Darius Sirtautas

Darius Sirtautas

Personal information
Born	(1970-07-14) July 14, 1970 (age 54) Šilutė, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Lithuanian
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1989–2005
Position	shooting guard
Career history
1989–1995	Atletas Kaunas
1995–1998	Žalgiris Kaunas
1998–1999	Slovakofarma Pezinok
1999–2000	Kraitenė Marijampolė
2000–2002	Jinan Junan
2002–2003	Audentes Tallinn
2003–2004	Atletas-Topo Centras Kaunas
2004–2005	Punktukas Anykščiai
Career highlights and awards
LKL All-Star Day Slam Dunk Contest champion (1995, 1997, 1998)

Darius Sirtautas (born July 14, 1970 in Šilutė, Lithuania) is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player, and basketball coach. During his playing career, he was a 6'4" (1.93m) tall shooting guard.^[1]

Playing career

Sirtautas started his professional career in Atletas Kaunas, in 1989. After a few seasons with the team, he became a team leader, and while playing alongside Saulius Štombergas and Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, managed to lead the team to the LKL Finals twice. During his last season with the team, he averaged 15 points per game. After that successful season, Lithuania national team coaches invited Sirtautas to the training camp for the upcoming EuroBasket, but he did not make it onto the final roster.

In 1995, he moved to his former rival team, Žalgiris Kaunas. He was one of the main contributors to the team, averaging more than 10 points per game, over the next three seasons, despite having to share his minutes with stars like Rimas Kurtinaitis, Darius Lukminas, and Ennis Whatley. While playing for Žalgiris, he participated in the LKL Slam Dunk Contest, and he won the slam dunk title three times in a row.

In 1998, Sirtautas moved to Slovakia, where he played with Slovakofarma Pezinok, in the FIBA Saporta Cup. He recorded 7.8 points and 1.2 steals per game in that tournament. Returning to Lithuania the following season, Sirtautas signed with Suvalkija Marijampolė. However, the team went bankrupt at the end of the season, and he was forced to look for a club elsewhere.

In 2000, he moved to China, and signed with Junan Jinan, of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). During the 2001–02 season, he played alongside fellow Lithuanians Rolandas Urkis and Martynas Purlys. In March 2002, Sirtautas moved back to Lithuania, and he finished the season with Alita Alytus.

Sirtautas played for the Estonian club Audentes Tallinn, during the 2002–03 season. In April, he once again moved back to Lithuania, and after playing two more seasons, he retired in 2005.

Coaching career

Sirtautas coached Atletas Kaunas, for the 2006–07 season. He was also the head coach of the Lithuanian Under-16 national team, which participated in the 2011 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He recently coached at the Arvydas Sabonis Basketball School, and at BC Nevėžis, of the Lithuanian Basketball League.

References

1. "BasketNews.lt". Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2012-07-18.

External links

• BasketNews.lt profile Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
• EuroBasket.com profile