By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Jankunas opens up in a recent interview with Walla about Sarunas Jasikevicius, his former teammate, and current coach and how he changed the mentality of the team: “As a coach, Saras changed something in our way of thinking, we were always a very home-like team, and it was hard to overcome us in our hall, but in away games we played less well.”
How does it feel to be under the directions of a former teammate? Jankunas answers: “Saras played with me in Zalgiris and in the national team, and I have to admit that it’s not really strange to me that he’s my coach, it’s very simple. On the one hand, he knows us all so well and knows how to utilize us. We call him by his first name, but he also knows how to draw the line, to laugh and be a friend of ours. I still do not know what I will do when I retire, but I’m sure I will not join him on the coaching staff.”
Zalgiris’ captain praises Jasikevicius and considers he has an advantage over the other coaches: “His game intelligence is simply amazing, giving him an advantage over other coaches, as he has given him an advantage over other players in the past.”