Lithuanian talents.

[Straight forward2]

Closer look at Edgaras Ulanovas.

Edgaras Ulanovas (1992, SG, 6’ 5”, Lithuania)

Solid shooting guard with limited upside but a complete skillset and reliable fundamentals. He needs to bulk up but he’s solid, he runs the floor well with fluidity and speed. His offensive game is complete, in fact he’s able to attack the basket and to shoot from 3 point range with the same effectiveness. He’s an average athlete but his maturity and IQ make him a reliable player for a top European team.

http://nbadraft.net/u20-european-championship-recap

Reflection on last season BBL games.

The big satisfaction in my eyes though was the game of Edgaras Ulanovas. The other 92 born in the team showed great effort and was doing all the dirty stuff as usual. He looks like becoming stronger as his body is transforming from being a boy to a man this season. He can play different positions and therefore be a match-up problem on defense as he can play from SG to PF depending on the situation. Ulanovas scored on a post-up against a smaller guard with a strangely looking turn around jump shot. He went over his left shoulder to make the basket with his strong left hand but getting the foul call as well. He has some problems to use his right hand for the finish even close to the basket which is certainly a point of his game that he still has to develop in the future. He missed a big open three-pointer in the final minutes that could have cut the lead to three points and come back into a winning possibility. The 2m00 tall player goes well to the rebound and likes to push the ball in the break. His offensive usage remains limited though (4.8 shots per game in 20 minutes on the court) but he will most likely never develop into a big scorer but the guy you need to have on the team to have everything remain together. He was definitely my favorite prospect on the court on Saturday.

http://www.europeanprospects.com/kk-baltai-zalgiris-reserve-struggles-in-bbl/

Well, Ulanovas upside might not be out of this world while he has no elite athleticism, but basically has everything else. Good ball handlig for his size, great feet work, good shooting despite strange mechanics and he can pass and surely can play defence. He has a lot of Šiškauskas in him, IMO. He might be facing the same attitude as well, while he could be even more willing to attack the basket. I expect him to make high numbers in LKL this season. I was thinking he could play in Eurocup already, but maybe Rudupis didn't need players in his position.

He was the guy who stepped in as a leader when Valančiūnas left that golden team.

 

[Darknemo20002]

However, I'm not so sure about Redikas. He has no elite shooting skills and his ball handling is pretty weak and his decision making is horrible at times. Despite Jonas, Donatas (who already are NT level players) and Domantas (these three should be a world class material, at least we have right to hope so), I have highest hopes in Grigonis, Ulanovas and Čižauskas. If these will pan out we'll have good chances to come back playing hight IQ, creatiive BB again.

Redikas decision making can be very horrible and he seems to have troubles finishing open layups under the basket (while making very tough ones when defended), but redikas main advantage is his speed and defense and pretty good court vision.

Redikas has better court vision than Cizauskas actually as he lead U-20 in assists for the vast majority of the games until Cizauskas caught up with him in the second half of the tournament. But it shouldnt have been even close as Redikas doesnt spend nearly as much time with the ball as Cizauskas as he is mainly a Sg. Redikas best feature is his D. Maksvytis whenever lithuania played against teams with leader Pg never allowed Cizauskas to defend but placed Redikas on them as he is a better defender and can defend all three positions (Pg, Sg, and Sf).

Dulkys was cconisdered a good defender but in game against Neptunas while both Redikas and Dulkys collected 5 fouls Redikas most fouls came prem pestering the ballhandler (other than that last offensive foul of his which in my opinion was a total flop) while Dulkys was always too late on defense and he mostly fouled because he failed to keep up with his opponent and was beaten by the driving opponent.

And speed of course. Redikas was the fastest U-18 lithuanian member (in training and on the court) and I think he remained like that through other age groups. Redikas has a very good speed which is dedly on counterattacks but since Redikas doesnt handle the ball well he often tend to make traveling violations because his feet move quicker than his hands.

He like Cizauskas doesn't have a stable shot. Maybe bit better than Cizauskas but not much. I think he has a potential to be NT player though more of a defensive player than offensive contributor.

 

[auris12]

Let's have some closer look at Marius Grigonis. I think he deserves it because of few reasons: he's potential PG option and his upside is somewhat intriguing. Let's start with some .

I will just paste the comments from relevant topic below...By markoshvili

Big swigmen with ability to handle the ball and run the pick and roll. At this best when drving to the basket using his size and long strides to finish at the rim. Also has good looking mid-range jumper coming off the pick and roll. His accuracy suffers when stepping behind the three point lane. Good passer, altrought would rather score than pass. Has been prone to overhandling the ball at this Big swigmen with ability to handle the ball and run the pick and roll. At this best when drving to the basket using his size and long strides to finish at the rim. Also has good looking mid-range jumper coming off the pick and roll. His accuracy suffers when stepping behind the three point lane. Good passer, altrought would rather score than pass. Has been prone to overhandling the ball at this championship, but that can be corrected. Has size and athleticism to be a decent defender.
Comparison: Vladimir Micov

 

[auris12]

Regarding Redikas
He just doesn't cut for me.
I remember reading interview with Butautas jn,where he stated that the reason he did not become decent player was a lack of steady shot.Same with Redikas

 

[Sss2]

Maksvytis whenever lithuania played against teams with leader Pg never allowed Cizauskas to defend but placed Redikas on them as he is a better defender and can defend all three positions (Pg, Sg, and Sf).

Wrong. Not sure about the other games, but in finals it was A.Butkevičius who defended Westermann. Everyone can download the game from linkomanija and watch it to make sure.

 

[macleopard132]

Don't bash on Dulkys. I thought he did okay on the NT, for someone who hasn't played European basketball. I don't know his condition now (I assume it's worse because he probably took a break and is far from his optimal form), but he used to be as fast as, if not faster than, Seibutis.

Redikas could be our next Mindaugas Zukauskas . He needs to learn how to play Artest's lockdown defense though.

 

[Darknemo20002]

Wrong. Not sure about the other games, but in finals it was A.Butkevičius who defended Westermann. Everyone can download the game from linkomanija and watch it to make sure.

He idd defend cvetkovic in semis/ They placed butkevicius on Westerman because of Westermanns length. Redikas is shorter and coach decided to not risk. It worked well. When Butkevicius was off and Redikas was on court he normally took PG position if it was Westermann or someone else.

Cizauskas is usually left to defend Sg or in some rare cases even Sf (usually they defend in semi-zone then).

And I dont bash Dulkys. Its just our lithuania playing youths looked better than he did. Evene on Rytas team Dulkys doenst look great. Makes some mid-range shots but his d is pretty awful. D usually collapses there where Dulkys stands on perimeter. It happens much rarer on Redikas defended perimeter drives. And that happens with Redikas playing not his natural position (sg) while Dulkys does have the leverage of playing his position at least.

 

[Darknemo20002]

Regarding Redikas
He just doesn't cut for me.
I remember reading interview with Butautas jn,where he stated that the reason he did not become decent player was a lack of steady shot.Same with Redikas

Well same can be said about Cizauskas too. In fact Redikas and cizauskas have a lot of similarities. Both offensive strength lies in their driving, Cizauskas has better dribbling so he travels lot less compared to redikas, he also controls his body in the air better than Redikas so finishes layups more acuorately, Redikas has slightly better outside shot (but thats like saying turtle is slightly faster than a snail), Redikas is better defender than Cizauskas but Cizauskas is better rebounder. Cizauskas passes the ball well but has poor court vision (doesnt always see open teammates) while Redikas has better court vision but poor passing (the idea is good, he sees his open teammates a lot but the execution on passes is very poor). If you would give Cizauskas the court vision of Redikas or Redikas the dribble and passing of Cizauskas we would have a pretty good PG. Too bad that we cannot make crossovers like that.

 

[Straight forward2]

He idd defend cvetkovic in semis/ They placed butkevicius on Westerman because of Westermanns length. Redikas is shorter and coach decided to not risk. It worked well. When Butkevicius was off and Redikas was on court he normally took PG position if it was Westermann or someone else.

Cizauskas is usually left to defend Sg or in some rare cases even Sf (usually they defend in semi-zone then).

And I dont bash Dulkys. Its just our lithuania playing youths looked better than he did. Evene on Rytas team Dulkys doenst look great. Makes some mid-range shots but his d is pretty awful. D usually collapses there where Dulkys stands on perimeter. It happens much rarer on Redikas defended perimeter drives. And that happens with Redikas playing not his natural position (sg) while Dulkys does have the leverage of playing his position at least.

Redikas played in LKL, BBL, VTB, Eurocup. No matter very limited playing time, it's all pro leagues. Not a bit surprised that Dulkys can't stand out even if he is older. The only advantage Dulkys might have - individual physical condition.

 

[LuDux2]

Turtles are considerately faster than snails

 

[Darknemo20002]

Turtles are considerately faster than snails

Yet compared to other aniumals they are slow. Thats is the point. Redikas is slightly better shooter than Cizauskas (as he can make 3ts from corners while Cizauskas airballs most of his shots from there) but when you comapre them to actually good shooters both come up flat and unimpressive as both rely on their speed and driving other than their shooting ability.

 

[auris12]

Yet compared to other aniumals they are slow. Thats is the point. ..

Nice comeback.
Back to the topic.
I agree with your descriptions.What I like about Cizauskas that he has such a compact body , not so much athletic but more like with good equilibrium.
And I honestly prefer a player to be good with passing skills versus one with lack of it and a good court vision .
That would mean so much less turnovers.
Having said that I still hope that Redikas can prove me wrong.
He has huge desire to be on court,to be the leader,to fight till the end.
It is quite rare trait for Lithuanian bb player.

 

[auris12]

Since I have this forum for my own today,I need to ask you about D. Gailius.
Surely he is just one step behind from being in NT?
After two years in Italy he looks so much better physically ,and I am sure he did not loose any of the talent he had .
I am sure that playing for Neptunas is just one step back ,from making this huge leap after going to Italy.
There was like 3 games for Neptunas he played in the tournament,surely someone can give opinion

 

[Straight forward2]

Since I have this forum for my own today,I need to ask you about D. Gailius.
Surely he is just one step behind from being in NT?
After two years in Italy he looks so much better physically ,and I am sure he did not loose any of the talent he had .
I am sure that playing for Neptunas is just one step back ,from making this huge leap after going to Italy.
There was like 3 games for Neptunas he played in the tournament,surely someone can give opinion

NT candidate, potential "sleeper". He has a good chance to set Lithuanian league on fire. We'll see if can do that.

 

[Darknemo20002]

Since I have this forum for my own today,I need to ask you about D. Gailius.
Surely he is just one step behind from being in NT?
After two years in Italy he looks so much better physically ,and I am sure he did not loose any of the talent he had .
I am sure that playing for Neptunas is just one step back ,from making this huge leap after going to Italy.
There was like 3 games for Neptunas he played in the tournament,surely someone can give opinion

I actually can picture Gailius as an NT Sf more than Kuzminskas. Gailius seemed to have matured more while playing outside the lithuania and now is one of the main players in Neptunas and the best scorer. Being a best scorer on a team which has a total ballhog Mazeika is quite a feat.

He seems to effective at scoring. His D however could be better, but he does seem to box-out better than two years ago and rebounds better in general as a result.

 

[Illegal2k102]

I actually can picture Gailius as an NT Sf more than Kuzminskas. Gailius seemed to have matured more while playing outside the lithuania and now is one of the main players in Neptunas and the best scorer. Being a best scorer on a team which has a total ballhog Mazeika is quite a feat.

He seems to effective at scoring. His D however could be better, but he does seem to box-out better than two years ago and rebounds better in general as a result.

i dont see how being a top scorer in Neptunas is a valid point comparing those 2. Kuzminskas would have even better numbers in Klaipeda without a doubt.

 

[Darknemo20002]

i dont see how being a top scorer in Neptunas is a valid point comparing those 2. Kuzminskas would have even better numbers in Klaipeda without a doubt.

Its more valid than saying that the bench warmer will be better. Yeah Kuzminskas was good in siauliai but little playing time can make even the biggest talent to regress. Look at Siksnius.

Gailius back then was pretty much around equal to kuzminskas, scored bit less but had higher efficiency. He now seems more mature and reliable, while Kuzminskas doesnt look like progresssed too much sitting on Zalgiris bench in the meantime.

I seriously doubt if he could bring same consistent scoring for Neptunas not talking about Rebounds.

 

[Illegal2k102]

Gailius back then was pretty much around equal to kuzminskas, scored bit less but had higher efficiency. He now seems more mature and reliable, while Kuzminskas doesnt look like progresssed too much sitting on Zalgiris bench in the meantime.

while Kuzmiskas was sitting on Zalgiris bench Gailius was doing the same in way weaker team. You sound like Deividas was posting some good numbers in Italy. tho the truth is he had not only wasted 2 yrs being at best a role player, but even took a step back, while coming to Neptunas.

Not to mention, rating they recent achievments, Kuzminskas already played some solid preseason games, once again, in El level team, which Gailius, so far, can only dream of.

Fact is,- Mindaugas is ahead and only time will show if Deividas can catch up or even surpass him.

 

[LuDux2]

Kuzminskas in LKL 16 mpg 7.8 ppg (15/7.4 in 10-11)
Gailius in Serie A 13 mpg 5.6 ppg (15/5.5)

Being a best scorer on a team which has a total ballhog Mazeika is quite a feat.

It's not that I don't believe you, but...

 

[auris12]

while Kuzmiskas was sitting on Zalgiris bench Gailius was doing the same in way weaker team. You sound like Deividas was posting some good numbers in Italy. tho the truth is he had not only wasted 2 yrs being at best a role player, but even took a step back, while coming to Neptunas.

Not to mention, rating they recent achievments, Kuzminskas already played some solid preseason games, once again, in El level team, which Gailius, so far, can only dream of.

Fact is,- Mindaugas is ahead and only time will show if Deividas can catch up or even surpass him.

Gailius is 24 and a half ,and Kuzminskas will be 23 next month.
I disagree that Deividas wasted his time .When Motiejunas went to Poland,it did no harm for him ,and Italy has a better league .Yes ,he was a part time player for two long years,but maybe it was the best option for him at the time.Decent money,decent team.To grow up as person and as a player.
We both agree that Neptunas looks like a step back for him,but I really think it is just temporary team for him to beef up his value.
But let's remind ourselves that Neptunas is not old same team anymore as it used to be.
This team has an ambition and ,more importantly,budget for this season.Playing in VTB will open opportunities for him.
Anyway,I do strongly believe that he is legitimate name to be in this topic.