For Songaila, Pride Before Preseason

Wizards Forward Doubly Benefits by Playing for Lithuania Before Embarking on NBA Season

MADRID, Sept. 11 -- Like every other Lithuanian player at the European basketball championship, Darius Songaila speaks convincingly of playing only for the team. Exemplary teamwork is a major reason for Lithuania's 5-0 start, and for its position as perhaps the squad most capable of denying a loaded Spanish team the EuroBasket title.

But being here is also personal for Songaila: He remembers too well a lost half-season with the Washington Wizards because of surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. So while national pride is a major factor, so is being in top playing shape when the Wizards open training camp next month.

Songaila originally injured his back last summer in tuneup games leading up to the FIBA World Championship. Believing he had only strained his back, Songaila tried to play through the pain and later learned that he was suffering from a herniated disk. He underwent surgery on Nov. 2 and made his Wizards debut Feb. 3.

"I'm excited to go back to play the whole season," said the 6-foot-9 Songaila, who averaged 7.6 points for the Wizards after his return. "I missed 45 games, and it's hard to watch from the bench. Plus we had all those injuries at the end of the season, and I think all of us are looking forward to being healthy at the same time.

"It's a very high level of competition at EuroBasket. It's a good indicator of where you are for the start of the NBA season."

Judging by his play so far, Songaila is right on course. On a team with several excellent inside players, he is averaging 10.8 points per game while playing only 17.6 minutes (international games are 40 minutes long). He is shooting 52.6 percent and works especially well on pick-and-rolls with Sarunas Jasikevicius, the point guard who played in college at Maryland and is on his own mission to play well here after two disappointing seasons in the NBA.

As for Songaila's back, it appears to be holding up in EuroBasket's physical play. "It's fine -- I've had no problems with it," Songaila said. At the Wizards' request, Lithuania took out an insurance policy for him; France did the same for Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns, as did Spain for Jorge Garbajosa of the Toronto Raptors.

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said he is not concerned about Songaila playing in this tournament. "I know that there is a great feeling when you represent your country in international competition," said Grunfeld, who played on the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the 1976 Olympics. "And for him, since he missed half of last year, it's a good opportunity to get extra minutes."

Monday night against a French team with four NBA players, Songaila had perhaps his best game of the tournament. He had 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds in an 88-73 victory, while going against Diaw and Ronny Turiaf of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Songaila has frequently guarded other teams' NBA players; in the previous game, against Italy, he did a good job checking 7-foot Andrea Bargnani of the Raptors. "It does help if you've played against them in the NBA," Songaila acknowledged. "You know their tendencies -- whether they like to go left at crunch time, for instance."

Mostly a power forward with the Wizards, Songaila usually is Lithuania's center "because he is a big fighter," said Rimas Kurtinaitis, the team's assistant coach. "He's not so tall as others, but he works a lot and rebounds well. On defense, he's really fast and does a good job on traps. And on offense, he and Sarunas play together very well."

With Lithuania, Songaila has a more active role on offense than he does with the Wizards, where he is competing for shots with Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison -- the league's highest-scoring trio last season. In contrast, Lithuania is known throughout Europe for its beautiful offensive game, built around constant ball movement and participation from all five players. The team is averaging a tournament-best 86.4 points per game and is shooting a remarkable 55.6 percent.