Donatas Zavackas

Donatas Zavackas ( born April 20, 1980 in Klaipeda, Lithuanian SSR) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. After studying in the United States Zavackas acted in various European clubs, first in Central and Western Europe before he returned to the Lithuanian League 2007. He was honored in 2008 as the " Most Valuable Player " of the regular season and got a contract with Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, with whom he 2008/ 09 won the Eurocup and twice the Lithuanian Championship in 2009 and 2010. Subsequently, he played in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga at EnBW Ludwigsburg and the Telekom Baskets Bonn, interrupted by a commitment to the Latvian club VEF Riga, with which he defended twice in 2012 and 2013 the Latvian championship. Since the end of 2013 Zavackas plays for Vanoli Cremona in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.

Career

After Zavackas debuted in his parent club Neptunas early 1996 Senior level in the Lithuanian League, he went in 1998 as a promising youth and junior selection player of his country to study in the United States at the University of Pittsburgh, where he worked from 1999 for the high school team Panthers the former Big East Conference of NCAA play. With the Panthers Zavackas reached between 2001 and 2003 three times the final of the championship tournament of the prestigious Conference and finally in 2003 could win against the Huskies of the University of Connecticut. In his fourth and final college season, the Panthers reached then for the second time in a row the first knockout round "Sweet Sixteen" of the NCAA national finals, but in the one resigned again. Although Zavackas together with Chevon Troutman, who as a professional was later also in the Basketball Bundesliga active, as one of the key players was considered for the return of Panthers among the best teams in the Big East, it has lost in his last NCAA game probably every chance on an obligation in the most highly endowed professional league NBA one, as the idiosyncratic Zavackas after substitution ten minutes before the end of the game took off his shoes and recognizable refused to participate in the rest of the game. The Panthers lost the game with three points difference against the Golden Eagles of Marquette University about the future NBA All Star Dwyane Wade.

His first professional contract was Zavackas 2003 in Polska Liga Koszykówki the Polish champion Anwil of Wloclawek. However, the team lost on their way to defend their title the play-off semi-final series in five games against just the next series champions Prokom Trefl Sopot. In the following season Zavackas got in December 2004, a temporary one-month contract in the French LNB Pro B at second division from Besancon Basket Comte Doubs. Then he signed in February 2005 for the rest of the season a contract with Belgacom Liege in the Ethias League, but missed just as the fifth- placed team the play-offs of the top four teams. In the season 2005/ 06 he had a contract with the first again runner- Anwil in Poland, for which he, however, had only three appearances in that season. In April 2006 he wrote then still have a contract for the play- offs at the Italian first division team Snaidero Udine, which, however, in the first play-off round was eliminated from the award of the championship in three games. In the season 2006/ 07 Zavackas first completed two missions for his home club Neptunas Klaipeda in the Lithuanian league before in November 2006 he joined BK Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk from the Basketball Super League Ukraine. However Dnipro difference as main round sixth in the first play-off round of the Ukrainian Championship of 2007.

For the 2007 /08 season Zavackas now returned in the longer term in the Lithuanian league back and played with the club from Šiauliai in the Baltic Basketball League. With this club he was awarded third in the domestic league and player of the year the LKL behind the two top European teams Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius and Kaunas Zalgiris. Although his team had no chance in the semifinal series against defending champion Zalgiris, but for the subsequent season Zavackas got a contract with Lietuvos Rytas runner from the capital Vilnius. With this team he triumphed over arch-rivals from Kaunas, both in the Baltic Basketball League as well as in the Lithuanian championship. By winning the Eurocup 2008/09 Lietuvos Rytas not only secured the Triple, but also to participate in the highest ranking European club competition ULEB Euro League 2009/10, in which one but almost eliminated in the first round because of the poorer direct comparison. While Zalgiris in the Baltic Basketball League just could reclaim his 2010 title in the final game in Vilnius Lietuvos Rytas retained in the final series of the Lithuanian Championship just seven games in the upper hand over Zalgiris and defended his title. For the 2010/11 season was the well-known as an excellent distance shooter from beyond the three- point line Zavackas, which reached a rate of 55 % in the 2009/10 season at this distance in the Lithuanian League, signed a contract with the German first division EnBW Ludwigsburg. However, the newly formed team of new coach Markus Jochum could not completely convince in the National Basketball League 2010/11 and missed in ninth place again just a place in the Championship play-offs. In the following Basketball League 2011/12 the team finally slipped into the basement table and when coach Jochum was replaced by Steven Key, also urged Zavackas, 2012 in front of his home crowd in Ludwigsburg won the three-point competition in the BBL All-Star Game, on a premature change of club and left the relegation- threatened team in early February, 2012.

With the Latvian champion VEF Riga Zavackas 2012 failed, although just outside the entrance into the quarter-finals of the Euro Cup 2011/12 and in the Baltic League, missed against his former club Lietuvos Rytas the renewed finals, but in the Latvian championship could defend the title successfully. Also in the season 2012/13 went to the Latvian championship title for the third time VEF Riga, but in the Eurocup 2012/13 they came again does not have the round of 16 of the best teams out. The first time participating in the Eastern European VTB United League 2012/13 it was eliminated by the Russian runner- BK Khimki in the quarterfinals. In the preparation of the 2013/14 season he initially supported the injury- plagued European top team PBK CSKA Moscow before he got a temporary contract as a replacement for Tony Gaffney the German first division Telekom Baskets Bonn from beginning of the season the basketball league 2013/14. After a good start to the season, however, Gaffney returned to the Bonners and Zavackas ' expiring contract was not renewed. Zavackas eventually got to the beginning of 2014, a new contract with the relegation-threatened Italian first division Vanoli from Cremona.