Darius Maskoliūnas

Darius Maskoliūnas (born 6 January 1971) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player, coach, and politician. He is currently the assistant basketball coach of FC Barcelona, and the head coach of the Lithuania men's national basketball team.

Darius Maskoliūnas
Darius Maskoliūnas with Žalgiris Kaunas in 2018
FC Barcelona
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1971-01-06) 6 January 1971
Jonava, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
Playing career1992–2005
PositionPoint guard
Coaching career2007–present
Career history
As player:
1992–1999Žalgiris Kaunas
1999–2003Prokom Trefl Sopot
2003Ilysiakos
2003–2005Prokom Trefl Sopot
As coach:
2007–2009Žalgiris Kaunas (assistant)
2009–2010Žalgiris Kaunas
2010KK Kaunas
2010–2011Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (assistant)
2011Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2011–2012Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (assistant)
2012–2013Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
2013–2015Trefl Sopot
2015–2020Žalgiris Kaunas (assistant)
2020–presentFC Barcelona (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As a player:

As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Lithuania
Summer Olympics
2000 Sydney

Early life

Maskoliūnas graduated from the first secondary school, in Jonava.

Professional playing career

During his pro club playing career, Maskoliūnas won the championship of Europe's secondary level competition, the FIBA European Cup (FIBA Saporta Cup), in the 1997-98 season), and the championship of Europe's primary level competition, the EuroLeague, in the 1998-99 season. He won both championships while a member of the Lithuanian League (LKL) club Žalgiris Kaunas.

National team playing career

Maskoliūnas was a member of the senior Lithuanian national team that won the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. With Lithuania, he also played at the 1997 EuroBasket, the 1998 FIBA World Cup, and the 1999 EuroBasket.[1]

Coaching career

After his basketball playing career ended, Maskoliūnas started a career working as a basketball coach. During his coaching career, Maskoliūnas has been the head coach of the Lithuanian League (LKL) club Žalgiris Kaunas. While at Žalgiris, he was replaced under controversy, as he was fired during the 2010 LKL Finals series, by the club's then owner, Vladimir Romanov.

He has also worked as both an assistant and head coach with Žalgiris Kaunas' arch-rivals, Lietuvos rytas. He signed with Lietuvos Rytas the next season, and worked in the club first as an assistant; but he became the club's head coach in April 2011, after its then head coach Aleksandar Trifunović was fired. After the season, he once again became an assistant, that time to Aleksandar Džikić. In October 2012, after Džikić was fired, he became the team's head coach again, but he was then shockingly fired by Lietuvos rytas in March 2013.

Personal

Darius Maskoliūnas has an old nickname "Švarcas", which he gained during his tenure with Kaunas Žalgiris as a player. When he joined Žalgiris, he was an extremely skinny point guard, and due to his second name Maskoliūnas, which is a little bit similar to the English word "Muscles", he got the nickname of "Švarcas" (Arnold Schwarzenegger).[2]

Awards and accomplishments

Club playing career

Lithuanian senior national team

Assistant coach

Head coach

References
  1. Darius MASKOLIUNAS (LTU).
  2. Europos čempionato dienoraštis (6): apie Kalną, Delną ir kodėl tik J.Kazlauskas neturi pravardės Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine (in Lithuanian)
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