Lithuania is the Uruguay of basketball. Not Brazil, not Germany, France, Italy or even Netherlands. URUGUAY. Meaning, it's a very small country with a passion for the sport. Keyword being though, a SMALL COUNTRY. A population of 2.5M... Expecting it to maintain a top3-4 position in the world for extended periods of time will only lead you to disappointment. Lithuania can finish in top4 once in a while due to circumstances (good teamwork, opponents not being at full strength etc.), but you simply can't expect much more than that.
In terms of new talent, I think Motiejunas and Valanciunas will need a couple more years to put it all together. Sabonis might not need that much time to start contributing, since he's already a skilled high IQ player with great motor (and these qualities translate very well into men's basketball). Grigonis could be the answer at SG (possibly at PG for short periods of time) in a few years. Gudaitis is a nice backup C for Val. Zalgiris' young PGs are promising. All in all, I think there might be enough talent to compete for that "bounce back" in these coming Olympics. Still, a lot will depend on other things (player development, coaching, competition level etc.).
In terms of new talent, I think Motiejunas and Valanciunas will need a couple more years to put it all together. Sabonis might not need that much time to start contributing, since he's already a skilled high IQ player with great motor (and these qualities translate very well into men's basketball). Grigonis could be the answer at SG (possibly at PG for short periods of time) in a few years. Gudaitis is a nice backup C for Val. Zalgiris' young PGs are promising. All in all, I think there might be enough talent to compete for that "bounce back" in these coming Olympics. Still, a lot will depend on other things (player development, coaching, competition level etc.).
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