South Car. Gets Lithuanian Center again

Paulius Joneliunas, a skilled 6-10, 258 pound center from Roanoke Catholic H.S. in Roanoke, VA, will be continuing his education and basketball career with the South Carolina Gamecocks. We spoke with Roanoke Catholic Head Coach Dick Wall today about the native Lithuanian's decision.

"Paulius' biggest assets right now are his hands and his footwork -- especially his feet," Wall said. "He's unusually skilled for a kid his age."

Jonelius, who came to Roanoke Catholic this season, is 18 years old, the typical age for a college freshman.

"There were a lot of schools recruiting him," Wall added. "Guess besides South Carolina, Marquette had the strongest chance at the end." Among the other schools that had been involved included Southern Methodist, Texas, Richmond, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and North Carolina State. He had offers from Virginia, West Virginia, Marquette, SMU, Marshall and Hawaii.

Jonelius played last summer with the Lithuanian Junior National Team and hasn't decided if he'll rejoin that squad or enroll at the SEC school this summer.

This season, his first in the United States, Jonelius averaged 12.5 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks per game.

"He's qualified," Wall noted. "Besically he got a good SAT score 'right off the plane.' And English is his fourth language!"

Wall said that factors which came into play in the decision included South Carolina's style of play, their need for inside help which will give him a chance to get playing time and improve his game and Coach Dave Odom's reputation for his ability to develop post players.

One of the South Carolina's seniors this year was Marius Petravicius who is also from Lithuania. "Paulius and he talked a lot which I'm sure made the decision easier," Wall said.

Dick Wall's program has picked up some notoriety among foreign players. Last season, two Celtics from Lithuania, Tadas Mankevicius and Jonas Norbutas, were picked up by VMI. "I sure that's one reason he (Jonelius) was interested in our program," Wall added.

In other news, Coach Wall's son Phil who's completing a postgrad year at Fork Union Military Academy, has decided on Williams College. Phil, who is an excellent student, had been considering Ivy League programs. "He feels very comfortable with Williams," his dad said.

Williams, a Division III school in Western Massachusetts, finished this season with a 31-1 record and the NCAA championship. The Final Four was held last weekend in nearby Salem, VA - less than 10 miles from Roanoke.