By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Sometimes, how things end is the measure of a man. And Mindaugas Kuzminaskas, who has been all over the basketball planet, from Sakalai to the NBA, decided to end his presence in the national team in the last FIBA Qualifiers, forfeiting the chance to play once more in a Eurobasket.
Born in 1989, Kuzminskas decided to leave room for the younger generation, while he still has high goals in the season in the Basketball Champions League with AEK.
However, his decision and the timing of his national team retirement were quite unusual, and he discussed them with Eurohoops.
Are you still emotional about the decision to quit the national team?
“Emotions were present in the last game… Now I came back to reality. That last game was something that I could never have dreamt of. It was a home game. Full gym with people, we won. I wanted to leave the national team with a win. And it kinda of happened. To feel the love and everything. I could never have thought that it would attract so much attention and love from the fans. I believe that the national team. our fans in the last decades, since we are independent, they are the best in the world. They are going EVERYWHERE we are. There is one more little story… There is one guy, his name is Sekla. He had a drum from 2011 in Lithuania, and he was going everywhere with the drum. And my kid, he went to a game of the national and he saw the guy hitting the drum and everytime he was telling me: “I saw the guy, I saw the guy, he was beating the drum”. So I told him the story just to make him feel even better, and after my last game with the national team, he gave the drum that one from 2011 to my son. It was so very nice. Sometimes, you understand that the national team and the relation with the fans is more than just basketball”.
Why is playing for the national team special?
“Playing for our country is a bit different. We are a relatively recently independent country. I grew up with the Sabonis, Marculionis, Kurtinaitis generation. We started playing in the Olympic games. My family is a sports family… So, in your family, while growing up, you see that your parents follow every national team competition. They are crying when they win, they are crying when they lose. You know those emotions. And it goes from generation to generation. It is hard to describe the feeling I have playing for the national team. When we go to any other country, let’s say Germany, you see 5000 Lithuanians being there instead of vacations. spending their money and support you, and then all the gym sings the national anthem, you have those goosebumps. Unfortunately, these days, people are united by tragedies or bad things or by sports. Especially after the wins. Hopefully, these wins will come back to Lithuania”.
Have you seen your parents actually cry for the national team?
“Yes, yes… Even this year. My father is very emotional. The women’s national team came back to the European championship after 10 years, and my father was in the game. All the people were celebrating and started crying again. In their lives, when people lived the occupation and now they live independent, they understand how it is to be a free country. For my family, it is definitely like this. And it’s not only their own past. You know, my grandparents were sent to Siberia, and others were killed while just sleeping in the house. It must come from generation to generation”.
So playing in the national team was your dream?
“I would lie if I said that there was one day when I was a kid when I understood that I wanted to play for the national team. When I was a child, those times people didn’t have nannies or something, so my mother (ed.note: a professional basketball player) was going to the practice and she was taking me with her in the practice. Always with a ball. I do remember one picture… We had a photoshoot in our school, our class and we had to dress up like sports person. So I took my brother’s Lithuanian jersey, the shoes, it was like 52, and I came like this to the school. I remember that I got a lot of attention. Maybe then I started to think a little bit about it”.
Do you remember your first days with the national team?
“My last game with the national team was in Klaipeda, and my first game when I was in the preselection of the youth national team for a friendly game was also in Klaipeda. That game was my first one, with Kleiza, Kalnietis and others. Unfortunately we lost. At least I finished with a win. But I remember in 2013 when we went to the Eurobasket,, because previously we were playing in Lithuania, with a lot of fans, but then we went to Slovenia for the group stage and Lithuanians were coming, and coming and coming in the Arena. They were everywhere with flags, etc. Then you understand that the responsibility to pay well, to win something for these people, it’s huge. And actually, it’s super expensive for them. You have to take days of vacations to make this trip as a fan… It’s unbelievable. It was something special. And I remember in my first official game with the national team, I thought that I would be burned out emotionally. When you are not used to that, it’s super hard to concentrate on basketball. That’s why, usually, for most players, the first big tournament is not very good.
Every time I remember the national anthem and the emotions I have. You know, people say that if you live by the sea you will get used to it and you will not see it. No, I am the person who sees it, and every time I listen to the national anthem, I feel the same. I bet that if I were just a fan, I will feel the same”.
Is there a game that you would like to play again?
“I would love to play again the 2015 semifinal against Serbia. We beat a team that was unbeaten before and made it to the final and the Olympic Games. I would like to repeat that game.
A game that I would like to repeat but changing the end of it, would be the one from 2014 against France. In the 4th quarter, we were up by 6 or 8, the game for the medal was in our hands, and we lost it”.
Is there a game from the past that you would like to be part of, when you were not a national team player?
“Good question. Probably all the medal games. You know we have been champions only three times and the last time was in 2003. Everybody remembers that. To be in that roster would be nice…”
What about Sydney 2000?
“In general, the Olympic Games are something out of this world. I have been to European championships and World Cups but only once to the Olympic Games. And its incomparable feeling. You understand that you are among the best athletes of the world, you are going for lunch and you see Djokovic, or Usain Bolt. It’s unbelievable. My dream was to make the Paris Olympic Games, to win a medal, and to finish on a high note. Even without a medal, I would finish my national team tenure with a participation in the Olympics, which is a high note. So I would love to play any of the Olympic games, especially when we started to be independent. That would be unbelievable”.
The Greatfull Dead legacy…
“You see, before the interview, my club asked to wear club clothes, you didn’t tell me what to wear, and I came with this (pointing at his own grateful dead t-shirt). I knew that the conversation would be about the national team. So, as you see, it is more than 30 years old, there are a lot of shirts, different ones. The story is unbelievable. Again. new country, first Olympic Games, no money thank God Sarunas Marculionis brought those shirts, all profit went for simple things… I don’t know the story in detail, but you see, 30 years later, I am wearing this t-shirt”.
What will be the first game that you will show to your kid?
“It will be my last game. Because we had a crew who was filming my family and myself, they were mic’ed up, and I was playing, they were showing this and that. I already have that video. Every time he sees himself on video, he screams, “How did he get there?”. He will love that. My parents never forced me to do anything. I was from a sports family, but the first year when they brought me to a basketball school, I didn’t like it at all. Every time we left our apartment, I was watching my friends playing outside, and I had to go to practice with someone. The coaches were yelling, etc… And I was always like, “I have a headache, I have a stomach ache,” and my parents, of course, they understood that I was too young, and they didn’t want to force me. It took one year. I was playing with the sand outside, and then after one year, I was ready. And then I never stopped. That taught me that you should never force things. If he asks me to see some videos, I will show him; if not, I will not. If he wants to play basketball, he will; if not, it’s fine. Everybody has to build their destiny by themselves”.
Do you miss something from your national team career?
“Yes, of course. To win more titles, to win more medals. It’s never enough. Not something specific. I made the team in 2013 for the first time, and it started with a medal. In 2015, we got the 4th place in the 2017 tournament, a medal again. I thought that it would go like this forever and I was still young. But what I was telling the guys when the last game finished was, ‘Go to the national team whenever it’s possible. Every time. Because days off, will gonna wait, summers they gonna come. But going to the national team and winning something is, after the birth of a child, is probably the second best feeling in the world”.
Did you get any emotional message after the last game?
“It was… It’s hard to translate, but I remember I posted a video of my decision before the practice. And then after the practice, I came back to the locker rooms, and the phone was burning. Some of the messages were really nice, and I was almost crying. Then I said I would read them at the hotel. The thing which was the best for me was that… Ok, a lot of people were thanking me for playing for the national team. but its my honour to play. It’s not that I am suffering; it’s an honour to play for my country, and it was something I was dreaming about. And many people were telling me thank you for my personality. I am living by the rule that not everyone can be a good basketball player; some of them can be, some of them not, but everybody can be a good person. And being a good person is above being a basketball player. Some messages were really emotional, but sometimes they were personal and hard to translate. It’s not easy to understand if you are not in that situation. For example Mantas Kalnietis, we played a lot of years in the national team, we know each other very well… He didn’t tell me anything, and I saw him coming to the last game wearing my jersey. He called me brother; somehow, he found my jersey, and he wore it. These little things make me emotional like my father”.
What do you think about the future of the Lithuanian national team?
“It’s bright. We have experienced players, Valanciunas and Sabonis, who can lead by example. We have new generation, Buzelis, Jokubaitis. Marculionis’ son. I think it can be very promising. The spirit of Lithuanians for the national team will not be exhausted. Why did I mention Valanciunas in the first place when I was talking about experienced players? A guy has everything possible in his life. He has been playing in the NBA for so many years, he has experience, but every summer he comes and plays for the national team. And young generation they see this thing. And they got to follow it. That’s why I said that we should lead not by words but by example. And he is showing amazing examples for the young generation. for which he is an idol probaly for all of them. It’s very important to show them the way. The times in Lithuania and in Eastern Europe in general are not the best, and these things unite people. Let’s take Jokubaitis. he is the new generation. We are pretty close friends; he never even thought about not going to the national team. So I think everything should be fine for the Lithuanian national team”.
Did you have a speech in the locker rooms after the last game?
“No, I had a speech in the arena, and it was harder. We won the game, shook hands with opponents, and the guy who was presenting the game gave me the mic. It’s already hard to talk when it’s your mothers’ birthday and you have 30 guests. Imagine 5000 people in the gym, and it’s live on TV, and it’s your last speech in the national team. I said the first two sentences, and after that, it was total black out. I forgot to speak Lithuanian…”
What would you say if you had in front of him the guys of the junior national teams?
“I told this message during that speech. And I repeat it… Go to the national team every time it’s possible to do so. Every time. You will have more regrets not going than going. Even if you go back home after losing championships, you feel shame. Let’s say… In this FIBA window… Clubs gave 5-6 days off. Maybe you went to Paris, maybe you went to the sea… But those days pass in the blink of an eye. When you go to the qualifiers for the national team, you meet old friends, you make new friends, you change your environment, and you come back home maybe more tired physically, but way, way more fresh. You are way, way much stronger and happier. So I would tell them, “Go to the national team every time”. Summer will come. A basketball career is pretty short. You will have a lot of summers. Play now, give your best, win something, put your name in the history, and make Lithuanians proud”.