2025 Lithuanian NT

[Hepcat]

By the same token I don't understand why Coach Kurtinaitis did not select Mantas Rubštavičius of Lietkabelis while picking Martynas Paliukėnas.

[Dreamcatcher]

By the same token I don't understand why Coach Kurtinaitis did not select Mantas Rubštavičius of Lietkabelis while picking Martynas Paliukėnas.

- Why is M.Rubštavičius absent?

- We needed a point guard more, so we called Velička. I remember that he was one of the players who played well in "Ryte". This season he's doing quite well too, I want to check him out because I haven't worked with him. Now during the window it's a good opportunity to check Arnas. We have to see the future, and Velička is a promising pg.

Velicka didn't play well in Rytas though.

[Hepcat]

The presence of Arnas Velička I can understand. It's why Martynas Paliukėnas was taken instead of more productive SG's, e.g. Ignas Sargiūnas of Rytas, that puzzles me.

[Hepcat]

No, I mean when he talked about NT overall, about the summer. He thinks we have to compensate a lack of such players as Kleiza, Jasikevicius by a hard work. Like it's leading to any big wins in today's FIBA this way.

Well sadly there's not much alternative for a country of 2.7 million.

[Straight forward]

Well sadly there's not much alternative for a country of 2.7 million.

And 10-30 years ago we had 50 millions?

[Straight forward]

Kurtinaitis really wants to work hard with the NT and he's ready to sacrify some big players if they are not up to hard work. IDK, theoretically it's not bad to be prepared 100% and to have proper attitude, to certain degree we lacked that. So it's OK to have your best attempt. I just feel like Kurtinaitis doesn't really get it that today it's nearly un utopia to win with a hustle game. FIBA got too good, too talented, too deep. Maybe rather average NT could be in EB finals at start of 10's, bet not in the middle of 20's.

With that said, NT will be better than 2023 and 2024 and likely even better than 2022. FAO, Jokubaitis is balling and he should have a good NT season. Second of all, Iggy slowly catching up and Sirvydis shuld be ready for his first solid NT season. Buzelis can already help. And Sabonis should be finally good cause he will have proper preparation and proper role finally (he got the role in 2024, but no proper preparation). So NT will be pretty nice, but not yet there to match the best.

Gecevicius actually named it right. Aside Domas, JV, Jokubaitis, Buzelis others are no locks. With Kurtinaitis it's surely the case. He may not even take Sirvydis and Iggy and take some Normatas, Radzevicius. So we never had so unpredictable coach and so unpredictable future roster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROcpVLVNrT0&t=66s&ab_channel=Lietuvosnacionalinisradijasirtelevizija

[Hepcat]

Kurtinaitis really wants to work hard with the NT and he's ready to sacrify some big players if they are not up to hard work. IDK, theoretically it's not bad to be prepared 100% and to have proper attitude, to certain degree we lacked that. So it's OK to have your best attempt. I just feel like Kurtinaitis doesn't really get it that today it's nearly un utopia to win with a hustle game. FIBA got too good, too talented, too deep. Maybe rather average NT could be in EB finals at start of 10's, bet not in the middle of 20's.

Well since Team Lietuva hasn't exactly added a hoard of medals to its treasure chest since 2015, perhaps it's time for a different approach.

[Hepcat]

My concern is that this current team for the games against Poland and Estonia was weak at center even before Ąžuolas Tubelis limped out with an injury. Now Team Lietuva doesn't have anyone at center that looks capable of dominating the paint.

[Straight forward]

There's absolutely nothing to say about this NT. Maybe that Kuzminskas still the best player? Or second best, which is kinda depressive. Great effort, good game, but it doesn't add anything to big table. I feel like all this, "let's grind the shit as optimal as we can" (thus some Beliauskas playing instead of Rubstavicius in meaningless game), is Kurtinaitis' stage to restore his reputation (currently losing in Azerbaijani) than anything else. In this window we didn't move a single step forward as a team. Zero. Maybe playing Tubelis and Rubstavicius 40 minutes could be that. But none of that happened, so it's empty calories, just Kurtinaitis ego trip. And it's so funny cause he puts it as some kind of serious win which only justify that it's about him and not NT restoration. He said we are out of track as NT, but he may very well address that to himself.

I hope I'm wrong, but I smell 2009 EB vibes all around. His new Mazutis may be Paliukenas/Zemaitis and his new Jomantas will be Randzevicius/Normantas. All such players are so so so irrelevant in the global picture of EB, but Kurtinaitis is seriously speaking how we need medals. Dude actually think he will go out, hustle and will win. I just watched that game and It never felt so meaningless. Literally we didn't have a single player who would mean something for a winning A NT.

Now I'm almost certain we're in continues stagnation phase with Kurtinaitis again. Another mediocre coach who is pre-occuppied with his own reputation and losers streak in club section rather than seeing any broad picture of the NT. We will (again) be witnessing attempt to squeeze the vax from a pile of shit. OK, if he will win some something with those mediocre players, he's genius. I hope so. But I'm 90% sure, he will lose again and will waste spots again on mediocre players who won't give anything. That's my prediction.

We could start Olympic cycle with big rebuild and hope big results in 2027, 2028. Looking like this.

Jokubaitis, Jakucionis, Marciulionis
Brazdeikis, D. Giedraitis, Rubstavicius
Buzelis, Sirvydis
Sedekerskis, Tubelis, Murauskas
Sabonis, Valanciunas

Instead we will add couple of mediocre players and will call it different team. Zemaitis, Radzevicius, Normantas and such will be those Kurtinaitis warriors who will help NT to bring back medals....

Our disease is mediocrity. FOA, in coaching section. Mediocre coaches brings mediocre mindset into NT. And we end up with mediocre results or less and the worst part - mediocre vision. So our crisis continue much longer than it could. Sirvydis, D. Giedraitis, Marciulioonis, Tubelis, Rubstavicius now already could be different players if we had a real stud coach, starting with 2022.

[Hepcat]

Same old tripe from you again. You seem to actually resent it when Lithuanians play well if they're not the select few who are your current favourites just because you view good performances by players who aren't among your "select" as a threat to a team composed of your current favourites.

In this window we didn't move a single step forward as a team. Zero.

And what would you have regarded as "moving forward"? Losing, so that none of the players on this team are considered candidates for the team this summer?

Maybe playing Tubelis and Rubstavicius 40 minutes could be that.

Interesting! So you think Rimas Kurtinaitis would have proved his mettle as a coach had he demanded that Tubelis leave his hospital bed to play today?

He said we are out of track as NT, but he may very well address that to himself.

Today's effort against Poland was much better than that achieved a year ago. That's a plus.

...Kurtinaitis is seriously speaking how we need medals. Dude actually think he will go out, hustle and will win. I just watched that game and It never felt so meaningless. Literally we didn't have a single player who would mean something for a winning A NT.

Excuse me but who are those much better players who were available?

We could start Olympic cycle with big rebuild and hope big results in 2027, 2028. Looking like this.

Jokubaitis, Jakucionis, Marciulionis
Brazdeikis, D. Giedraitis, Rubstavicius
Buzelis, Sirvydis
Sedekerskis, Tubelis, Murauskas
Sabonis, Valanciunas

Instead we will add couple of mediocre players and will call it different team. Zemaitis, Radzevicius, Normantas and such will be those Kurtinaitis warriors who will help NT to bring back medals....

Hmmmm. Well Deividas Sirvydis and Tadas Sedekerskis were outright flops last summer and Dovydas Giedraitis still isn't showing enough to merit an invitation to this summer's camp. And if Kristupas Žemaitis, Gytis Radzevičius and Margiris Normantas show themselves more capable at this summer's camp than some of the first eleven players on your list, fine. There's no place for DEI considerations when it comes Team Lietuva..

Our disease is mediocrity. FOA, in coaching section. Mediocre coaches brings mediocre mindset into NT. And we end up with mediocre results or less and the worst part - mediocre vision. So our crisis continue much longer than it could.

More nonsense from you. LKF has tried three other coaches since 2016 and the last one (Maksvytis) was the one you recommended. Who else is available to take the coaching reins?

Sirvydis, D. Giedraitis, Marciulioonis, Tubelis, Rubstavicius now already could be different players if we had a real stud coach, starting with 2022.

An absolutely ridiculous assertion! How pray tell could any of those coaches have improved the playing skills of those five players whom none of them coach at the club team level?

Once again, you denigrate any Lithuanian player other than a select few young favourites hoping that in so doing you'll make your own personal favourites look better in comparison. And you actively root against any player who's not among your favourites. You'd actually like to see any Team Lietuva not featuring your favourites lose. It's maddening.

[Straight forward]

Hepcat, you should learn to tolerate different opinions instead of declaring war to those who contradict yours
In 2 meaningless games of FIBA windows I would like to see some players with upside playing and not Kurtinaitis playing like it's hell or high water situation.
You look at it very narrow. From this roster no-one can help to win at the big stage of EB, except Rubstavicius later. Even Kuzminskas is declining. Velicka is unplayable, I didn't expect he will turn out to be so mediocre. Huge disappointment. I thought even his floor is higher than this. He was better when he made very first debut with the NT than now. More athletic, more explosive, sharper. IDK what happened to him, he even declined physically to what he was as 22yo.
Point is I see it as Kurtinaitis ego trip and another short sighted campaign. While other NTs solve serious question, like developing real studs, we are happy to win meaningless games against Poland when EB ticket in the pocket already. I just see another inadequacy in our coaching staff, we have been 2-4 steps behind ever since 2010 basically. Since then we start to collapse as BB country big time. Even if we had still a decent core in 2013-2015 it was obvious our talent pool is going down and it will have long term consequences. I now instead of solving this problem, Kurtinaitis is saying that he will take lower tier players if needed and will push them to work harder. That's his recipe for success. He showed that he is ready to ignore young talent, not even playing them in meaningless games. While what Spain does? They throw 18-19yo to play like Mario and Hugo. We on other hand, hesitant to play almost 23yo Rubstavicius who actually played more under Maskoliunas when he was 21 or 20yo.
Thing is other teams are solving real problems, dealing with real players, and we are solving the same problem how to squeeze something out of nothing, dealing with players who are 100% irrelevant when we speak about real deal BB stage where LTU BB been historically for 23 years since 1992.

Kurtinaitis is lost thinking he can win something with mediocre scrubs, just need to push them hard enough. He's wasting mine, his and all LTU BB community time with this nonsense. Basically the same was doing Maksvytis. He didn't prioritize talent, he was prioritizing his own players and was pushing mediocrity to fill the gabs as nuts. And he was strict. There's no way Kurtinaitis will create some kind of miracle with his strictness. Maksvytis was strict enough, the problem wasn't there. The problem is we are wasting out time. We should play players who can carry NT on their shoulders in few years. Those who have talent and upside to play with big boys one day. The priority is more than clear. Our uber talents are Jakucionis and Buzelis and all the guys with upside after them. Now we had only one Rubstavcius and the same was sitting on the bench and watching. We are continue to ignore the problem and solve the issue with false idea, actually the same idea even if Kurtinaitis trying to portrait his methods as new. What's new? He just choosing different scrubs from B/C tier and actually even the same (like Zemaitis, Normantas). He is repeating that he will do something new, that continuim is not needed, but it's obvious he's doing the same thing as Maksvytis, just pushing it even deeper (meaning he will take even more Rytas/Wolves players to the NT), It's a dead end strategy, it's pathetic manifestation of mediocre mentality and bringing all that provincial mindset yet again. Our coaches are simply clueless aside Jasikevicius. BB provincials, that's all. Pacesas and Kuritnaitis are obsessed with ideas that everything is fine with our BB we just need to demand things harder and to choose "fighters" and we can win. It's nonsense, illusion and after 10 year of obvious proves that it's exactly the case, here comes Kurtinaitis and Pacesas ready to repeat the same mistake, just to even more ridiculous extent. Like they don't care if some leaders wouldn't come, they will choose thsoe who are ready to "sacrify". Meaning bunch of scrubs who somehow now magically will overcome NBA stars just because they will leave wifes and kids home. It's an illusion and we will waste another tournament on this stupid idea. If in 2022 already Sirvydis, Marciulionis, D. Giedraitis had been in the NT today in 2025 all of them would be much different if that happened. Now in 2025 we will fail to introduce bunch of guys with upside again. This way only wasting our time.

Deep down, bottom line, we ain't winning a shit without talent. Not happening. Learn it and live it. Play the damn talent even if that's 16 fucking years old. It would still be way more beneficial long term than trying to win with scrubs, Ok? Scrubs won't win it anything. Period.

NT 2025 will go as far as Jokubaits, Sabonis and other at least EL level players will carry us. Forget about scrubs carrying you. It's disgusting to even witness this madness. None from serious teams are doing this. What we have is some resentful old timers who's egos are hurt and they are trying to fight back reality with their oldschool methods and illusions instead of just embracing the reality and slowly, patiently developing players who can actually win one day.

[Hepcat]

Hepcat, you should learn to tolerate different opinions instead of declaring war to those who contradict yours

It's not your different opinions that bother me. You're entitled to your favourites. It's just that you viciously deride other Lithuanian players regardless of what they deliver. That drives me up the wall!

Yesterday's game was a good effort on the part of a team quickly thrown together from whoever was available. I saw passing, I saw team play, against Poland yesterday. Yet rather than a "Great stuff!" comment, you sneered at both Coach Kurtinaitis and the players. It's as if you want this team to fall flat so that a brand new slate of players has to be brought to camp. I want intense competition so that it's anything but clear which players are the best of the best Lithuanian basketball has to offer.

Deep down, bottom line, we ain't winning a shit without talent. Not happening. Learn it and live it. Play the damn talent even if that's 16 fucking years old. It would still be way more beneficial long term than trying to win with scrubs, Ok? Scrubs won't win it anything. Period.

Yes. I agree. Talented players are better than scrubs. But where I disagree is that I believe talent is determined on the court in game play. It's determined by each player's production during games. You just pre-decide on the basis of first principles. Rather than letting players play their way onto and off the national team, you go with pre-existing impressions that you initially formed from their play as youths.

[Shawshank]

Poor Dinosour expert


In his bubble he imagined new coach will play his raw imaginable student age lineups vs euroleague & nba opponnets in fiba

In reality new head coach talking only about going all in to win in 2025 .New coach dont even have any ideas about some kinda rebuilding


Dude is 65 old,ofcourse he has no time to live with 19-22 talented kids making mental mistakes for couple summers. He finally got his chance to coach NT so clearly he is going all in in 2025

But i truly believe Kurtinaitis dont realise how mediocre our perimeter level is compared to top 6 NTs. He dont get how strong 1 vs 1 fiba perimeter stars from nba are in 2020s fiba and no lkl defender is stopping them by themselfs.


Its not some accident Kurtinaitis lost everywhere last 5 years where he coached. Sport is changing fast what worked 5 years ago dont work today.


Same Kleiza refuses to accept that 2020s fiba is clearly stronger compared even to recent past 10-14 years ago in his time.

That trio imagines hard work,strict hand will fix all the problems. Ignoring main problem ltu basketball is dealing with last 15 years.

[Straight forward]

Poor old red neck SS Tried to keep away posting, but couldn't help himself, wanted to oppose my stance, but didn't find any arguments, so just rephrased what I wrote Yup, there's no opposition to my position cause it's simply spot on.

BTW, Kurtinaitis has 4 years. He wouldn't be rejected after a failure in EB cause everyone understands we have no medal worthy team ATM. BB community understands that. So if he was smart and not naive with his idea to win it now (it is only possible with some amazingly good tournament of Jokubaitis, Sabonis and few other guys like Brazdeikis, Sirvydis, Buzelis, but the chances are extremely slim for this scenario, basically non existant, and surely it's not up to some mediocre Champions League level players to even try to do it), he would actually try to build certain growing path at the same time keeping LTU NT accountable, not a cannon fodder. So he would incorporate best talent (mix of young and vets), introduce his principles, and still play pretty nice BB say reaching maybe top 8 if lucky. If not, people as me, just want to see the process of improvement. If he adds Buzelis, Marciulionis, Jakucionis, Giedraitis, Rubstavicius, Murauskas or at lest some of them, it would be a big step forward.

Now it seems like it's just an ego trip. No-one will remember this win against Poland He will be ridiculed again when he will go flat down with his mediocres. Some serious teams will trash us, just as Serbia did in 2023, or even Latvia.

If Kurtinaitis was smart, understood contemporary basketball, wouldn't be ego trip eager, resentful - he would understand that without a growth of Jakucionis and Buzelis he doesn't stand a chance. Literally. That's the story bottom line. Whenever those will start to carry NT against big boys teams, only then the times of us having legitimate chances will occur. As well as important to grow those role players with upside who will play next those 2 stars. Like Jokubaitis, Indrusaitis, Sirvydis, Rubstavicius, Murauskas and such. If I'm the coach I'm doing exactly this. But Kurtinaitis will learn this the hard way and probably won't realize this even after hard hit.

From vets I only would take Valanciunas (role model and role player), maybe one of Radzevicius/Kuzminskas (I would personally choose Radzevicius) and Grigonis if he is up to role players status. So 2-3 vets is optimal to me. But the way Kurtinaitis talked about Grigonis, I understood he didn't learn anything from recent data, he thinks he can drive he can slash and create his own shot and all...

To some up, I found Kurtinaitis almost completely inadequate in the perspective of contemporary BB...He simply stuck in the past, that's all.

[Straight forward]

Same Kleiza refuses to accept that 2020s fiba is clearly stronger compared even to recent past 10-14 years ago in his time.

That trio imagines hard work,strict hand will fix all the problems. Ignoring main problem ltu basketball is dealing with last 15 years.

I think Kleiza is trying to be somewhere in the middle. Not to deny what coaches want to do (even if that's a stupid idea generally) and still to push them to take more young talent. I got that idea. Just like with Russel, he tries to establish more flexible communication. Like he wanted to say we are proud that Russel wants to represent NT only because LTU commonity really trashed Russel in media and kind damaged his reputation even more I would want Kleiza to push Kurtinaitis more to see the reality and to present more talent instantly.

Bottom line is - we have to do everything what's possible to have Jakucionis and Buzelis in the NT. That should be 150% priority of NT. There's no more important tasks for the NT. Nothing is even close. We literally live and die with where those guys will carry us. That's our ONLY path to big stage presence. Only that tier players can get us there. Unfortunately and surprisingly, not all people understand that. It's really amazing.