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Lithuania NT 2010
#1
Quote:Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) president Vladas Garastas told to lrytas.lt that the original plan to wait until March before the new coach is appointed has changed. Garastas declared that during the next LKF board meeting (October 21) he will propose three coaches as potential candidates to coach Lithuanian national team. This list includes arguably the best Lithuanian coaches at the moment. The board will then pick one or two coaches and will start holding negotiations with them.

Three coaches in Garastas's mind are: Jonas Kazlauskas, Rimas Kurtinaitis and Kestutis Kemzura. The situation of Kazlauskas is the most complicated since he is the head coach of Greece national team and his contract runs for one more year. However, the possibility of buying-out Kazlauskas's conract will be considered. In one of the recent interviews Vladas Garastas claimed that Jonas Kazlauskas would be appointed as a head coach of Lithuania right away if he was available.

Another obstacle of gettin Kazlauskas is his wage. Vladas Garastas told that the head coach of Lithuania earns even up to 10 times less than his colleagues in other top teams in the world. He mentioned David Blatt, head coach of Russia, as an example who earns 2.5 million euros per year. Though, can a team aiming for the highest goals pay their head coach that much less than other teams and expect the same results?

Rimas Kurtinaitis, who is widely considered as the favourite to become the new head coach of Lithuania, wasn't so willing to declare his interest in the job especially after the fiasco in Eurobasket 2009. Lithuania was among the worst teams in the championship and managed to win only 1 out of six games that they played and Rimas Kurtinaitis was an assistant coach there. Lately Kurtinaitis was more open to the opportunity of becoming the head coach of the national team.

Kestutis Kemzura could be in a unique position if he is chosen among the coaches that will offered the job as he already has an offer to stay as a head coach of Latvia. Despite unsuccessful showing at Eurobasket 2009 the officials of Latvian basketball have faith in the young coach and asked him to decide whether to remain in his position until October 15. Vladas Garastas said that he will ask Kemzura to delay his answer to the Latvians in order to keep him available for Lithuania.

LKF president also told that Lithuania is already invited to play in a World Championships Turkey 2010 preparation tournament which will be held in Spain. It will include World and European champions Spain as well as Olympic champions USA. He also revealed that the national team has lots of other offers from different teams. Lithuania needs a wild card in order to play in Turkey next year.

My prediction made long time ago about Kurtinaitis is very close to becoming reality. Though Kemzura decided to delay his answer to Latvians as he prefers Lithuanian national team. This gives a slight hope that Kurtinaitis won't be the one to replace Butautas.

Kurtinaitis was a part of fiasco in Poland and in fact not the smallest part. So he is also responsible for that. People are bringing up examples when Sireika replaced Kazlauskas after fiasco in 2001 and eventually won Eurobasket 2003. But they are forgetting the fact that Sireika is a different type of coach. He fits the style of Lithuania NT which offensive and creative. Meanwhile Kurtinaitis prefers the opposite style of play which he calls 'Serbian'. His tactics might work with a team which has little talent, Lietuvos Rytas, but it doesn't work when the players are much better.

On the other hand Kemzura hasn't achieved much in his career either. But he already has more experience than Kurtinaitis. What happened to Latvian in Eurobasket was a large part down to the laziness of their players which is confirmed by the bans given to them. One of Kemzura's advantages is his experience working with David Blatt. Personally I would note another advantage - his intelligence. Kemzura is indeed an intelligent coach who reminds Kazlauskas a bit.

And finally Kazlauskas - the best of all three but with the least chances to become the head coach. If LKF wanted him so badly they could start some public initiative and open an account for the fans to send some money or something like that. This might sound crazy but it would work. Just as it worked when a petition asking Cavs to let Ilgauskas play for NT was launched. It was successful and well promoted. But the most important question is whether Kazlauskas himself would want to work with these people in LKF? I think that the answer is clear - NO.
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#2
Kazlauskas told to lrytas.lt that he was not contacted by LKF for several years no. And he just laughed at these statements by Garastas about him being a candidate. He also added that his decision regarding Lithuanian national team is clear and this topic is closed. It's so pathetic to make such a public move by LKF to pretend that they are trying to bring Kazlauskas. One day Garastas says that Kazlauskas is a candidate. The next day he says that there's almost no hope to bring him.

It appears that my prediction about Kurtinaitis might not come true as Kemzura is being mentioned as the favourite. In fact he is the only candidate who was contacted by LKF so far.

Kemzura might be the best choice right now simply because he wasn't a part of the fiasco. But if he was the only coach who has been contacted by LKF then it is obvious that the winner has already been decided just as in 2007. LKF is just making a move for the public to pretend they will be choosing from several coaches when in fact the winner has been known since probably Eurobasket. That's pathetic. They are just fooling people. Of course those who have a better understanding of how LKF works know that.

Now if Kemzura is chosen my only worry about him as a head coach of NT is his reputation and authority among the players. He is still relatively young as a coach and so far his main problem of failure in the past was that he had troubles with players. First it was Delfino in Khimki and now several Latvian NT players. So the question is will he be able to bring the best players to NT again first of all.
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#3
Quote:Kazlauskas told to lrytas.lt that he was not contacted by LKF for several years no. And he just laughed at these statements by Garastas about him being a candidate. He also added that his decision regarding Lithuanian national team is clear and this topic is closed. It's so pathetic to make such a public move by LKF to pretend that they are trying to bring Kazlauskas. One day Garastas says that Kazlauskas is a candidate. The next day he says that there's almost no hope to bring him.

It appears that my prediction about Kurtinaitis might not come true as Kemzura is being mentioned as the favourite. In fact he is the only candidate who was contacted by LKF so far.

Kemzura might be the best choice right now simply because he wasn't a part of the fiasco. But if he was the only coach who has been contacted by LKF then it is obvious that the winner has already been decided just as in 2007. LKF is just making a move for the public to pretend they will be choosing from several coaches when in fact the winner has been known since probably Eurobasket. That's pathetic. They are just fooling people. Of course those who have a better understanding of how LKF works know that.

Now if Kemzura is chosen my only worry about him as a head coach of NT is his reputation and authority among the players. He is still relatively young as a coach and so far his main problem of failure in the past was that he had troubles with players. First it was Delfino in Khimki and now several Latvian NT players. So the question is will he be able to bring the best players to NT again first of all.

he was part of another fiasco though...

Anyway, the main problem of lithuania is not the coach, it's the PG position
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#4
Poor Lithuania thinks it can buy-out Kazlauskas from Greece Tongue
Respect and thanks for everything:

Alvertis, Bodiroga, Jasikevicius, Radja, Wilkins, Vrankovic, Fotsis, Rebraca, Kattash, Gentile, Koch, Middleton, Kutluay, Rogers, Papadopoulos, Becirovic, Tomasevic, Siskauskas, Pekovic, Lakovic, Vujanic, Chatzivrettas, Maljkovic, Spanoulis and many more to follow in the near future.
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#5
Funny thing is that some greeks believe Kazlauskas is inadequate for the NT! Biggrin
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#6
i would like to see what he can do with a full roster and a bit more time. No glyniadakises and no kalambokises
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#7
Quote:he was part of another fiasco though...

Anyway, the main problem of lithuania is not the coach, it's the PG position

Not exactly. With a good coach we would be able to show better things even this year without Šaras, Kaukėnas, Šiškauskas. Coach is very important when there's no Šaras around. As for Kazlauskas that's the show federation is making up. From Kurtinais and Kemzura I would go with Kemzura definitely.
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#8
Kemzura is the new coach officially https://www.talkbasket.net/4826-kemzura-...-till-2012

Looking at his statements I was happy to hear that he is going to pick the best players available instead of adding young players just for the sake of it. That's another discussion but players should gain experience and improve their skills at their clubs not in the national team. Now the main question is will there be any players who will refuse to play for NT because of Kemzura. They will give other excuses of course.
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#9
Recently there are much talks about Tadas Klimavičius. Many people, including Rimas Kurtinaitis, think that he should be called up for the national team. If not the final squad then at least to the training camp. Do you think he has reached the level needed to play for NT already? Or does his game only shows that the front line of Žalgiris is rather weak?

Personally I think that Klimavičius has improved his game a lot during the last two years but I think he is NT material or that he will ever be. If Kemzūra is smart and will use Kleiza as PF primarily then I can't see how Klimavičius could make the final squad. However, if one our PF's is injured Klimavičius should be the first-choice back up.
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#10
Quote:Recently there are much talks about Tadas Klimavičius. Many people, including Rimas Kurtinaitis, think that he should be called up for the national team. If not the final squad then at least to the training camp. Do you think he has reached the level needed to play for NT already? Or does his game only shows that the front line of Žalgiris is rather weak?

Personally I think that Klimavičius has improved his game a lot during the last two years but I think he is NT material or that he will ever be. If Kemzūra is smart and will use Kleiza as PF primarily then I can't see how Klimavičius could make the final squad. However, if one our PF's is injured Klimavičius should be the first-choice back up.

Klimavičius is a hardworker and he really improved lately. On other hand, he didn't do anything special. For example Jankūnas was having a double digits every time he's on the court for Žalgiris (in important games) three years on a row and it's not like he had any worth mentioning role in Lithuanian NT yet. Now, Klimavičius had some really impressive period for Žalgiris (and solid season overall) and fans get too exited (not without a help of Kurtinaitis surely Smile ). But the fact is that Klimavičius is PF and there we have red hod Kleiza (I'm totally agree with you, Kleiza should be messing around at the PF position in NT as well), constant all- Euroleague member K. Lavrinovič, D. Lavrinovič, Jankūnas who despite his slowdown in Khimki is a starter of better team and even everyday progressing D. Motiejūnas might be around and step in with some surprises.

On other hand, K. Lavrinovič has some problems with injuries this season, M. Petravičius might skip the tournament for the same reason as well. So you never now. Personally, I'm looking forward to see how D. Motiejūnas looks at the NT camp and not Klimavičius. I have a feeling that Jankūnas will fight for the last spot exactly with Donatas. We'll see.
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#11
After conversation with Jasikevičius the head coach K. Kemzūra carefully expressed a hope that Šaras might join the NT this summer, but everything will be known only after the season.

Other candidates for PG position might be Arvydas Eitutavičius (Puatje "Basket") who in Kemzūra's opinion is a pleasant surprise (I'm highly sceptical about this call while he's 27 and it reminds me the case of Mažutis a bit). Kemzūra also mentioned Kalnietis.

Lrytas.lt
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#12
During our campaign to get wild card for WC, Šaras promised to play as we tried to convince FIBA that we will bring our best players. Now that the wild card is in our pocket, promises can be forgotten. There can be no excuse of tiredness this time. But Šaras played very little this season due to the surgery and he still feels pain so I'm almost 100% sure that he will take this summer off to recover for next season.

Regarding Eitutavičius, he made some nice progress and it'd be interesting to see him play with our B team at first. Do you have a link to his stats in France?

At least the likes of Mažutis and Gustas are not mentioned here.
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#13
Quote:During our campaign to get wild card for WC, Šaras promised to play as we tried to convince FIBA that we will bring our best players. Now that the wild card is in our pocket, promises can be forgotten. There can be no excuse of tiredness this time. But Šaras played very little this season due to the surgery and he still feels pain so I'm almost 100% sure that he will take this summer off to recover for next season.

Regarding Eitutavičius, he made some nice progress and it'd be interesting to see him play with our B team at first. Do you have a link to his stats in France?

At least the likes of Mažutis and Gustas are not mentioned here.

I wouldn't be that sure about Jasikevičius. He already skipped Eurobasket 2009 and he mentioned several times that he still going to play for NT. IMO, everything depends on his physical condition. If he'll be healthy enough, I think he'll play. He will have motivation I think- he never played at WC and he will think about upcoming season (good performance with NT would help him to get better contract).

http://www.lnb.fr/index.php?pid=9&id=A43...009&type=1 Here you go, for me his stats don't say much. Surely will be interesting how much he progressed since last year with Neptūnas (that progress should be huge if he wants to go to WC).
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#14
Hopefully I'm wrong about Šaras but when he says that he cautiously says that he will think about it then usually he doesn't play. Your point is also valid.

If Eitutavičius is brought to the final squad then I hope it's because he's worth it. I'm sick and tired of all these experimental point guards.
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#15
Vladas Garastas told to lrytas.lt that the goal for NT is to be among top 8 in Turkey. He also said that Šiškauskas and Songaila won't play for sure (nothing new) and that Kaukėnas is very doubtful (just as I thought).

Once again we go to WC with low goals. If next time we fail to qualify directly, FIBA should think twice before giving us a wild card Dry

Of course there is a slim possibility that we could still do well but I highly doubt that.
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#16
Quote:Vladas Garastas told to lrytas.lt that the goal for NT is to be among top 8 in Turkey. He also said that Šiškauskas and Songaila won't play for sure (nothing new) and that Kaukėnas is very doubtful (just as I thought).

Once again we go to WC with low goals. If next time we fail to qualify directly, FIBA should think twice before giving us a wild card  Dry

Of course there is a slim possibility that we could still do well but I highly doubt that.

I don't trust Garastas anymore Smile The official goal will be announced in march 25 while this is only Grastas' opinion. Anyway, a lot of speculations will come in the media while the season will be over and players will tell their word.

It's also clear that second NT will go to China (again).

Here's the preparation games:

July 31 Finland (Šiauliai)

August 2 Czeck (Panevėžys)

August 6-7 Slovenia, Spain (Vitoria)

August 13-16 Germany, Turkey, Croatia (Bamberg)

August 20-21. Spain, USA (Madrid)

August 24 The last game, TBA

Pretty fan list of friendly games Smile
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#17
Quote:I don't trust Garastas anymore Smile The official goal will be announced in march 25 while this is only Grastas' opinion. Anyway, a lot of speculations will come in the media while the season will be over and players will tell their word.

The problem is that Garastas's opinion is usually also the opinion of LKF Smile

There's not much left to wait until we'll see the list candidates (that's if Kemzūra will do the same as Butautas).
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#18
Quote:The problem is that Garastas's opinion is usually also the opinion of LKF Smile

There's not much left to wait until we'll see the list candidates (that's if Kemzūra will do the same as Butautas).

According to LKF media representative Metvejevas, Kemzura will announce the list only at the end of the season. Personally, I would like to see what Kemzura noticed so far.
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#19
Quote:According to LKF media representative Metvejevas, Kemzura will announce the list only at the end of the season. Personally, I would like to see what Kemzura noticed so far.

i don't expect many surprises. i do expect to see gecevicius on the list. he can also run the point for some minutes, which is the weak point of lithuania
Schwach wie flasche leer
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#20
can someone post the pool of players for the NT?
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