Lithuanian To Play Quickly
Dukes High On Their Signing-Day Surprise
Posted: November 17, 2012
HARRISONBURG — When Paulius Satkus was a young boy in Lithuania, he tried to play dodgeball. For whatever reason, he stopped playing, instead sticking with his other sport, basketball.
Probably because he was too tall for dodgeball, right?
“Well, I have strong…” Satkus, now a surprise 6-foot-8 James Madison hoops commitment said this week by phone, before relenting. “Yes, yes, you are right.”
Being tall, obviously, won’t be a problem at JMU, where the Dukes will lose three senior forwards to graduation next season.
Satkus officially committed to the Dukes on national signing day Wednesday.
Madison coach Matt Brady, who discovered Satkus through a friend of a friend in Lithuania, said his newest recruit will be an instant factor in the Dukes’ rotation when he arrives on campus next year.
“Exceptional rebounder,” Brady said. “I think he’s a tough kid. That’s what you get from Lithuanian basketball. … Fact of the matter is you don’t start on the under-18 national team for Lithuania unless you’re a really good player.”
Satkus, who said he weighs about 210 pounds, is a self-described “stretch 4,” a power forward with the ability to swing outside.
The 18-year-old, born on July 4, is currently playing in England for a basketball academy called Barking Abbey.
“The biggest thing is his motor,” Barking Abbey coach Frank Holloway said. “He has such a great motor. He doesn’t slack off on plays. He’s just so active. I keep telling him, that’s what’s going to take you far in this game.”
That might take him far in the game, but Satkus has always viewed basketball as a vehicle to take him far in life. Speaking with a firm command of English, Satkus said it’s “a dream come true.”
“I always wanted to play basketball and get the best education possible,” he said.
Satkus hasn’t yet visited Madison, but liked how persistent the Dukes were in recruiting him. Assistant coach Rob O’Driscoll traveled to England in September, and Satkus was convinced then that he’d be a good fit at JMU. He noted the school’s academics as a primary factor. Satkus doesn’t yet know what he wants to major in, but mentioned psychology and business management as two strong possibilities.
On the basketball court, Satkus is averaging 11.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in England’s National League. Holloway admits that competition isn’t extremely high in that league, but Satkus has had experience playing against top-level peers as part of the under-16 and under-18 teams at Lithuania, one of the world’s best basketball countries.
There isn’t one country-mate Satkus idolizes, but he’s fond of the skills displayed by Sarunas Jasikevicius (a former University of Maryland guard who played two seasons in the NBA) and Jonas Valanciunas (the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft and starting center for the Toronto Raptors).
While this will be the second straight year the Dukes have signed a largely unknown foreign player, Brady said he’s not necessarily looking overseas more than usual.
And Satkus is a different case than current freshman Dimitrije Cabarkapa, who JMU signed last spring out of Serbia. The still-raw Cabarkapa didn’t begin playing the sport until he was 14, and probably won’t get off the Dukes’ bench for any meaningful minutes this year.
Satkus grew up in a hoops-mad region where, he said, basketball is “often a second religion.”
“The country is all about basketball,” said Satkus, whose other hobbies – hanging with friends, going to the mall, watching movies – sound like those of an American teen. “It just naturally come to me. Once I tried it, I never had a problem.”
Probably because he was too tall for dodgeball, right?
“Well, I have strong…” Satkus, now a surprise 6-foot-8 James Madison hoops commitment said this week by phone, before relenting. “Yes, yes, you are right.”
Being tall, obviously, won’t be a problem at JMU, where the Dukes will lose three senior forwards to graduation next season.
Satkus officially committed to the Dukes on national signing day Wednesday.
Madison coach Matt Brady, who discovered Satkus through a friend of a friend in Lithuania, said his newest recruit will be an instant factor in the Dukes’ rotation when he arrives on campus next year.
“Exceptional rebounder,” Brady said. “I think he’s a tough kid. That’s what you get from Lithuanian basketball. … Fact of the matter is you don’t start on the under-18 national team for Lithuania unless you’re a really good player.”
Satkus, who said he weighs about 210 pounds, is a self-described “stretch 4,” a power forward with the ability to swing outside.
The 18-year-old, born on July 4, is currently playing in England for a basketball academy called Barking Abbey.
“The biggest thing is his motor,” Barking Abbey coach Frank Holloway said. “He has such a great motor. He doesn’t slack off on plays. He’s just so active. I keep telling him, that’s what’s going to take you far in this game.”
That might take him far in the game, but Satkus has always viewed basketball as a vehicle to take him far in life. Speaking with a firm command of English, Satkus said it’s “a dream come true.”
“I always wanted to play basketball and get the best education possible,” he said.
Satkus hasn’t yet visited Madison, but liked how persistent the Dukes were in recruiting him. Assistant coach Rob O’Driscoll traveled to England in September, and Satkus was convinced then that he’d be a good fit at JMU. He noted the school’s academics as a primary factor. Satkus doesn’t yet know what he wants to major in, but mentioned psychology and business management as two strong possibilities.
On the basketball court, Satkus is averaging 11.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in England’s National League. Holloway admits that competition isn’t extremely high in that league, but Satkus has had experience playing against top-level peers as part of the under-16 and under-18 teams at Lithuania, one of the world’s best basketball countries.
There isn’t one country-mate Satkus idolizes, but he’s fond of the skills displayed by Sarunas Jasikevicius (a former University of Maryland guard who played two seasons in the NBA) and Jonas Valanciunas (the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft and starting center for the Toronto Raptors).
While this will be the second straight year the Dukes have signed a largely unknown foreign player, Brady said he’s not necessarily looking overseas more than usual.
And Satkus is a different case than current freshman Dimitrije Cabarkapa, who JMU signed last spring out of Serbia. The still-raw Cabarkapa didn’t begin playing the sport until he was 14, and probably won’t get off the Dukes’ bench for any meaningful minutes this year.
Satkus grew up in a hoops-mad region where, he said, basketball is “often a second religion.”
“The country is all about basketball,” said Satkus, whose other hobbies – hanging with friends, going to the mall, watching movies – sound like those of an American teen. “It just naturally come to me. Once I tried it, I never had a problem.”