A.Marčiulionis – on “Morning”, the NBA dream and the daddy legend: “There are no clones in basketball”

Šarūnas Marčiulionis’ sporting achievements are a well-known and significant place in the “Hall of Fame”, and now his son Augustas will take over the family relay in basketball, which will start his journey in the Vilnius club in the same way. That his father.

Among the most promising basketball players in the country, the 193 cm tall player often doubled last Tuesday signed a three-year contract with Rytas.

It was a pleasant and unforgettable moment for Augustus, who originated and grew up in Vilnius.

A.Marčiulionis remembers the final of the European Cup, in which Vilnius residents led by Chuck Eidson and Marijonas Petravičius triumphed. Although he was seven years old, he perfectly remembers where he saw this decisive fight of the tournament, when the old house was full of joy of victory.

Holding on to the TV screen and watching the “Rytas” victory dance, Augustus was drawn into an unbroken friendship with a basketball.

“A little more, a little less, but as far as I remember, I always supported Morning. I didn’t have a favorite NBA team, and” Morning “has been important to me since I was a kid. 15 minutes A.Marčiulionis said.

The way to basketball

It is true that basketball was not the first sport that Augustus began to practice.

Like his father, he started tennis, taking the racket in his hands for the first time at the age of five and killing on the tennis courts for two years.

He has been following the results of this sport to this day, expressing his sympathy for the legendary Swiss Roger Federer.

The curious A.Marčiulionis also liked soccer, to which he was attracted to Manchester United, which has a red demon in the center of the logo.

Demons begin to run before the eyes of Augustus when he talks about basketball, which he loved in his room from morning until afternoon, throwing him into a basket of children hanging on the door frame.

Š.Marčiulionis, who noted the craving for basketball, enrolled his son in training at the academy established in his own name. Augustus scored the ball for two years before realizing his father’s status in Lithuanian basketball history while in second grade.

He began to follow the twists and turns of his father’s career online, watched videos made on YouTube showing extraordinary Lithuanian death raids in NBA courts and the legendary “eurostep”.

I remember that the parents who learned it gave me the devil, so I quickly calmed down.

“Mom said that when I found out that Dad was a very famous basketball player, I received a lot of praise from everyone. I remember my parents learning it from the devil, so I quickly calmed down. ” 15 minutes Laughing he said to Augustas Marčiulionis.

Recognized as the season’s best NKL basketball player, the player was a responsive boy who gradually dug his way to the city’s first team.

At the age of 12, he was prominent among children over the age of two, reaching symbolic tournament tournaments.

Tall little Augustus leaned against the wall as his teammates began to mature faster and outnumbered him on the field, casting a slight doubt in his mind about the future of basketball. But then he moved to the Vilnius Basketball School, which gave him new wings.

“The coach immediately trusted me, I got an important role in the team. I grew up, got stronger over the summer, and the season in the student basketball league was very good. We started to dominate with Ąžuolas (Ąžuolas Tubelis – aut. Past), I realized that someone with basketball can have it, ”said A.Marčiulionis about the feeling that appeared three years ago.

Dad’s example and the weight of the shirt

The famous name on the back does not create additional pressure on the young basketball player. He is a boy who does not follow the legend of dad and settles for unnecessary psychological barricades.

A.Marčiulionis just wants to play basketball.

Like the father, the son competes in the player position. Although Augustas attacks the basket with the right hand and Šarūnas with the left, Marčiulionius is united by his ability to knock down the defense of his opponents, good team management and creativity.

“It just caught our eye then. No one in the immediate area says I have to be like Dad because otherwise I will be disappointed (smiles). It is fun that Dad has accomplished so much and can follow in his footsteps, but there are no clones in the Basketball. You need to enjoy the genes, but you need to learn and play. You must understand that I am making my way. That attention feels a bit and has increased, but it doesn’t work in my game at all, “said A.Marčiulionis.

Although he does not use his father’s achievements as a fatal goal for himself, Augustus would gladly take over his father’s repertoire of games.

First of all, Š.Marčiulionis was characterized by great will, sometimes stepping on the site with crooked teeth and despite injuries. He also excelled in an exemplary work ethic, spending hours playing various game moves in the gym.

He tried to pass discipline on the job to his son too. If there were no good results at school, there was no basketball. This lesson was first of all.

A.Marčiulionis was born in 2002, Š.Marčiulionis, who was tired of injuries, finished professional basketball five years ago.

New basketball player Rytas has lost sight of the father who plays live, but is recording YouTube records in his memory. Firstly, it emphasizes the incredible body of the Lithuanian national team leader at the time, which would not embarrass seniors.

When Š.Marčiulionis was 18 years old, he grew to 8 centimeters during the year. August would gladly accept a similar gift of genes.

I would like to copy dad’s strength and construction.

“I would like to copy Dad’s fortress and construction. Of course, those moves, plastics, and various throws … These things can’t help but be fascinated,” Augustas said.

Now on the basketball court, the 18-year-old defender is trying to listen more closely to the wisdom spread by his father.

“He just caught our eye then. He liked to see my NKL match records, take me to the living room and give advice. Show me what move, detail, what he was doing himself. In the past, when he was younger, if he couldn’t repeating it the first time, I thought it didn’t make sense. Now comes the realization that Dad provides useful information to take with you. He also said about my launch that in a few years he would drop the basket quite differently. He saw it under my body. , he offered to get used to it immediately, he did not agree, but I understood it so he was right. Now I try to listen and delve into what my father says for the first time, “said A.Marčiulionis.

Childhood Heroes and the NBA Dream

“I would like to enter the NBA someday. Feel what it means and how things are going there. But I don’t put the burden on myself of necessarily having to accomplish this through the rookie exchange and in the next two years. I have nothing against cases like the two Bogdanovichs: they played well in the Euroleague, they prepared and went to the NBA. ” 15 minutes A.Marčiulionis said.

Augustus followed NBA basketball with his primary focus.

The first memory of this league is the 2011 final, which he saw while visiting his father in the United States. The Dallas Mavericks, then led by German Wunderkind Dirko Nowitzki, taught the great Miami Heat, a trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Augustus grew up following players in position, both large and small, most importantly in order to organize the game and create attacks for the team.

Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, the legend of another city in the city, Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry, who has enslaved the world in recent years, are the players that Augustus tried to copy.

I have nothing against cases like the two Bogdanovichs.

Admittedly, this list also includes a rare selection of such “tops,” the clever Brandon Jennings.

After graduating from school, this American did not choose to study in the NCAA, but to play for the then Euroleague Lottomatica team in Rome.

Jennings’ seventh game in the NBA was their most memorable game, with the Milwauke Bucks scoring 55 points for Auckland’s opponents.

This is the fourth rookie result in league history.

“55 points were thrown directly in the face of Stephui Curry. I really liked Detroit when it hung for all the broadcasts hanging from the air. He had a couple of games when he scored 20 points and 20 assists. A sudden and unpredictable player. He wanted to find a My favorite basketball player, I picked B. Jennings, but then his career started to falter (laughs). This is sometimes the case, “said A.Marčiulionis.

Safe option in Vilnius

Augustus still makes career decisions with his father. The option to go to the NCAA was real, but the situation was caught in the coronavirus, preventing the basketball player from flying on college visits, preventing him from showing up and speaking live.

The talented player was also attracted to the Nevėžis of Kėdainiai, but ultimately decided to stay in the morning. In a team where he has made great strides in improvement in recent years.

It is true that a year later you will have the opportunity to go beyond the Atlantic again and begin your studies.

“We just let each other know when we make this decision, which is really good and low risk.” I enjoyed the improvement of the last 2-3 years in the morning. There was a game, understanding, situation reading, statistics. I felt like I was improving. My father and I decided not to risk it and stay in Vilnius. The club loved me, I also wanted to debut in the morning, which I have been following since I was little, ”said A.Marčiulionis.

My father and I decided not to risk it and stay in Vilnius.

If in 2018, when “Rytas” became the Euroleague youth champion, A.Marčiulionis, 16, played an episodic role in the team, it was difficult to stop him in the selection that took place in Kaunas last February.

“Rytas” won first place, and the player reached the symbolic five, gaining 18.3 points during the selection, rebounding after 3.8 and taking 1.3 balls, after 6.5 effective passes and collected after 23.5 utility. balo

The second year was also excellent for the basketball player NKL: in the 2019-2020 season, A.Marčiulionis scored 15.3 points in the Lithuanian Second Basketball League in terms of capacity (45.4% double, 31.8% trit, 76.6%. penalty), recovered after 3.6 and took over after 1.9 balls, made 5.8 assists, made a mistake 2.9 times, recorded a utility score of 16.6.

In February, the door was opened to brightly lit talent at the prestigious NBA Stars Weekend Borderless Basketball Camp, where American universities were also waiting.

Although A.Marčiulionis does not name the exact names, he does mention the Pac-12 conference, where good friend Oak Tubelis’ new team “Arizona Wildcats” will also compete.

There are also Arizona State Sun Devils, California Golden Bears, Colorado Buffaloes, Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers, Stanford Cardinal, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, Utah Utes, Washington Huskies, and Washington State Cougars.

There is no shortage of famous names here. Half of these teams have ever triumphed in national championships, and each has raised more than one famous NBA player.

Are the elections of A. Tubelis, David Sirvydis and Marekas Blaževičius not confused?

“Maybe they had other reasons, maybe they had better suggestions, maybe they felt it was better to improve elsewhere. I do not condemn them. I very much agree with Oak and Marek. They don’t condemn me to stay, I make them leave. Our careers are different, we do what is best for us, ”said A.Marčiulionis.

The player was impressed by the conversation with new “Rytas” coach Donald Kairis, who will replace Dainius Adomaitis as chief strategist.

“You can see that the coach understands basketball well.” He said he will not give a minute for anything, I will have to prove myself. You can see that when necessary, it will be strict, but at the same time human. I liked. When Rytas chose the new coach, he wanted Donald to become him, “said Augustus, who was waiting for his debut in the morning.

What next season would be good?

“A good season would be to play a role, be in rotation and benefit the team. Very good: having important minutes, having a good role and averages in the statistics. This would be the best option, but I would also be very happy with the first option ”, shared the thoughts of the son of the legendary Š.Marčiulionis.

The strengths of the game and the desire to improve.

Augustus is now participating in a maturity testing marathon that has integrated him into his off-season, hard-start, early-start season.

Last week he successfully passed the English and Lithuanian speaking assignments, and this week he meets three exams, Monday in Lithuanian, Tuesday, in English, Friday, in Math and at the finish line next week: history .

Long after the end of the season, he and his friends from the Rytas system began to work diligently under the supervision of Artūras Javtokas.

“I gained some weight, I felt stronger. Now I weigh around 84 pounds. I don’t know what the ultimate goal of weight loss should be, consult a professional, but being overweight would not be good. I want to be plastic, flexible, fast. We need to keep balance, ”said Augustus, now 193 cm tall.

Three weeks ago, he took basketball in his hands and gradually began preparing for the Summer Bucket summer league.

Specialists emphasize long-range shooting, but A.Marčiulionis is calm about it.

I’m pretty calm because with my release things will be fine in the future.

“I totally agree that the shot needs to be improved, but that’s what I’m working on,” said the promising Lithuanian basketball player. – I feel that with each season and month my release becomes more and more stable. I agree that there is still a lot of room for improvement, but I am working on that. I’m pretty sure everything will be fine with my release in the future. “

He would like to further improve the movement with the ball, the technique of moving the ball and expand the arsenal of movements.

Augustus has great advancement on both sides and the ability to complete attacks near the basket in various ways, he sees the field perfectly and willingly shares the ball.

“I think I have a good first step. I want to improve the elements of the game one by one. I want to not only kick the ball and play” two-on-two “, but also beat the opponents” one-on-one, “said the system diamond. “Morning”.

“Rytas” lost three talented basketball players in one summer, if we consider M.Blaževičius’s departure to Kaunas to be inevitable, so Augustas’ fate in Vilnius is a victory for the club, even if he doesn’t stay in the Lithuanian capital for a long time.

A.Marčiulionis brings a famous surname to men’s basketball, but he shouldn’t be putting his game at lightning speed in the background, making the player one of the most interesting young basketball players in the country.