Benas Veikalas (born 24 September 1983) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. He can play both guard positions, but prefers the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

position.

Early career

Born in

Joniškis Joniškis (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Juonėškis'') is a town in northern Lithuania with a population of about 9,900. It is located 39 kilometers north of Šiauliai and 14 kilometers south of the Lithuania–Latvia border. Joniškis i ...

, Veikalas moved to the United States at the age of 18 and played basketball at Horizon High School in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. After high school, he was recruited by

Mike Dunlap Michael Gregory Dunlap (born May 27, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who serves as assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Dunlap is the former head coach of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. ...

to play for

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in d ...

, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

team. He led the team his senior year, averaging 9.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 22 minutes per game.

Professional career

Veikalas returned to Lithuania for his first season as a professional. He played for

BC Nevėžis BC Nevėžis ( lt, Krepšinio klubas Nevėžis), commonly known as Nevėžis Kėdainiai, also known as Nevėžis-OPTIBET due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Kėdainiai, Lithuania. The club currently competes in ...

of LKL. After two successful seasons, he moved to

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and signed with BK Prostějov. With BK Prostějov, Veikalas led the team in scoring, played Euro- challenge, and the team finished runner up in the National Title games, 2 years in a row. After 2 seasons with BK Prostějov, In 2011, he joined

Telekom Baskets Bonn Telekom Baskets Bonn, also known as Baskets Bonn, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball le ...

. With Telekom Bonn, he led in scoring, was voted to the National All Star Team, was Voted to All Decade Legend team, made 3 appearances in the top 4 German national cup, played across Europe in the Euro-Cup, and was team captain. In 2013, Veikalas extended his contract with the team for two more seasons. In 2015, and 4 years in Bonn, Veikalas signed wit
S.S. Scandone
Veikalas played in the Euro-Cup, National Italian Top 4, and finished in the top 4 of National Playoffs. Veikalas returned to Germany to finish his career in 2016-2017
BG Goettingen
Veikalas was offered an additional contract in Gottingen, however decided it was time to retire.

Personal life

Benas Veikalas is married to Stacey Veikalas and they have 3 children. Anthony Veikalas, Vincas Veikalas, & Amber Veikalas.

References

External links

Metro State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veikalas, Benas 1983 births Living people BC Nevėžis players BG Göttingen players Lithuanian men's basketball players Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Germany Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the United States Metro State Roadrunners men's basketball players People from Joniškis S.S. Felice Scandone players Shooting guards Telekom Baskets Bonn players