Virginijus Praškevičius
Personal information
Born (1974-03-04) 4 March 1974
Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight221 lb (100 kg)
Career information
Playing career1993–2011
PositionPower forward
Career history
1993–1995Lavera Kaunas
1995–1998Atletas Kaunas
1997LaCrosse Bobcats
1997–1998Žalgiris Kaunas
1998–2000Beşiktaş Spor Kulubu
2000–2002Telindus Ostende
2002–2003Ülkerspor
2003–2004Hapoel Tel Aviv
2004–2005Ülkerspor
2005–2006Upea Capo D'Orlando
2006–2007Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
2008–2009BC Šiauliai
2009–2010Qianjiang Tan Tan
2010Utena Juventus
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  Lithuania
Men's Basketball
FIBA EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2003 Sweden

Virginijus Praškevičius (born 4 March 1974) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. At a height of 2.06 m (6'9") tall, he played at the power forward and center positions.

Professional career

Praškevičius started playing with Banga Kaunas and in 1993–94 was bought by Lavera Kaunas. In 1995–96 decided to play for Atletas Kaunas together with Žydrūnas Ilgauskas. In January 1997 he passed to LaCrosse Bobcats in the Continental Basketball Association. On 18 September 1996, he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves of National Basketball Association (NBA). However, Praškevičius did not play a single game for them and was loaned to the LaCrosse Bobcats of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). On 19 February 1997, he was waived by the Timberwolves.[1]

In 1997–98 he came back to his home town Kaunas to play for Atletas and then for Žalgiris. With the best Lithuanian team he won a Saporta Cup. Then he played two years for Beşiktaş Spor Kulubu in the Turkish Basketball League. In 2000 he passed to Basketball Club Oostende in Belgium, winning twice the Belgian National Championship and becoming once the MVP of the league. From 2002 until 2005 he played for Ülkerspor (but played for Hapoel Tel Aviv for one season), and he won twice the Turkish National Cup.

In 2005–06 he played for Upea Capo d'Orlando, in Italian Serie A1, in 2006–07 for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in the Spanish ACB. His last professional team was Utena Juventus in Lithuania as he left professional sport on spring of 2010 at the age of 36.

National team career

Praškevičius played with the Lithuania Under-22 junior national team. With Lithuania's junior national team, he won the gold medal at the 1996 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He was also a member of the senior Lithuanian national team. He played at the EuroBasket 1997, the 1998 FIBA World Championship, the EuroBasket 1999, and the 2003, where he won a gold medal.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2001–02 Telindus Ostende 141429.4.456.325.7216.11.1.9.515.913.0
2002–03 Ülkerspor 201928.4.473.449.6254.61.6.9.210.710.4
2004–05 Ülkerspor 22517.2.428.403.5833.1.6.6.05.44.9
Career 563824.9.457.403.6764.41.1.8.29.98.9

References

  1. "1996-1997 Minnesota Timberwolves Transactions History". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.