Pranas Talzūnas
Chicago, Illinois , U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Died | 1984 | ||||||||||||||
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Listed height | 1.82–1.83 m (6 ft 0 in – 6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Pranas Talzūnas (born as Frank Konstant Talzunas; May 23, 1913 in Chicago – 1984)[1] was a Lithuanian American basketball player. He won a gold medal with the Lithuania national basketball team during the EuroBasket 1937, held in Riga. Pranas was named MVP of EuroBasket 1937 and is regarded as the first player to use the hook shot. Talzūnas attitude toward the game, the matches and the representing of the nation seriousness are perfectly described by his words after the successful competition ending: "I confess that going to Riga I had no clue what to thought: whenever we will win or not. I didn't knew how our upcoming opponents plays. <...> We won deservedly, however <...> it wasn't easy. <...> The concern of the upcoming battles for me and for Feliksas Kriaučiūnas didn't let us to sleep for any single night. <...> We were considering the victories possibilities for hours and still doubted it. Now everything is over. For me the heaviest stone just fall from the chest".[2]
Player profile
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Lithuania_national_basketball_team_-_EuroBasket_1937_champions.jpg/200px-Lithuania_national_basketball_team_-_EuroBasket_1937_champions.jpg)
Pranas Talzūnas game-play was perfectly described by the sport journalist Juozas Kusa: "Talzūnas doesn't like to shoot from far, he scores all the points from under the basket. <...> It is his specialty and that his ability was overshadowed rarely by defender at least once. Just look – he got the ball, discreetly turned around, the defender is left at the other side, the, most frequently, right hand rises and the basket is done. He is also capable to shoot from far: he shot only once versus Italy and implanted it".[3]
Olgert Altberg, the famous Latvian basketball coach, theoretician and professor, described Talzūnas by telling: "P. Talzūnas has shown the shot over the head for the first time – a hook shot. Nobody saw such shooting way before".
From the Latvian press of that time: "Talzūnas, as attacker, was receiving at least half of the points, which the Lithuanian team was scoring. He is irreplaceable in his activity under the basket. The Italy, Poland, Estonia and Egypt defenders were vainly trying to detain this famous Lithuanian player, who was the best attacker".[4]
References
- ^ Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878-1922, FamilySearch. (in English)
- ^ Stanislovas Stonkus "Krepšinio kelias į Lietuvą" (page: 27)
- ^ Stanislovas Stonkus "Krepšinio kelias į Lietuvą" (page: 28)
- ^ Stanislovas Stonkus "Krepšinio kelias į Lietuvą" (page: 29)
External links
- Phil Hersh, Lithuania Stands Tall In Basketball, in «Chicago Tribune», June 21, 1992.