The tall man who signed a contract with Žalgiris is happy with his career choice and spoke to Žalgiris TV about his impressions after becoming a Žalgiris player.
“To be honest, I feel great. I just met some other guys. I also met the coach. I am very happy for him because I can speak my language with the coach. We can have clearer conversations, understand better everything he says. So I am sure that I really know what he is telling me”, said A. Smailagičius after the first training sessions.
The 24-year-old 208cm versatile forward is still entering the prime of his career and when choosing a career stop, he wanted to be where he knew he would improve.
“I heard that Kaunas is a basketball city. Everyone in Kaunas loves basketball. Everyone here is a basketball fan. The club already has a reputation as a great place to develop players. Here, we want to fight with everyone and be in the highest possible positions,” the Serb assured.
Before signing the contract with Žalgiris, A. Smailagičius had a conversation with the head coach of Žalgiris, Andrea Trinchieri. According to the fresh-baked Žalgiris specialist, the specialist, who speaks Serbian perfectly, found strong arguments to persuade him to come to Kaunas.
“To be honest, a few days before my wedding, I talked to Andrea Trinchieri. His first words were: “happy wife, happy life”. The wife immediately said: “sign a contract with Zalgiris, no matter what!” It was very funny. Of course we talked, he told me his expectations for my game. What he doesn’t want from me on the pitch. Everything he said sounded good to me. That was enough for me to sign a contract with “Žalgiris”, said A. Smailagičius.
A. Smailagičius, who is always smiling, as he said himself, promises to fight for every centimeter of the pitch.
“My nickname says it all, I’m Smiley.” I am always happy. I just want to play. I want to have fun. I like to fight for every ball. And win the match. I like to shoot 3-pointers, get close to the basket and put people over their heads in the basket. I just try to do the best in the things I know,” the player claimed.
The tall man who adores fishing has already managed to collect information about Lithuania and especially about the water bodies around Kaunas.
“I really like lakes and nature. Kaunas is literally surrounded by water. I just love it! Many players said that Kaunas is not a very big city. I didn’t know what to expect before coming here. I had to explore Kaunas for a few days, go for a walk, I liked everything here”, the basketball player was happy.
It was not only the conversation with A. Trinchieri or the beautiful nature that enticed A. Smailagičius to play in Kaunas. Vasilije Micičius, a former player from Zalgiris, who is currently playing in the NBA, also contributed to this with his advice.
“I called him and he said: ‘This is a very good place to improve your skills, concentrate on basketball and become better every day,'” A. Smailagičius testified.
2024-08-27 13:59:27