Jan 07 2009; Free Agent Class 2009: The Shooting Guards
Another established European veteran is Rimantas Kaukenas, a Lithuanian two-guard who is currently playing his third season in the green and white Montepaschi Siena jersey. Kaukenas is a player as versatile as they get, as he can help at the point when needed, put points on the board in hurry, defend. Apart from being deadly on the pull up jumper from midrange, there’s nothing he does particularly well however. And at 31, he’s not the youngest anymore. Still, an extremely skilled, well-schooled player who adds a lot to any team. Coming off the bench, he’s currently leading his team in scoring in both Lega A and Euroleague with 16.4 and 14.3 points per game respectively.
Jan 03 2009; Notes
Alongside fellow countryman Arturas Karnisovas, Rimantas Kaukenas joined NCAA’s Seton Hall in 1996 and graduated there in 2000. After playing with Hapoel Galil Elyon in 01/02 season, Kaukenas went back to his hometown Vilnius for the 01/02 season, signing with Lietuvos Rytas for one year. Further career stations were Teledius Oostende, Telekom Baskets Bonn and Vertical Vision Cantu, before he finally found a second home in the small Italian city Siena, where he signed a contract with Montepaschi. There he had great success, winning the Lega A title twice, including 2007 Finals MVP honors, and reaching the Euroleage Final Four in 2008, even though Kaukenas was out on the sideline with an injury for most of the season. In the strong Lithuanian national team, the shooting guard did not get a grip on the rotation [although participating in a minor role in the 2001 Eurobasket in Turkey] before 2007, when he was an important member of the Lithuanian roster. He was a vital part of the rotation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well.
