Wake Forest's Darius Songaila Steps Up When The Pressure Is On
2/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2000
By Jay Reddick
Darius Songaila is one of those rare players who feels more comfortable when the pressure is on him.
Take the Jan. 12 game against North Carolina. Songaila knew that the gameplan called for stopping Tar Heels center Brendan Haywood on the defensive end and getting him in foul trouble when he played defense. The team was depending on Songaila and Rafael Vidaurreta to get the job done.
And of course, we all saw what happened -- Haywood finished with eight points, and the Deacons pulled the upset.
"Playing against teams with bigger guys like that, a lot of things depend on us, on how we play defense," Songaila said. "When we play good defense, the rest of the team gets confidence that every time the ball goes inside, we can handle it. That gets trust from our teammates that we don't need too much over-helping inside, and everyone else can concentrate more on their own games. We played great against North Carolina."
Songaila has been playing great for much of the year, averaging 12 points and five rebounds for the 12-7 Deacons through the Jan. 27 win at Georgia Tech and also playing a big role in locking down the defense in the post, a key to wins all year long.
Songaila came to Winston-Salem from Marijampole, Lithuania, last season and showed great fire and intensity, along with a penchant for getting to the basket (he averaged 12.1 points and 5.3 rebounds, both second on the team) and collecting fouls (he committed a school-record 116).
Naturally, one of Songaila's charges in the offseason was to work on his fouling tendencies, and it has helped. The 6-foot-9 sophomore says it started to get better toward the end of last season.
"In the beginning of last season, I was really excited, hot-headed," Songaila said. "I was arguing every call, and I got the reputation that I argued against the calls. It was hard to get a good guy's reputation at the end of the season. This year, I've handled my temper a little better, and the referees are getting better about not calling everything. When you don't think constantly about getting foul calls, you can give your whole attention to the game, and obviously that helps."
The way Vidaurreta and Songaila play defense inside has drawn the ire of a couple of opposing coaches, in particular Temple's John Chaney, who said the Deacons were setting illegal screens underneath the basket. Songaila dismisses that charge.
"I can understand, it was a tough loss for them, and they were frustrated," Songaila said. "Early in the season, the games against Wisconsin and Temple showed that when we play good defense, it's easier to win the games. That's key, communicating and playing good D."
Communicating has been a bit harder in recent weeks. An injury to Vidaurreta's vocal cords made it next to impossible for him to speak above a whisper, which makes it harder to communicate between the two roommates on the court. Is it difficult for Songaila to communicate with his frontcourt compatriot?
"Sometimes on switches," he said. "But we've played together for two years, so we have that communication that whenever there's a big guy-big guy switch, we both know it without yelling or screaming. Of course, that'll help us in the long run. I think we're both doing a pretty good job."
Songaila spent one session of summer school here, then went back to Lithuania for the second half of the summer. And although some of his tastes changed during his first year in Winston-Salem -- he no longer lists "Jerry Springer" as his favorite TV show, preferring "Friends" -- he got the chance to rediscover one of his great loves when he went home.
"I still love to fish," Songaila said. "I tried to do as much of it in Lithuania as I could, but I wanted to see everybody, and I only had a limited time."
Songaila played some basketball with his old friends during his trip home but mostly relaxed. His girlfriend visited, so they took a national tour of Songaila's home country.
Although the big man was born and raised in Lithuania, he doesn't expect to live there for long after he graduates. Coming to America has convinced him that he'd like to stay.
"I'll probably try to stay here and see what I can do, if I'm going to continue playing basketball," Songaila said. "If not here, I'll probably go somewhere else in Europe. Of course, I'll go home and visit, but I don't see myself settling down in Lithuania."
Before he thinks any more about that, though, he has some basketball to play. A recent three-game losing streak hasn't deterred Songaila from thinking this team could be going places.
"These games are a good lesson for us," Songaila said. "We have a lot to work on, and we learn from them. We'll play them all again this season, and we'll see how we do."