February 11, 1998|By Paul McMullen | Paul McMullen,SUN STAFF
Jasikevicius learned the game in Kaunas, a city of 400,000 where his father runs a sports center and his boyhood pals were Andrius Jurkunas, a Clemson forward, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cleveland Cavaliers' 7-3 rookie center. When the others were chasing American scholarships, Ilgauskas stayed home and signed with a club team.
"[Ilgauskas] doesn't like change that much," Jasikevicius said. "I was always the guy looking for challenges. I'm not kind of person who just wants to go through life doing the same things over and over.
"I had nothing to lose coming to the States. I can always go back and play professional basketball there, but if the biggest goal would be to make the NBA, the lowest would be going back to Lithuania. I'm not comfortable with the life over there. Over five years, I've become Americanized."
If you say so, Sarunas.
NOTES: Maryland beat N.C. State, 68-65, in Raleigh on Jan. 10, just about the time the Wolfpack (12-10, 3-8) was hit by an injury bug that has severely depleted coach Herb Sendek's team. Only four players have appeared in every game, the leaders being senior guards C. C. Harrison and Ishua Benjamin.
Dialing from long distance
Maryland career leaders for three-point field goals:
FG-FGA ..... Pct. .. Player, years
186-557 ... .334 ... Johnny Rhodes, '93-96
154-429 ... .359 ... Walt Williams, '88-92
132-316 ... .418 ... Teyon McCoy, '86-88, '89-90
130-320 ... .406 ... Duane Simpkins, '93-96
113-306 ... .370 ... Sarunas Jasikevicius, '96-98
Pub Date: 2/11/98
