Lithuanian Point Guards

[Hepcat]

Allen Iverson - Arnas Velicka - John Stockton

We'll all be ecstatic in ten years time if basketball fans across the globe are all using those names in the same sentence.

[Straight forward]

Well, watched Marciulionis playing in NCAA for the first time. He got bigger. Seem to be adjusting to new size naturally. Seems tougher in contact and it didn't reduce his agility. On other hand, he doesn't seem to become much better athlete either, just became tougher. That's the impression of his new body.

Now Saint Mary's playing fundamentally sound basketball, sharing the ball. Playing in and out kinda basketball, a lot of ball movement around the arc, a lot of kickouts. Generelly, seem to be smart organization and Augustas searching for the right plays, doesn't force anything much. That's generally the style.

The problem is however that he is not aggressive enough and seems like overthinking a little bit. In 19min basically he had only two three strong drives to the basket. Took only 4 shots. One time he sliced the defence with quick and strong slashing to the basket and finished with a lay up. His three point shot looks fluid. He missed one last second long distance shot, but when was open he nailed it nicely. He's not always playing with the ball in his hands, sort of was shifting from 1 to 2. He doesn't seem very effective of the ball, he surely most natural and best with the ball in his hands. In the NT I see Marciulionis playing 1 essentially while Jokubaitis seem to be much more comfortable switching to 2, if those two would play together.

Defensively he's good. Should be our best guard at D, IMO.

Rooney was in arena. ESPN broadcasted the game. Looked a bit anxious and indecisive. On one hand, he's the only rookie playing for this really old Mary's team. On other hand, I would love to see him playing much more active role offensively. The impression is that he was even more active offensively in Rytas. But, well, there's really tons of seniors in the team and he just adjusting to new system. Basically he's in good situation with some minor concerns.


Here's the whole game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqmNsOY4noU&t=6733s&ab_channel=BIN-AOV

[Straight forward]

OK, I don't like Marciulionis' offensive role thus far for Saint Mary's, it's too small and he's not active enough. The team is really overcrowded with seniors who play main roles. At this point, he would surely benefit more playing for Rytas. Really questionable move by Rooney, but I guess the patience here will be needed just as with Jasikevicius' NCAA career.

The way his body develops I can see a lot of similarities with Dellavedova. Both more tough guards than athletic, but nevertheless have sneaky athleticism. I think currently it's the best comparison for Marciulionis. Look at defensive stop at 2:08, that's real D:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueMW3Wl-xyM&t=128s&ab_channel=BigTenNetwork

[Straight forward]

Velicka's extensive 8 minutes highlights from German BBL league:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sx98opASkw&ab_channel=AkinAthletics

[Straight forward]

Obviously there was easier way to share things. And some more Augustas' highlights below. He should be more active like in that game:

https://twitter.com/MaxFeldman6/status/1463654227528626181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1463654227528626181%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.basketnews.lt%2Fnews-160531-marciulionis-titulo-nelaimejo-bet-issiskyre-bloku.html

[Straight forward]

Another big PG hope of Lithuania, still 15yo Kasparas Jakucionis has played 4 games with Barsa and dominated at U16. Drops 17,7ppg in 23,2min with incredible % from field. Should be big thing for U16 LTU NT this summer:

https://twitter.com/imLuckyD/status/1464534462683758594

[Straight forward]

In my opinion Titas Sargiunas is underrated PG prospect. He basically has a package to blossom into complete high level PG. Good size, explosive first step, above average athleticism for Euro, solid decision maker for his age. A bit wild ATM and has raw scoring skillset, but he has plenty of time to polish it. A bit less talented than those who I treat premium PG prospects, but just slightly, his physical profile is nearly perfect. I think Titas' upside might be even higher than his brother's Ignas.
D. Stenionis came back strong after injury. Just in 15min dropped 12pts and dished 4 dimes. He's an ultimate combo guard. In defence it will be tough for him as 178cm, but he can really score. If he wouldn't be undersized I would treat him elite combo guard prospect. Should have big games in NKL going further. More or less in the same situation stands another combo J. Rubinas, just slightly more limited offensively, but less undersized.

I'm really laid back regarding situation of position 1. Here's how I see the situation:

A (premium) section: Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Velicka, Jakucionis

-A section: T. Sargiunas, I. Sargiunas (combo), D. Giedraitis (combo)

B section: E. Stenionis (combo), J. Rubinas (combo)

[Straight forward]

I finally watched A. Marciulionis live playing for the Saint Mary's!

I'm glad I did because I've got everything under the glass. FOA, he's a natural born leader. I mean, personality wise. He is super vocal, he gathers all these seniors and provides the speech. He was arguing with refs, a little extra physical contact, some shoving action with opponents (they were losing to really tough and athletic Colorado team and Marciulionis seemed to be most annoyed by it from Gaels), Augustas really has a swagger. Mentality wise he's a CP3. I can see him giving tough love for teammates and spitting rage for opponents in the future. If Jokubaitis is smiling killer, Augustas is much more feistier personality and I like it.

He did get bigger, much tougher and more explosive on his legs already. Defensively he changes direction with certain explosiveness, his agility is sneaky explosive at times, much like his fathers, he's not defending, he attacks opponents Yeah, got some trouble with much bigger and even more athletic guards here and there, but he is already a good defender. He's a bulldog at the defensive end.

What stood out to me the most, is his dribble and passing. His handles are impressive and fancy. He shakes and bakes till he loses his defender, he controls the ball tremendiously in tight areas, he has some tricks which is not usual for Euro PG. He moves the ball like a vet. There's something old school about his ball movement, like he give those crazy fast and strong bullet passes from the stand, like effortlessly. Some of them are risky, but usually goes down to the point impressively. He has those super strong hands as his fathers. Assists numbers do not show at all how dominantly he moves the ball and how present he is as a floor general overall.

When it comes to scoring he became much more dominant slasher. He goes to the cup with force. He already is hard to contain. Stepped to the FT several times and nailed it with confidence. I believe he might be pretty close to Rooney when it comes to slashing in his career.

Shooting remains a big problem still. His main problem at the moment. Both three and pull up, he doesn't have much confidence here yet. His three mechanics looks absolutely smooth (the shot need more arcing though) so I'm guessing he can polish it with time, but so far threes do not fall even if looks really close. Even if he won't develop shooting, I think we are looking at Calathes type of PG as his floor. He is gonna be great player, IMO.

If Jokubaitis and Marciulionis will remain healthy, these 2 can change the face of the NT dramatically. IMO, I do not exaggerate one tiny bit. Considering current Augustas' defence, decision making and explosiveness, I see him at the doorstep of NT already. IMO, he will need from 1 to 2 years to become sure fire NT material.

[Straight forward]

There's another name, 2003 generation 6'2 - Vakaris Grauslys. I didn't hear him in Lithuania, but obviously he attracting some attention in USA. Some scouts says he should be a target of first NCAA division teams. Went through highlights, there's plenty in youtube and twitter surprisingly (did you guys knew him?). Skilled, good shooter, crafty slasher, solid court vision. My pretentious eye asks for even more fluid handles, but 18yo is sturdy, crafty and elevates pretty nice speed in his drives. What I like about him is that his jumper looks polished for 18yo and he plays the right way, has the sense for most effective decision. Since all Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Velicka, T. Sargiunas are inconsistent or not good shooters, some-one with the real shot would be nice. Dropped 7 threes recently.

https://mobile.twitter.com/MaxFeldman6/status/1456270006031945728

https://twitter.com/ColbyGHoops/status/1468401544106319876

Here's extensive highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB5XH_NFFmo&ab_channel=IzabeleGrausliene

[Straight forward]

Vakaris Grauslys

2022 || 6-2 || West Nottingham (MD)

I came away as impressed with Grauslys as anyone in attendance. Carrying the inherit European feel for the game on both sides of the ball, the Lithuanian guard drew fouls with regularity as a slasher and caged opposing guards with his quick feet and instincts. Wide shoulders, a well-built frame and a prolific first step were catalysts for collapsing defenses and finishing at the rim or to dishing off to Yves Missi down low. A creative rim finisher with feathery touch out to the arc. Palpable competitiveness and understanding of how to dominant at the point of attack on both ends. The West Nottingham guard hasn’t garnered D1 attention yet, but I certainly believe he fits the bill.

https://www.madehoops.com/news_article/show/1192124

[Hepcat]

West Nottingham Academy? Did his family emigrate Maryland?

[Straight forward]

West Nottingham Academy? Did his family emigrate Maryland?

You tell me. This guy didn't attract Lithuanian media's attention yet. And it's good, the more guys like him the better. Another might be Edmundas Doviltis, 6'4 SG, he also left Lithuania as I understand, but much less info about him. Both Grauslys and Doviltis previously stood out for U18 Vilnius BB School team which was coached by Adrius Slezas. Grauslys obviously is a good defender too. Might be interesting, but hard to judge about his real level.

https://twitter.com/Phenom_Hoops/status/1386334297590837257

https://vilniauskm.lt/a-slezo-treniruojami-u-18-krepsininkai-eybl-turo-tartu-nugaletojai/

[Hepcat]

It's not been unusual for Lithuanian bballers to play in the NCAA since Artūras Karnišovas was accepted by Seton Hall in 1990. While there may be financial incentive for an individual player to transfer to the States where the player could potentially garner far broader media attention, there's been an ongoing debate including on this board as to whether playing in the NCAA helps or hinders his potential as a future Lithuanian national team player. Now it seems that there's been an increasing trend for prospects to transfer to the States even when they're still in high school. This trend is evidently of concern to new MKF president Rimantas Kaukėnas.

[Straight forward]

Marciulionis with another good game. Getting things together a little bit I guess. 11pts, 5as, 3stl. in 23min. Regarding his shooting, there's one obvious improvement. He shoots FTs much better. He hit his last 10/10 and shoots already good 86,4%. Last season in LKL he shot 65,1%. Even visually I could see that he's taking it with much more confidence. So that's the obvious improvement. Here's he's hitting a three last night:

https://twitter.com/saintmaryshoops/status/1469815961473617922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1469815961473617922%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.krepsinis.net%2Fnaujiena%2Fa-marciulionis-suzaide-rezultatyviausias-rungtynes-ncaa%2F316022

Augustas Marciulionis is hungry and going for everything. The true freshman converts for solid bucket!

[Toruko]

Two years ago nearly every respectable scout was talking about the possibility of his draft in some years and now he is delivering bad stats in the NCAA. 35% fgp with 29% from three is really weak even if its just 3 games.