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The girl, like her one and a half year old brother Rock, was born in the United States. Dad Alvydas went to this country to study: he studied at one of the Nebraska universities, where he also reached the heights of basketball. However, the Lithuanian began to suffer trauma, he realized that the mountains on the basketball court would not fall, so the family decided to return to Lithuania just two months after Justė’s birth.
In Palanga, J. Jocytė’s father continued to play basketball in the amateur league. Alvydas took his daughter to various competitions. Coach Daiva Mažionienė once saw a sporty-looking girl. She invited Juste to come to basketball practice. J. Jocytė did not hesitate to accept.
Dad was going to let his children go to music school, but when he saw the great passion that was immersed in basketball, he quickly changed his mind.
He played with the elders
J. Jocytė joined a group with basketball players even four years older, because there was no girl group his age in Palanga.
Justė threw the ball with his brother Roku the entire time before he started training in the yard. Not only did he shoot, but he also played one on one. No one wanted to go down. From an early age, Jocyte had a growing desire to win and be the best.
More than once, those battles ended in fights, unspoken days, tears for the girl, as the older brother used to win. The children fought each other outdoors, even in the dark. These duels hardened Juste, so it wasn’t difficult for her to compete with much bigger rivals later.
Rock is also a talented player, currently playing at the Stella Azzurra Basketball Academy in Rome. He decided not to return to Lithuania and remained in Italy after the borders were closed due to the coronavirus.
Incidentally, Justė and Rokas’ uncle Evaldas Jocys was a well-known Lithuanian basketball player. He represented the Olympus club in Plungė, which previously played in the Lithuanian basketball league, and was one of the team’s leaders. Her father Alvydas and brother Evaldas are from Plungė.
Perhaps J. Jocytė’s talent is encoded in genes? Perhaps a Samogitian character also pushes forward?
I drove to another city every day.
When Juste turned eight, she moved to Klaipeda to study with the strict coach Ramunė Kumpienė, because at least one group of girls of similar age did not appear in Palanga. Admittedly, in the port city, residents of Palanga also had to sweat with ditches, but most of them were slightly younger than in Palanga: two, not four years apart. The young man plowed his teeth, did not miss a single workout, and this work paid off deliciously.
At Klaipeda, it became clear that Justė was not only hard-working, but also extremely talented and creative. He knew several game situations well, generally made the right decisions on the field, and quickly understood the coach’s tasks. Furthermore, the youngest basketball player in the group stood out for his special plasticity and psychological strength: he was not afraid when fighting with older rivals.
When she was nine years old, she took a bus by herself from Palanga to Klaipeda for daily workouts.
The penalty is not allowing to play
Justei’s advice was shared not only by the coach but also by his father. He ordered to improve the launch and throw it in the basket several hundred times a day. Alvydas was infinitely demanding. He also regulated the diet and sleep of his offspring. If the boys started to become lazy, they threatened to stop training and compete, which seemed like the biggest punishment for Juste and Roku.
This rhythm worked in his favor. The basketball princess of Palanga has also given children bones. They soon gave her the nickname “killer with a baby face”.
The girl improved as in yeast. A year later, in other Lithuanian schoolchildren of various ages, he was simply unstoppable: during the match, they scored 30-40 points, bounced around 15 balls, and made several effective passes.
Black work was crowned by a silver medal won last year at the European Youth Championship (under 16) in Macedonia. At that time, “superJustei” was only thirteen years old, but the talented black worker was the leader of our country’s team. She scored 20 points per game and became the top scorer.
After that, the Palanga team played in the country’s Women’s Basketball League along with adult players for some time. She represented Klaipeda’s “Neptune” (this is now the name not only of the port city men’s team, but also of the women’s team). In Klaipeda, a crowded room gathered for women’s basketball games. When J. Jocytė went abroad, “Neptūnas” played again in a half-empty arena. Justė even made her debut on the Lithuanian women’s team.
NBA celebrity praise
Soon, J. Jocytė received a proposal to improve at the T. Parker Academy, located in Lyon, France. Jocius, who went there, was received by T. Parker himself. The former NBA star said of the Lithuanian game: “In three years we will have unreal talent.”
J. Jocytė has already managed to wear the clothes of the ASVEL women’s club in Vilerban and made her debut in the Euroleague. She became the youngest basketball player in this tournament in the entire history of the competition: Palanga was 14 years old and 29 days old at the time.
After leaving for France, the Lithuanian began attending an international school belonging to the T. Parker Academy. In it he studied French. Justė promised to learn French for half a year before leaving for the guest country. The T. Parker Academy also pays a lot of attention to science, because it realizes that only a small part of the students will become high-level players.
Lithuania is also sponsored by T. Parker himself. He repeatedly invited a talented basketball player to his home and shared several tips not just about basketball. Palangiškės was fascinated by the fact that the NBA celebrity is a simple, sincere, and upright person. He told Justé’s father, Alvydas, that he could write or call him at any time if he had any questions.
Not only T. Parker, but also a large group of Lithuanian and foreign journalists pay attention to the Palanga basketball diamond. Isn’t Dad afraid that his daughter could curl up, start thinking too much about herself, and stop improving?
“It just came to our attention then. He will not swell, he will not contract the disease of the stars. Juste is well educated, modest, has a strong character. My daughter also has a good sense of humor.” A. Jocys repeatedly praised her offspring with journalists.
The fact that Justė knows how to make fun of me convinced me when I spoke to the people of Palanga when he returned home.
– How do you spend days during quarantine?
– I’m with mom and dad. I study remotely, the teachers in France send various assignments. I also do sports. I have a program to do sports specifically at home, and I work according to it. I don’t run cross country due to quarantine, but I really want to at least take a ride outside.
– What did you like most about France? What was the most difficult part?
– First of all, I was impressed by the training conditions. You can go to the hall whenever you want. The exercises were generally performed twice a day. The room itself, the entire inventory is brand new. Just go and work. The most difficult part was learning French. All sciences in French. A little explanation in English, and that’s it. The sciences are aligned with the training schedule. There are slightly fewer lessons in France than in Lithuania.
– Is that how you learned French?
– I’m not fluent yet, but I understand a lot. It is more difficult to speak, but I speak to the teacher at school.
– And what about Lithuanian language and literature?
– I’m not learning this anymore.
– Did you make friends in a foreign country?
– yeah Many of them appeared. Now I keep in touch with my new friends.
– How to eat in France? Did you like the cuisine of this country?
– Food is one of the most important things. He was a great fan of the baton in Lithuania, and I liked it even more there. Well, but I know you can’t abuse the bar. You will need to take a break (smiles).
Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world. Did you have to visit this city? Maybe you changed the style of the clothes?
– I have not changed yet, but I feel that the French have influenced me in this area. We will see how it will be in the future. I was in Paris when an NBA game took place. Admittedly, I didn’t have much time, so I managed to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower and everything.
– If countries’ borders continue to close after the spread of the coronavirus slows, do you plan to put Neptune’s clothes back on?
– Of course, I can’t say that right now, but it would be interesting to play with Kaunas “Aistiai”, Vilnius “Kibirkštis” and see if I have improved.
– What elements of the game do you need to improve the most? What component of basketball have you mastered best?
– Almost everything needs to be improved, both defense and shooting and dribbling, but now I want to make the most of the little details. For example, leg work, posture. It is probably better to “read” various situations in the square.
– In which position, players or attack defenders, do you like to play the most?
– Maybe you will play, because I am doing well in the distribution of the balls.
– What is your dream as a basketball player?
– Enter the strongest league in the world: the women’s NBA (WNBA).
– For some time now, its height has been officially 184 centimeters. Maybe you’re already an adult?
– Dad says that maybe I grew another centimeter (laughs).
– What is your Hobbie?
– My biggest hobby is basketball. If I don’t play, I really enjoy being in nature and watching various movies with my family.
– When you became famous, maybe the boys started writing and invited you out?
– It would be good (laughs). And if he is serious, he writes mainly on basketball topics, previously congratulating himself for becoming European vice champion, on other occasions. Once upon a time in France, there was a party with children, and I “conducted” French songs. I was embarrassed through my eyes (quoting).
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