Dec. 30, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Former Terrapin men's basketball player and current Lithuanian national team member Sarunas Jasikevicius was lauded with a pair of international player of the year awards, as voted by a panel of 72 journalists for the website Eurobasket.com.

Jasikevicius, who played for the Terps and head coach Gary Williams from 1994-1998, was named the European Player of the Year, which honors the top European-born hoops star playing in all countries, including European NBA players. He was also named the Europe Player of the Year, which includes players on European teams only. Jasikevicius is currently playing in the Euroleague for Maccabi in Tel Aviv, Israel, but next season may return to the Barcelona, Spain, squad he played for from 2000-2003, according to his website.

"It has been great to watch Sarunas steadily improve, going from his high school days in Pennsylvania, to playing for us at Maryland, to being named the best player in Europe," said Williams. "It is a great tribute to Sarunas for the time and effort he has put into his game. We are all thrilled that he is probably the most famous player in all of Europe right now."

Jasikevicius led his native Lithuanian squad to a fourth-place finish in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. His team posted a 5-0 record in the preliminary rounds, including a 94-90 victory over Team USA on Aug. 21 in which Jasikevicius scored 28 points and drilled seven 3-pointers. After Italy downed Lithuania in the semifinal medal round, Jasikevicius netted 17 when the U.S. avenged the loss with a 104-96 victory in the bronze medal game.

Jasikevicius played on four NCAA Tournament teams at Maryland and made Sweet Sixteen appearances with the Terps in 1995 and 1998. He averaged 12.4 points per game as a senior and shot nearly 50 percent from the field that season. He earned ACC Player of the week honors as a senior and twice led the Terps in free throw percentage.