Saturday, August 11, 2007

Skripkauskas a cross-word puzzler's dream come true?


If you want to know more about Tauras, check out Jeff Bonato’s “EXTRA POINT Warren grad spins his own wheel of fortune on court” article about Tauras Skripkauskas in today’s Lake County News-Sun. Bonato discussed Tauras being the only Warren High grad to currently be playing NCAA Division 1 level basketball (until this winter when three former teammates will join him) and his rise from a 5-8 kid on the freshman “B” team to a 6-3 senior who’s high school career was cut short due to injuries from his sudden growth spurts. Although side-lined most of his senior year, “T-Triple S-Triple-K” had the opportunity to watch a great coach, Chuck Ramsey and a lot of basketball.

After high school in 2005, Tauras returned to Lithuania thinking his basketball dreams where left behind in Gurnee, Illinois, but he was spotted “holding court” on the playground, returned to the States, worked hard at a few camps and caught the eye of a college scout who sent him packing to Maine, (See Photo: Tauras in right corner for the block-Credits: Bangornews.com) where he averaged 11-points and 8-boards per game at Lee High Academy Prep-School. And Lee High is also where “T-Triple S-Triple-K” caught the eye of Coach Bobby Cremins.


Although, “T-Triple S-Triple-K” didn’t get much play last season, he can hang his hat on the 5-points he scored in the hallowed halls of Rupp Arena against the U.K. Wildcats and now at 6-6, almost a foot taller than he was as a high school freshman, he can look forward to putting those (pardon the stereo-type) "Eastern-bloc" shooting skills to use on the court.


The only thing we at the CofC Sports Fan disagreed with Bonato about in his article was his thoughts regarding, “Skripkauskas” as a cross-word puzzler’s dream come true. Are you kidding us? We’re keeping “Skripkauskas” in our back pocket for the World's Scrabble Championship. What else are you going to do with a P, 3-S’s, 3-K’s, 2-A’s, and two other vowels?

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