Yardbarker: Sarunas Jasikevicius

Manager Who Brought Omri Casspi to Maccabi Commits Suicide

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:17:00 -0500

There are reports that Shimone "Moni" Fanan, the face of Maccabi Tel Aviv as its general manager through the 1990s and this decade, has committed suicide. Fanan signed Casspi to his first professional contract at Maccabi in 2005. According to the news reports I've read out of Israel this morning, Fanan was considered to be a father figure to many of Maccabi's players, although there seemed to be resentment as Maccabi dominated the domestic league with foreign stars. But ...

Bad news for rest of Euroleague: Jasikevicius extends with Panathinaikos

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:51:55 -0500

The man official PR is calling “a Euroleague legend” has had his contract extended by Panathinaikos. Few can wear the “legend” label as uncontroversially as Sarunas Jasikevicius, having won Euroleague titles with Panathinaikos, FC Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Indeed, over at the Maccabi official team website, the current poll “Who’s the best point guard [...]

Jasikevicius Lifts Lithuania Past China 94-68

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:53:13 -0500

Sarunas Jasikevicius was raining treys on Wednesday as the Lithuanian point guard went 5-6 from outside the arc, and led his team past China 94-68. The victory puts Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics semi-finals as they will match up against Spain. Jasikevicius to this observer will always be the one that got away from the [...]

NBA Punchlines: Shaq's marriage on the mend?

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:10:09 -0500

Linus Kleiza criticizes Nuggets' trade of Camby, but he would be glad to take a contract extension from the same organzation. (Rocky Mountain News)

Sarunas Jasikevicius on his time playing playing for the Pacers: "I was pretty much miserable." (Indy Star)

Two words that fans love to hear as they purchase tix or next season: Youth Movement. (Sac Bee)

The Lakers replace Ronnie Turiaf with former clipper, Josh Powell. (OC Register)

The Celtics signed 1st round pick J.R. Giddens to a 2-year contract. (Boston Globe)

Shaq's wife says her marriage with him is on the mend. She is also starting her own video sharing website. (Miami Herald)

Kobe morphs into 'Doberman' from 'Black Mamba'

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:26:34 -0500

Kobe Bryant, the modern day Manimal, recently revealed yet another animal he is able to morph into , The Doberman. Following Team USA's game against Lithuania, Kobe revealed that he was able to lock down the '04 America-killer Sarunas Jasikevicius...

LeBron James: "We Have to Be a No Excuse Team"

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:29:48 -0500

The first episode of "Road to Redemption" detailed Team USA's history in FIBA competition since NBA players began participating in 1992: Team USA won Olympic gold medals in 1992, 1996 and 2000 plus a FIBA World Championship in 1994 (Team USA won a bronze medal in the FIBA World Championship in 1998 when college and CBA players replaced NBA players due to the NBA lockout). Since 2000, though, Team USA has experienced a series of failures: a sixth place finish in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The current squad--assembled by Managing Director Jerry Colangelo and coached by Mike Krzyzewski--consists of players who made a three year commitment to turn the program around. The initial result--a 10-0 sweep to the gold medal in the FIBA Americas tournament in 2007--was good but that was just a warmup to the main event: the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Two key additions to the team are Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd, the new starting backcourt. Kidd has an undefeated record in FIBA play, including winning a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics, while Bryant--who called himself the "Doberman" after shutting down Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, a longtime Team USA nemesis--has become the team's defensive stopper, something that no one on recent Team USA rosters was willing and/or able to do. Parts two and three of "Road to Redemption" look at Team USA's bonding process on and off the court during the month leading up to the Olympics. Kidd went on a golf outing with young point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams. As they rode in golf carts, Kidd told them, "Whatever I can do to pass on from who I've learned from--Stockton, Magic and Gary (Payton)--that is my duty, to share with you guys. You guys are too talented and I want you guys to be successful." The three point guards joked around as they staged an impromptu closest to the pin contest, with the losers having to do 25 pushups. "Or we can do your age--we can do 50," quipped Williams to Kidd. Kidd, playing in flip flops, put two balls on the green, but Williams landed the closest shot to the pin, so Kidd and Paul had to do the pushups. "J, we'll give you five off--you get a senior discount," Williams said. "I think golf is 10 times harder than basketball--50 times," Williams added afterwards. "I just showed that if you don't practice you will be trash," Paul added with a rueful laugh. Coach Krzyzewski gave each player a notebook that has a picture of the gold medal on the first page. During one practice he gathered all of the players around to watch a video of Marvin Gaye's classic rendition of the national anthem prior to the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, telling the team, "That is going to be our song." "I believe in visualization," Coach Krzyzewski explained later. "Let's put a vision in your mind about being on that gold medal stand and hearing our song." Also, the entire team took a cruise to see the Statue of Liberty. "What we're trying to do is develop a spirit where we're not just saying something, we're showing them something," said Krzyzewski. "And then allowing them to feel something."I agree with Coach Krzyzewski about the importance of visualization and the power of symbols to motivate and inspire people. "This is the first thing a lot of people saw when they came to this country," said Bryant of the Statue of Liberty. "This is where a lot of dreams started for a lot of different people and families. You have a dream in America where you can literally go from the bottom to the top. This is our dream here now, to bring a gold medal back to this country." During one of Team USA's meetings, LeBron James delivered perhaps the clearest and strongest message about what this team's mentality has to be. Echoing a theme that is very familiar to anyone who follows James' Cleveland Cavaliers, he said, "When we go across these waters and we go play, we got to be a 'no excuse' team. What I mean is, it's going to be us against the world and we got to look at it that way. We can't blame the refs, we can't blame the crowd, we can't blame anything else on anybody. We are in a position right now where we control our own destiny. I know I'm guilty of this sometimes: I sit at home and say, 'If I had Dwight Howard on my team or if I had Carlos Boozer on my team or if I had Chris Paul as my point guard I would win an NBA championship.' So what's my excuse now? I got all y'all on this team, so what's my excuse now? Do we all have an excuse? We don't. This is everything that we always dreamed of, of having that guy next to you and winning something. I'm excited and I know you guys are. This is what I've always wanted, playing alongside Carmelo Anthony, playing alongside Jason, playing with Kobe. I don't have no excuse now--none of us." Bryant added, "To me, defense and rebounding wins every time, no matter where you play--you play here, you play on Mars, you play anywhere you want: if you can shut somebody down and rebound the basketball then you're going to win no matter who you are playing against. That's the standard we have to set."

Heal The World: One Jasikveicius At A Time

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:06:59 -0500

Many international players are falling out of love with the NBA, it's time to help these talented players succeed, for the love of Michael!

So long Sarunas (yes-a-cabbage-is leaving).

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 04:56:47 -0500

Well, no more fumbling around with the name. The our Lithuanian brother is leaving the building in Oakland. I wanted it to work out, but it never materialize. Stews, slaw, stuffed. Blah. It all smells a bit off to me and it has been known to cause flatulence in some.

Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 9/14

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:33:53 -0500

Links and commentary on all of the day's top stories involving the Celtics.

Analyzing the PG Situation

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:21:20 -0500

Here is a thorough analysis of the PG situation for the Celtics including the current players and possibilities for the addition of a back up.

Beard control. Enter Austin Croshere.

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:11:32 -0500

Well, the Warriors have added a solid bench piece that knows how to use his big frame to control other players. Particular those on his own squad that may be getting a little "feisty". He's very familiar with much of the current roster, including Harrington, Jackson and "The Cabbage" teammates while in Indiana. He even has ties to Mr.Dizzle, whom he played High School ball with in Santa Monica.

Boom Dizzle Fizzle - Baron Davis out indefinitely

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 13:08:38 -0500

or: I got my half-season out of B-Diddy and I'm NEVER drafting him again Golden State of Mind breaks the news that Baron Davis is out indefinitely and will have arthroscopic knee surgery tomorrow. I have to give Fantasy Basketblog credit for calling that one 6 days ago. I guess the one thing us Baron owners can be thankful for is that he's out for sure. So, we don't have to worry about whether he's going to play 1-2 games in a 3-4 game week, missing the others with "minor" injuries. The other thing Baron owners can do is pick up Sarunas Jasikevicius, which I've already done. (Sorry, sometimes I feel like I'm doing some insider trading or something) Another possible pickup is Kelenna Azubuike, but his minutes and resulting stats have been very inconsistent. Hmmm? did Don Nelson have anything to do with that? Basically, this means that the breakout seasons for Monta Ellis and Matt Barnes will continue. Those who were worried about Stephen Jackson's value declining after the trade can breathe a sign of relief (at least until Jason Richardson returns). As GSoM points out, Baron will most likely be out until the Warriors are out of contention for the playoffs, so he may not return at all this season, and that means you can count on the guys mentioned above for at least a month, and maybe 2 or 2 and a half. Hey, like I said, I'm at least happy that Baron will be on the IR list rather than just "questionable." And his draft status for next season is no longer "questionable" either.