Martynas Pocius
Encyclopedia
Martynas Pocius is a Lithuanian
professional basketball player, playing for Real Madrid
in the Euroleague
and Liga ACB. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national basketball team.
, Lithuania
to Gintaras, a basketball coach, and Jurate, a physical education teacher.
Pocius attended the prestigious Holderness School
in Plymouth
, New Hampshire
, where he played on the basketball team in his last two years, leading the team to back-to-back New England Prep School Class C titles. In his first title run, during the 2003-04 season, Pocius averaged 18 points and 4,5 rebounds, and led the team to a 17-7 record. In the 2004-05 season, Pocius averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and led the team to a 19-10 record.
As a senior, he was ranked 40th overall and 12th among shooting guards by Rivals.com and rated the 55th-top prospect (16th among shooting guards) by Scout.com. Pocius was also named to the World Select team for the 2005 Nike Hoops Summit, where he scored a game high 20 points in a 98-106 loss to the USA.
, where he played on the university's basketball team
, coached by Mike Krzyzewski.
As a freshman, Pocius appeared in 25 games, averaging 27.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 31.6 minutes. In his sophomore year, Pocius increased his stats, averaging 32.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 37.1 minutes in 27 games. Throughout the season he was battling an ankle injury, for which he missed four games. Pocius underwent a season-ending surgery on his left ankle on January 8 during his junior year. Due to the surgery he only played 4 games in which he averaged 4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8 minutes. In his final season at Duke, Pocius played 22 games, averaging 1.5 points.
He graduated from Duke in 2009 with a degree in international comparative studies.
, Pocius chose to continue his basketball career in Europe
. He went back to his home country, Lithuania
, and signed a multi-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas
.
In his debut season, Pocius averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16 games in the Euroleague
. Although Žalgiris did not pass the Top 16 round, the team did perform better in their national and regional championships. Pocius led the team to the Baltic Basketball League
(BBL) title, averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He also led the team to second place in the Lithuanian Basketball League
(LKL), after losing the final's best-of-seven series 3-4. Pocius averaged 18.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in the season. Pocius also helped Žalgiris win second place in the Lithuanian Cup tournament and third place in the VTB United League
.
During his second season with the team, Pocius led Žalgiris to the Top 16 once more, but the team did move to the next round. Pocius averaged 15.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16 games during his second Euroleague season, improving every individual stat. Though, Žalgiris went on to win the Lithuanian Basketball Federation
(LKF) Cup, the BBL title, amd the LKL championship. Pocius missed the LKL Finals because of a season ending injury. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists throughout the season.
.
on several occasions. He played in the 2004 European U-18 Championship in Spain
, where he showed himself as a team leader, averaging 26 points, 3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Pocius also represented Lithuania at the 2006 U-20 Championship in Turkey
, where he led the team to a seventh-place finish, averaging 20 points per game. After his senior year at Duke, Pocius represented Lithuania at the 2009 Summer Universiade
in Belgrade
, Serbia
, where he led the team to a fifth-place finish, averaging 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
In 2010, Pocius made his debut on the Lithuanian men's national team
at the 2010 FIBA World Championship
in Turkey
, where he surprisingly became one of the leaders in the team and helped lead Lithuania to the bronze medals.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
professional basketball player, playing for Real Madrid
Real Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....
in the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
and Liga ACB. He is also a member of the Lithuanian national basketball team.
Early life and high school
Martynas Pocius was born in VilniusVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
to Gintaras, a basketball coach, and Jurate, a physical education teacher.
Pocius attended the prestigious Holderness School
Holderness School
The Holderness School is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Holderness, near Plymouth, New Hampshire in the United States. The student body of 275 is drawn from 22 U.S. states and 14 foreign countries. While Holderness operates primarily as a boarding school, it also enrolls 50...
in Plymouth
Plymouth, New Hampshire
Plymouth is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States, in the White Mountains Region. Plymouth is located at the convergence of the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers. The population was 6,990 at the 2010 census...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, where he played on the basketball team in his last two years, leading the team to back-to-back New England Prep School Class C titles. In his first title run, during the 2003-04 season, Pocius averaged 18 points and 4,5 rebounds, and led the team to a 17-7 record. In the 2004-05 season, Pocius averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and led the team to a 19-10 record.
As a senior, he was ranked 40th overall and 12th among shooting guards by Rivals.com and rated the 55th-top prospect (16th among shooting guards) by Scout.com. Pocius was also named to the World Select team for the 2005 Nike Hoops Summit, where he scored a game high 20 points in a 98-106 loss to the USA.
College career
After graduating from high school, Pocius committed to Duke UniversityDuke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he played on the university's basketball team
Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I...
, coached by Mike Krzyzewski.
As a freshman, Pocius appeared in 25 games, averaging 27.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 31.6 minutes. In his sophomore year, Pocius increased his stats, averaging 32.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 37.1 minutes in 27 games. Throughout the season he was battling an ankle injury, for which he missed four games. Pocius underwent a season-ending surgery on his left ankle on January 8 during his junior year. Due to the surgery he only played 4 games in which he averaged 4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8 minutes. In his final season at Duke, Pocius played 22 games, averaging 1.5 points.
He graduated from Duke in 2009 with a degree in international comparative studies.
Žalgiris Kaunas (2009-2011)
After graduating from DukeDuke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Pocius chose to continue his basketball career in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He went back to his home country, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, and signed a multi-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas
BC Žalgiris
BC Žalgiris is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga , and regionally in the VTB United League...
.
In his debut season, Pocius averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16 games in the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
. Although Žalgiris did not pass the Top 16 round, the team did perform better in their national and regional championships. Pocius led the team to the Baltic Basketball League
Baltic Basketball League
Baltic Basketball League is a Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004.Currently, the league is divided into two: the Elite division and the Challenge Cup division. The 10 strongest Baltic basketball clubs participate in the Elite division. The rest of the teams compete in the Challenge Cup...
(BBL) title, averaging 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He also led the team to second place in the Lithuanian Basketball League
Lietuvos Krepšinio Lyga
The Lietuvos krepšinio lyga is Lithuania's premier professional men's basketball league, composed of 12 teams.- History :...
(LKL), after losing the final's best-of-seven series 3-4. Pocius averaged 18.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in the season. Pocius also helped Žalgiris win second place in the Lithuanian Cup tournament and third place in the VTB United League
VTB United League
VTB United League is an international professional basketball league that was founded in 2008. Its goal is to unite the leading basketball clubs of Eastern Europe and Northern Europe together into one league. The league is sponsored by VTB Bank. In its inaugural 2009–10 season, it featured clubs...
.
During his second season with the team, Pocius led Žalgiris to the Top 16 once more, but the team did move to the next round. Pocius averaged 15.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 16 games during his second Euroleague season, improving every individual stat. Though, Žalgiris went on to win the Lithuanian Basketball Federation
Lithuanian Basketball Federation
Lithuanian Basketball Federation , also known as LKF, is a national governing body of basketball in Lithuania. It was founded in 1936, but due to Soviet occupation, the federation disappeared from FIBA. It was reinstated in 1991 following the Independence of Lithuania...
(LKF) Cup, the BBL title, amd the LKL championship. Pocius missed the LKL Finals because of a season ending injury. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists throughout the season.
Real Madrid (2011-present)
On July 27, 2011 it was officially announced that Pocius signed a contract with Real MadridReal Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....
.
National team
Pocius has played for LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
on several occasions. He played in the 2004 European U-18 Championship in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he showed himself as a team leader, averaging 26 points, 3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Pocius also represented Lithuania at the 2006 U-20 Championship in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, where he led the team to a seventh-place finish, averaging 20 points per game. After his senior year at Duke, Pocius represented Lithuania at the 2009 Summer Universiade
2009 Summer Universiade
The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade were celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from 1 July to 12 July 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina , close to Belgrade. It was the largest sporting event ever to be organised...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, where he led the team to a fifth-place finish, averaging 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
In 2010, Pocius made his debut on the Lithuanian men's national team
Lithuania national basketball team
The Lithuanian national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in international men's basketball. Lithuania won bronze medals in three out of five Olympic tournaments it participated in....
at the 2010 FIBA World Championship
2010 FIBA World Championship
The 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, where he surprisingly became one of the leaders in the team and helped lead Lithuania to the bronze medals.