Darius Maskoliūnas (born 6 January 1971) is a Lithuanian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and politician. He is currently the assistant basketball coach of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

, and the head coach of the

Lithuania men's national basketball team The Lithuania men's national basketball team ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinė vyrų krepšinio rinktinė) represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body ...

Early life

Maskoliūnas graduated from the first secondary school, in

Jonava Jonava ( ; pl, Janów; german: Janau) is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of . It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas Intern ...

Professional career

During his pro

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playing career, Maskoliūnas won the championship of Europe's secondary level competition, the

FIBA European Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

(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 career

Maskoliūnas was a member of the senior Lithuanian national team that won the bronze medal at the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. With Lithuania, he also played at the

1997 EuroBasket The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

, the

1998 FIBA World Cup The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by ...

, and the

1999 EuroBasket The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

Coaching career

After his basketball playing career ended, Maskoliūnas started a career working as a

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. During his coaching career, Maskoliūnas has been the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

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 The Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL) Finals is the championship finals series for the top-tier level professional club basketball league in Lithuania, the LKL, and the conclusion of the league's postseason. The Finals have been played in either a ...

series, by the club's then owner,

Vladimir Romanov Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ( rus, Владимир Николаевич Романов, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ rɐˈmanəf, lt, Vladimiras Romanovas; born 15 June 1947)

. He has also worked as both an assistant and head coach with Žalgiris Kaunas' arch-rivals,

Lietuvos rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see als ...

. 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 Aleksandar Džikić ( sr, Александар Џикић; born 23 March 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and current head coach of Hapoel Jerusalem B.C., Hapoel Jerusalem. Coaching career Early career KK Partizan youth system ...

. 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 life

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).Europos čempionato dienoraštis (6): apie Kalną, Delną ir kodėl tik J.Kazlauskas neturi pravardės
More recently, a growing number of online Lithuanian basketball community members have dubbed him ‘’makaluotojas’’ (Eng. one who beats or does something hurriedly, usually without much regard to quality) after his use of the word in an exhibition game to encourage his players to beat defenders with trick moves.

Awards and accomplishments

Club playing career

*7× Lithuanian Champion: (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) *

(FIBA Saporta Cup) Champion: (1998) * North European League (NEBL) Champion: (1999) * EuroLeague

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

: (1999) *2×

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa titl ...

Winner: (2000, 2001) *

Polish Supercup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2021, the Polish Super Cup has been pl ...

Winner: (2001) *2× Polish League (PLK) Champion: (2004, 2005)

Lithuanian senior national team

Coaching career

Assistant coach

*4× Lithuanian League (LKL)

: (2008, 2016, 2017, 2018) *2× Lithuanian King Mindaugas Cup Winner: (

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) *

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in t ...

: *

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

Head coach

* Baltic League (BBL) Champion: (2010)

References

External links

Euroleague.net Player ProfileEuroleague.net Coach Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maskoliunas, Darius 1971 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players Asseco Gdynia players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics BC Rytas coaches BC Žalgiris coaches BC Žalgiris players Ilysiakos B.C. players Lithuanian basketball coaches Lithuanian men's basketball players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Olympic medalists in basketball Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Jonava