees on this one with me - so ,lets say, i am betting on the "dark horse" in the long run.

[Straight forward]

Any rumours about this players? Might be interesting prospect.

http://www.lrytas.lt/-13213554711319...Blym%C5%B3.htm

[hustlerlt]

Any rumours about this players? Might be interesting prospect.

http://www.lrytas.lt/-13213554711319...Blym%C5%B3.htm

This is literally the first time I heard his name.There isn't much more information about him other that he was born in 1993 and played in one BBL game for Neptunas in the 2009-2010 season.

[sagenas]

Any rumours about this players? Might be interesting prospect.

http://www.lrytas.lt/-13213554711319...Blym%C5%B3.htm

I've heard about him few times... http://www.newenglandrecruitingrepor...atkevicius.php

If you are interested in Lithuanian prospect in the other side of Atlantic ocean, then remember kid named Benas Griciūnas. He's PF, has some similarities to Motiejūnas, could be really nice prospect. He is playing for Findlay Prep at the moment. If I'm not wrong, he is born in '95 (some sources say this..but I should get confirmed information in no time) so he could be great addition for our youth national team. Findlay Prep is very strong HS..it's rated as 20th HS. Also it is very known HS, many good players (including NBAers) played there. Check their Hall of Fame ( http://findlayprep.com/ ):
Myck Kabongo (big time Canadian prospect)
Tristan Thompson (Cavs drafted him as 4th pick.)
Avery Bradley (Celtics)..
Also Deividas Dulkys played for them.
Big time prospect Della Valle is playing for them at the moment.

B.Griciūnas is 6'11. Video: http://t.co/kN1hqm2b

In first game of this season Benas scored 3 points, I think.
I'm looking forward seeing him in the future.

[Straight forward]

Artūras Gudaitis. 1993. One of the leaders of U18 this summer. Puts up nice numbers in NKL this season.

Could be a fresh meat for Žalgiris/Rytas. Or already is?

[hustlerlt]

Artūras Gudaitis. 1993. One of the leaders of U18 this summer. Puts up nice numbers in NKL this season.

Could be a fresh meat for Žalgiris/Rytas. Or already is?

As far as I know he doesn't have a contract with neither Zalgiris, nor Rytas.I think he would be a pretty interesting prospect for the future,because his statistics are pretty good,except for his shooting percentages.

[Straight forward]

Watched some game of NIJT in Kaunas and, IMO, a player to notice is Marius Grigonis. He is pretty much known as he was elected for "Jordan Brand Classic" tournament.

The guy is 194cm, naturally he should be SF, but he can play as a point guard. At offensive end he resembles Diamantidis. He surely can create the game, can pass and to rebound. Not so sure about his shooting abilities, but really interesting talent.

[Cabbage_Juice]

Watched some game of NIJT in Kaunas and, IMO, a player to notice is Marius Grigonis. He is pretty much known as he was elected for "Jordan Brand Classic" tournament.

The guy is 194cm, naturally he should be SF, but he can play as a point guard. At offensive end he resembles Diamantidis. He surely can create the game, can pass and to rebound. Not so sure about his shooting abilities, but really interesting talent.

Now Grigonis is at least 198 cm. Dimša and Tamulis looks interesting too.

[macleopard13]

Valanciunas and Motiejunas battled it out on Sunday and they matched up pretty evenly.

Valanciunas - 30.5 mins, 13 pts, 4/10 2PT, 5/8 FT, 14 rebs, 4 blks, 3 TOs, 4 PFs, 7 DFs (drawn fouls), 19 EFF
Motiejunas - 30 mins, 10 pts, 0/7 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 4/4 FT, 9 rebs, 2 stls, 2 TOs, 4 PFs, 2 DFs, 11 EFF

[Basket_]

Florida State wins first ACC title, 85-82 over North Carolina. Deividas Dulkys from Florida state scored 16 points, including 2 free throws with 3 seconds remaining. Congrats!