Sarunas Jasikevicius

The Golden Boy of Lithuanian basketball is returning to the National Team after taking a couple of summers off, and his return is eagerly awaited. During his European career ‘Saras’ won almost everything possible either in club competition or at international level. Jasikevicius had an amazing two-year period between the 2002 and 2005 during which he won three Euroleagues (in 2003 with Barcelona and in 2004 and 2005 with Maccabi), EuroBasket 2003, plus one ACB title, two Israeli Leagues and two Israeli Cups.  Not many players in the history of European basketball have won three Euroleague titles. Even less have won three in a row, and none have ever done it with two different teams. What more can any player expect from his European basketball career?

Brilliant at the point guard position with his trademark ‘no-look’ passes that slice through the opponent’s defense, Jasikevicius has become one of the top floor generals in the world. But he also is capable of carrying the team almost by himself like in Athens 2004 when he torched the U.S. team with 28 points, including 12 in an 80-second span at the very end of the game. Four years earlier, Jasikevicius came within five centimetres from making Lithuania the first team to beat a U.S. team made up entirely of professionals when he scored 27 points but missed a last second three-pointer that would have sent his country to the gold medal game at the 2000 Olympics.

After winning the 1994 U18 European Championship with Lithuania, Sarunas opted for the NCAA to play for the University of Maryland. There, he sat on the bench for two years before ending with two solid seasons, including a senior year in which he averaged 12.6 points and 3.6 assists per game. But that wasn’t enough to seduce NBA scouts and Saras never heard his name called at the 1998 NBA draft.
 
Many have doubted Jasikevicius' skills and ability to play at NBA level. Larry Brown called Saras a "great international player" but added that, "a lot of guys who do well in this kind of environment struggle in our league," Soon after that, Jasikevicius led Lithuania to a win over Brown's U.S. team at the 2004 Olympics.  Despite his success, the Kaunus native responded to Brown’s comment, saying: "There are guys who know what they're doing who don't think I can play in the NBA and if 30 teams think I can't play, then I guess I can't play."

Though he is still adjusting himself to the NBA game after finally getting a chance in the summer of 2005, the return to the international competition is a chance for Jasikevicius to prove he’s still "The Man" on the court when it comes to Lithuanian basketball. Jasikevicius has had a rich career with the Lithuanian National Team that started in 1997 and with the 2010 World Championship still a ways away, we’re guessing that this “Golden Boy” would like to end his international run in 2008 at the Olympics and a chance to take home one of the few international honours still missing from his trophy cabinet: a gold medal.