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n 2001 John Wooden Award Candidate / n 2000
Lithuania Olympic team member / n 2000 3rd Team All-ACC / n 1999
ACC All-Freshmen Team / n 1999 3rd Team Freshman All-America
ˇˇ
A rising star in college basketball ... coming
off one of the best sophomore seasons nationally .... selected
third team All-ACC last season after leading the Deacons in
scoring (13.7 ppg) and igniting a late-season surge ... returns
to Wake Forest after a memorable summer in which he won a bronze
medal for the Lithuanian Olympic team (see below) ... a
physically and athletically gifted player with a number of
frontcourt skills ... possesses a strong low post game with the
ability to score inside and out ... also capable of challenging
bigger opponents off the dribble ... a battler inside who doesn’t
shy away from contact ... plays with great intensity ... needs
to reduce his number of personal fouls, which has cut into his
playing time the last two seasons ... enters the season with 856
career points -- the eighth-most ever by a Deacon sophomore ...
should become the 39th player in WFU history to reach 1,000
points ... has scored in double figures 46 times in his career
... pronouced DARE-e-us sun-GUY-la.
ˇˇ
Summer, 2000
Realized a dream when he earned a roster spot on the Lithuanian
national team in the Sydney Olympics ... helped lead the team to
a bronze medal and to two near-upsets of USA’s “Dream Team?...
in two narrow losses to the United States, including an 85-83
setback in the semifinals, Songaila scored a combined 28 points
including one 16-point effort ... his best outing in Sydney was
a 19-point, 6-rebound game in a win over China ... Lithuania
went 5-3 during the Games and Songaila averaged 9.6 points and
4.8 rebounds per game.
ˇˇ
1999-00
Earned third team All-ACC honors ... started the first eight
games of the season before suffering a sprained MCL in his right
knee that caused him to miss the Arkansas game ... led the team
in scoring (13.7 ppg.) ... averaged 16.6 ppg in ACC games to
rank seventh in the league ... led the ACC in free throw
percentage (83.5%) ... in ACC games, he ranked first in free
throw accuracy (87.9%) and sixth in field goal percentage
(53.6%) ... hit 54 of his last 60 free throw attempts (90%) ...
scored 18 points in the NIT championship game against Notre Dame
... recorded his third double-double of the season with 12
points and 12 boards against New Mexico in the NIT ... averaged
16.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg over the team’s last 10 games ... had a
14-point, 10-rebound performance against Duke in the ACC
Tournament ... was a perfect 8-of-8 from the line in two ACC
Tournament games ... scored 22 points, went 14-of-14 from the
line and grabbed nine rebounds against Virginia ... established
a career-high with 26 points against Georgia Tech ... had 25
points at Duke ... scored 22 points and tied a career-high with
12 boards against Maryland ... scored 18 points at Clemson ...
scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting against Final Four-bound
Wisconsin ... led the team in scoring 14 times ... played 30 or
more minutes eight times ... made 33 consecutive free throws
during one stretch before finally missing against NC State in
the NIT -- 10 short of Skip Brown’s school record.
ˇˇ
1998-99
Started 24 times and played in 31 games as a rookie ... led the
Deacons in field goal percentage (50.4%), free throw percentage
(80.4%), steals (39) and blocked shots (21) ?that FT% mark also
placed him 7th in the ACC in that category ?ranked 2nd for WFU
in both scoring (12.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg) ? scored in
double digits in 22 contests and was the team's top scorer nine
times ?played exceptionally well in two postseason dates,
totaling a team-high 18 points (and 9 rebounds) in NIT win over
Alabama, then adding 16 points and eight rebounds at Xavier
?posted season highs in points (23) and rebounds (12) against
Arkansas ?also recorded double-doubles vs. Mercer (14 points, 10
rebounds) and East Tennessee (15 points, 10 rebounds) ?scored 22
points and grabbed nine rebounds against Virginia ... named ACC
"Rookie of the Week" twice ... made 64 of 70 free
throws (91%) over the final 14 games, and 48 of 51 (94%) over
the final 10 outings ?twice went 9-for-9 from the line in a
single game (vs. Clemson and at Georgia Tech) and made 23
straight charity tosses at one point during the season
?committed a then school-record 116 fouls ?fouled out of eight
games and picked up four fouls in 14 others.
ˇˇ
High School
Honed his skills for one year at New Hampton Prep (NH), the same
school that sent Rafael Vidaurreta to Wake Forest (the two were
never teammates there, however) ?tutored there by coach Jamie
Arsenault ?averaged a double-double, producing 24 points and 11
rebounds per game for the Huskies ?helped lead his 1998 team to
a 22-5 record and the runner-up spot in the competitive New
England prep school league ?named to the all-league team.
ˇˇ
Personal / Miscellaneous
Following his high school season, Songaila went on to compete on
the "World Team" in the prestigious Hoops Summit
contest that was played in San Antonio in the spring of 1998 ...
profited greatly from a good deal of international experience as
a young player ?member of Lithuanian junior national team in
both 1996 and 1997, then competed on his native country's
22-and-under squad which competed in the European championships
in the summer of 1998 ?grew up in Marijampole
(mar-rih-YAHM-po-lay), a city of 65,000 residents located about
two hours from the Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius ?this past
summer he flew from North Carolina to Lithuania (for training
camp), then to Spain (for a pre-Olympics tournament), to Sydney
(for the Olympics), back to Lithuania (for one day) and finally
returned to Winston-Salem on Oct. 5 ... the first member of his
family ever to come to the United States ?hopes to earn his
degree at Wake Forest while pursuing his dream of playing
professional basketball as well ?did not make his commitment
until the spring of '98 to conclude what was an outstanding
recruiting class for Coach Dave Odom's staff ?says that he chose
Wake Forest in order to receive the best education available
along with the best opportunity for athletic development ?will
be 23 years old this year on Valentines Day, when Wake Forest
hosts Georgia Tech (2/14/78).
ˇˇ
ˇˇ
SONGAILA's Career Statistics
| Season |
G |
GS |
MP |
MPG |
FG |
FGA |
PCT |
3PT |
3PA |
PCT |
FT |
FTA |
PCT |
REB |
AVG |
PF-DQ |
AS |
TO |
BS |
ST |
PTS |
AVG |
| 1998-99 |
31 |
24 |
756 |
24.4 |
125 |
248 |
.504 |
2 |
8 |
.250 |
123 |
153 |
.804 |
165 |
5.3 |
116-8 |
48 |
86 |
21 |
39 |
375 |
12.1 |
| 1999-00 |
35 |
33 |
844 |
24.1 |
162 |
317 |
.511 |
0 |
2 |
.000 |
157 |
188 |
.835 |
191 |
5.5 |
118-7 |
41 |
81 |
26 |
31 |
481 |
13.7 |
| Total |
66 |
57 |
1600 |
24.2 |
287 |
565 |
.508 |
2 |
10 |
.200 |
280 |
341 |
.821 |
356 |
5.4 |
234-15 |
89 |
167 |
47 |
70 |
856 |
13.0 |
SONGAILA Game-By-Game 1999-00 *started
| OPPONENT |
MP |
FG-A |
3P-A |
FT-A |
O-D-R |
PF |
AS |
TO |
BS |
ST |
PTS |
| CAMPBELL |
*15 |
3-6 |
0-0 |
6-8 |
2-4-6 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
| at Navy |
*17 |
7-10 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
2-3-5 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
14 |
| MD. E-SHORE |
*16 |
2-5 |
0-0 |
5-5 |
2-1-3 |
4 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| WISCONSIN |
*26 |
7-8 |
0-0 |
2-3 |
3-3-6 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
| TEMPLE |
*17 |
2-5 |
0-0 |
5-5 |
1-3-4 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
| vs. Georgia |
*18 |
6-9 |
0-0 |
2-3 |
0-3-3 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
| UNCG |
*31 |
5-9 |
0-0 |
8-12 |
3-5-8 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
| HIGH POINT |
*13 |
0-4 |
0-0 |
0-1 |
2-2-4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| at Arkansas |
ˇˇ |
DNP |
| vs. Oregon |
12 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-1-1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| vs. Ohio |
21 |
4-6 |
0-0 |
4-6 |
3-2-5 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
12 |
| vs. Villanova |
*19 |
2-6 |
0-0 |
8-10 |
2-0-2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| FLORIDA STATE |
*31 |
7-11 |
0-0 |
4-5 |
4-4-8 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
18 |
| at Clemson |
*28 |
6-9 |
0-0 |
6-7 |
1-2-3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
18 |
| N. CAROLINA |
*24 |
5-12 |
0-0 |
6-7 |
1-1-2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
16 |
| at NC State |
*24 |
5-10 |
0-1 |
4-4 |
4-4-8 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
14 |
| at Maryland |
*28 |
7-11 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
3-6-9 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
| DUKE |
*18 |
3-8 |
0-0 |
4-4 |
4-4-8 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
| at Georgia Tech |
*20 |
3-9 |
0-1 |
2-2 |
1-0-1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| VIRGINIA |
*25 |
7-9 |
0-0 |
3-4 |
0-1-1 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
17 |
| at Davidson |
*34 |
3-9 |
0-0 |
3-4 |
3-4-7 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
| at Florida State |
*30 |
4-6 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
1-4-5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
| CLEMSON |
*34 |
4-7 |
0-0 |
8-9 |
1-7-8 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
16 |
| at North Carolina |
*17 |
3-11 |
0-0 |
5-7 |
1-4-5 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
| NC STATE |
*22 |
6-10 |
0-0 |
8-8 |
1-3-4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
| MARYLAND |
*30 |
6-12 |
0-0 |
10-14 |
6-6-12 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
| at Duke |
*27 |
10-16 |
0-0 |
5-5 |
3-5-8 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
25 |
| GEORGIA TECH |
*31 |
9-16 |
0-0 |
8-9 |
1-3-4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
26 |
| at Virginia |
*32 |
4-9 |
0-0 |
14-14 |
2-7-9 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
22 |
| vs. North Carolina |
*27 |
4-11 |
0-0 |
2-2 |
0-5-5 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
| vs. Duke |
*34 |
4-14 |
0-0 |
6-6 |
2-8-10 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
14 |
| at Vanderbilt |
*14 |
4-7 |
0-0 |
3-3 |
0-3-3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
| NEW MEXICO |
*25 |
5-11 |
0-0 |
2-2 |
2-10-12 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
| vs. California |
*23 |
5-7 |
0-0 |
2-2 |
1-1-2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
12 |
| vs. NC State |
*31 |
6-11 |
0-0 |
6-9 |
2-5-7 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
| vs. Notre Dame |
*28 |
3-11 |
0-0 |
6-8 |
1-2-3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
ˇˇ
Career Highs
POINTS
26 vs. Georgia Tech (Feb. 27, 2000)
REBOUNDS
12, three times
ASSISTS
4 vs. North Carolina (Mar. 10, 2000)
STEALS
5 at North Carolina (Feb. 23, 1999)
BLOCKED SHOTS
4 vs. North Carolina (Mar. 10, 2000)
FIELD GOALS
10 at Duke (Feb. 22, 2000)
FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS
18 vs. East Tennessee St. (Dec. 19, 1998)
FREE THROWS
14 at Virginia
(Mar. 2, 2000)
FREE THROW ATTEMPTS
14, two times
3-POINT FIELD GOALS
1, two times
3-POINT FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS
2 vs. North Carolina (Jan. 23, 1999)
MINUTES PLAYED
36, two times
ˇˇ
Songaila Info
FULL NAME: Darius Songaila
MAJOR: Communication
BIRTHDATE: Feb. 14, 1978
BIRTHPLACE: Marijampole, Lithuania
PARENTS?NAMES: Ignas and Eugenija Songaila
HIGH SCHOOL COACHES: Jamie Arsenault at New Hampton Prep;
Giutautas Zibuda in Lithuania
Up Close
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Seinfeld
CD I WOULD CHOOSE IF COULD HAVE JUST ONE: Def Leppard’s
Greatest Hits
SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME: I speak four
languages
MY GREATEST MOMENT IN SPORTS WAS: Winning a bronze medal
at the Olympic Games in Sydney
THE PERSON WHO INFLUENCED MY LIFE THE MOST: My high
school coach Giutautas Zibuda
TEAMMATE WHO MAKES ME LAUGH THE HARDEST: Rafael
Vidaurreta
MY SUPERSTITIONS INCLUDE: I have none
ˇˇ
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