[ad_1]
Photo: Illustration BNS / BasketNews.lt
Photo Illustration by BNS / BasketNews.lt
Regimantas Miniotas made his debut in the Lithuanian Basketball League in the fall of 2016, but only four years later, the moment when the brightest spotlights turned on him.
Prienai CBet / Schedule
In the summer of 2016, Virginijus Šeškus and Prienai-Birštonas Vytautas put their trust in Miniotas, who had only played NKL until then, and the first steps of the basketball player were not the easiest for LKL: he scored double-digit points only after the Year. New.
However, the end of the season gave optimism – during the last 10 games the basketball player scored 13.1 points, and in the series with Panevėžys Lietkabelis, who played in the LKL final that season – 12.3 points each one.
It was not possible to pass such a good game to the next season. And not just for the next one: over the next three years, the average 208cm tall LKL basketball player was 7.2 points in a game, and the performance record was 18 points.
“I can’t even imagine,” Miniot replied to the question why he hadn’t been able to excel earlier.
This season Miniotas, who shines in the Prietai CBet club, scored at least 17 points and dominates in the statistical categories of the LKL.
Kėdainiai, who plays in the middle forward position this season, after four games with 20.8 points (58.8% round trip, 44.4% from triple, 91.7% penalty), 10.8 Rebounds and 25.3 Utility Score is the LKL leader. On top of this: 1.5 assists and 1.3 interceptions.
In the match with Šiauliai, the tallest 24-year-old scored 28 points, bounced 14 balls and scored 40 utility points. All three numbers are in a record for LKL this season.
BasketNews.lt interview with Miniotas: on the impressive start to the season, the adjustment to the center forward position, the self-confidence and a successful start of the Prienai team.
Points are earned this season
– Regimantes, and you had a great game in the preparation stage, and you started the season with an impressive game. Who do you associate this with?
– I stayed with the same coach, there was a clear system, everything is clear. This made the start of the season easier. There has been more self-confidence, there are more young players in the team. As a result, we have the most pressure on some players, we have to do everything ourselves, we can no longer drop the ball to older people than before.
When we started to prepare, then we didn’t have a lot of basketball players, so I played more, and when I had time, self-confidence came. You could have thrown a pitch, but you knew the coach wouldn’t change it right away, and then you feel so much better. We play as a team and that helps. We have a good player, we have all the good players. This year I am very happy with the whole team. That’s what it was. The team trusts me, we all trust each other, so we play LKL that way.
– In LKL you are the first in terms of points scored, rebounds and efficiency points. When you saw those numbers of yours, maybe you even wanted to take a picture of them?
– Only four games have passed here, not a single round. I really don’t like to talk about things that are already the most productive or the most repulsive, it’s too early to talk. Fun, everything is fine, but I would like to keep at least similar numbers. Much more can change.
– Until then, LKL had an average of 8 points maximum. Why didn’t we get more established in the first four years?
– I don’t even know what to say. I have no idea. Maybe something was missing, the same weight, the self-confidence. It seems that I always tried, but failed, maybe I could not find such a safe place in the team as this year.
– How did you prepare for the summer season?
– There really was where to improve, what to add. Everything was missing everywhere. And in the gym and basketball. After a while I started playing sports, the Summer League allowed me to prepare for the season. In part, the quarantine was very bad, but on the other hand it was good. Let’s add what was missing. I added a bit of weight and strength, now I weigh about 108kg when I weighed 100-102kg a year ago. I gained a lot of weight, it is important not to be fat. It helps in the current situation where I play as a midfielder. Maybe that position suits me a bit because I’m faster than the other centers, he manages to play well.
– At 18-19 years of the NKL, you also played in the position of light forward. How did you accept that you now have to play as a midfielder?
– It wasn’t even my choice whether I wanted to or not. This was the case because we only had one midfielder at the beginning of the preparation. I want to play and I don’t care if it’s the center, the fourth or the third. I need to play The coach asked me if I could play center. I can. All went well. I didn’t react that something was wrong here, I played with the same style that I played in the room. I play Pikenpopo situations that throw me away, the scheme of the game has not changed much. I can represent other high defense people, it’s not a big deal to me.
Last season I also played as a midfielder, coming out late in the game when I needed a slightly more nimble five. I also played in the first and second years of LKL, when other centers had suffered injuries.
Now we have more midfielders, maybe the coach will try to put them in the game and see if I get back to fourth position. This is only useful when you can play both positions. I think every team would want a player who can play multiple positions. If I am a representative on defense, it is more beneficial for me to play fifth.
– And against whom did the middle forwards not represent?
– Against “Žalgiris” center forward Antanas Kavaliauskas, if you had to compete against him, then there was little chance that you would defend yourself. When I was younger, those older people really hit me. This year there weren’t such strong players we played with. Perhaps it was only in front of the Juventus centers that the defense had to be doubled, because they are heavier people, physically stronger. I hope I can do it with others.
Photo Ž. Vingelis / BC Prienai
– CBet started the season successfully: you have two wins and only lost during overtime to Utena Juventus and Vilnius Rytas, although you had a 15 point lead. How do you rate the start of the team’s season?
– The most painful thing was that before the season, someone really did not expect that we could beat such clubs, they treated us like an 8-9 LKL team. We believed in ourselves and it’s a shame that we started the game with “Rytas” and “Juventus”. The results would be quite different. Of course, you will do nothing, not the end of the world, here is only the first round. Those games added the confidence that we could play against anyone. We have a well balanced team, everyone knows their roles, they do what it takes, we have a good coach who does everything and we play well. All young, all want to show that we are playing with energy. I think it’s also fun for the spectators to watch us play.
We take every game very seriously, we’re just going to win. The coach got us really good. Only good words for him.
– What is Coach Mantas Šernius asking of you?
– Basics is a fast paced game. We are all young except Egidijus Dims, but he can also face a quick attack. So we all run, it works and easy points always help. If it is not a quick attack, we always try to complete the combinations to the end. Play smart, read situations, don’t interrupt the combination unnecessarily. This helps a lot. There is discipline, and when we know what the idea of combinations is, we do them until the end.
– Player Marquis Wright has successfully joined the team, how are you and the other offensive organizer Dominykas Domarkas?
– The marquis was very surprised on the good side. A very aggressive basketball player, he can also score points himself, and he sees all the teammates. This helps a lot. If only someone goes to him, he does not save passes, so it is very easy to play with him.
Domark also watches free players himself, he can complete attacks himself. So complete players. It’s nice that there is no way to just share passes or just play with yourself. This makes the game much easier for the whole team, as they have a very high level of reading the game.
– You yourself moved from NKL to LKL four years ago. This season, there are three such basketball players on the Prienai team: Einaras Tubutis, Simas Jarumbauskas and Justinas Jogminas. How are they doing when they move to a higher level?
– Well, young people are now physically prepared differently. I don’t know if that LKL of ours has joined so much, because now there are a lot of NKL basketball players, a lot of youth. They work well, they want to show that everyone has some ambition. Everyone wants to play, go back to a club or move somewhere. They have very good chances in Prienai, we don’t complain too much, the young people work very well and they joined the team. All super.
[ad_2]
