Žydrūnas Urbonas

Žydrūnas Urbonas (born October 4, 1976, in Zarasai, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player, who is the current head coach of Juventus Utena.[1]

Žydrūnas Urbonas
Žydrūnas Urbonas with BC Juventus
Juventus Utena
PositionHead coach
LeagueLithuanian Basketball League
Basketball Champions League
Personal information
Born (1976-10-04) 4 October 1976
Zarasai, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityLithuanian
Listed height6 ft 6.7 in (2.00 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
Playing career1993–2012
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
Coaching career2012–present
Career history
As player:
1993–1994Lietkabelis Panevėžys
1994–1995Lavera Kaunas
1995–1998Lietkabelis Panevėžys
1998–1999Šilutė
1999–2001Šiauliai
2001–2002Metallurg Magnitogorsk
2002–2003Šiauliai
2003AGE Chalkida
2003–2005Šiauliai
2005–2006Barons Riga
2006–2007AEL Limassol
2007–2008Lietkabelis Panevėžys
2008Alytus
2008–2009Donetsk
2009–2012Juventus Utena
As coach:
2012–2017Juventus Utena (assistant)
2017–presentJuventus Utena
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Lithuania
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
1994 Israel U-18 Team

Playing career

Urbonas made his professional debut in the 1993–94 season and continued to play for various teams in the Lithuanian Basketball League for another eight years, playing for BC Lietkabelis, BC Lavera, being one of the team leaders there, before signing with BC Šiauliai, where he reached his biggest success, helping the team finish in 3rd place in 2000 and 2001, and becoming the LKL MVP in the 2001 season. In 2001, he moved to Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Basketball Super League 1, however, after the season he returned to BC Šiauliai and spent the 2002–03 season there before signing with AGE Chalkida of the Greek A2 Basket League for a brief time in 2003, though he returned to BC Šiauliai again to finish the 2003-2004 season and played a full 2004–05 season. He helped the team to win 3rd place in the LKL in 2004, and helped them win the LKL, BBL and FIBA Euro Cup Conference North 3rd places. In the 2005–06 season Urbonas signed with Barons Riga of the Latvian Basketball League and then moved to AEL Limassol of the Cyprus Basketball Division A for the 2006–07 season. Urbonas returned to Lithuania in 2007 and played there until autumn 2008 before signing with Donetsk of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague for the 2008–2009 season. He finished his career playing for Juventus Utena from 2009 to 2012.[2]

Coaching career

In 2009, Urbonas became a player-coach and the team's president when he joined Juventus Utena,[3] and then became the assistant coach when he retired in 2012. He served as head coach under Rytis Vaišvila, Vitoldas Masalskis, Virginijus Sirvydis and Antanas Sireika, who coached and mentored him back during his playing days in BC Šiauliai. He was still assistant coach, this time under Gediminas Petrauskas, in the 2017-2018 season, but became head coach by October, after Petrauskas resigned due to poor results.

National team career

Urbonas won a gold medal with the Lithuanian under-18 national team in 1994 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.[4]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Donetsk 1021.37.35.25.74.51.000.7.07.2

References
  1. "Žydrūnas Urbonas / Žaidėjai - Basketnews.lt". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. Buračas, Rokas (21 August 2012). "Baigti karjerą nusprendė ir Urbonas". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  3. "Urbonas: „Pirma sezono pusė – dešimtukui"". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). 23 December 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  4. "Lithuania / European Championship for Junior Men (1994)". FIBAEurope.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.