- January 14th, 2006, 11:55 am
#6
Here is athe story Chris was telling us about from the Lynchburg fishwrap:
Smigelskaite and Piotrkiewicz give Flames a new look insidehttp://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
January 13, 2006
Egle Smigelskaite has a wry sense of humor about her, kind of dry, kind of sneaky.
When told a story was being written about her and fellow Liberty center Karolina Piotrkiewicz, she responded: "I'm a point guard."
Cue the hearty guffaw.
But start digging into the hand-wringing that accompanied the preseason for Liberty, the constant questioning of "how the heck are the Flames going to replace Katie Feenstra?" and Smigelskaite's demeanor turns dour.
"It was getting on my nerves," the 6-foot-5 sophomore said.
Possibly because the question itself was rather pointless. You're not replacing a 6-8 WNBA draft pick, especially not with 6-5 and 6-3 players.
Smigelskaite, a Lithuanian, and Piotrkiewicz, who is Polish born but was raised in France, recognized this and sought to change the position more than "replace" Feenstra and her monstrous contributions.
Without a 6-8 post who overpowers just about everyone she comes into contact with, Flames coach Carey Green wanted to utilize the speed and finesse Piotrkiewicz and Smigelskaite bring to the frontcourt.
"We just tell everybody that we're a different team now," Smigelskaite said. "Me and KP, we can run. We have a great bunch of players who can shoot and can penetrate."
So far, the two have provided the boost the Flames need in the post, even if Smigelskaite is still working her way back into shape after tearing the ACL in her right knee at the end of last season.
Piotrkiewicz averages 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and has hit double figures in rebounds five times. (She also has two double-doubles).
Smigelskaite, whom teammates call "La-la" and whom Green says could have an X-factor kind of effect on the remainder of Liberty's season, will continue to see her minutes increase.
No longer hobbled by the bum knee, she provides the Flames with a lithe, finesse center who can shoot from the outside.
"When she is determined, she can play a physical game, too," Green said. "That really helps out. ? She can be adequate in both those areas, where some people cannot."
A new life
Piotrkiewicz originally signed to play at Xavier. Her mother Wieslawa played professional basketball, and that was the main reason the family relocated from Poland to France when Karolina was 6.
Her main motivation for coming to the United States was to play basketball at the highest collegiate level. Before her freshman year at Xavier, she was voted to the preseason Atlantic 10 all-rookie squad.
Soon after she signed with XU, head coach Melanie Balcomb left to take over at Vanderbilt. Piotrkiewicz hurt her knee in open gym before practice began in the fall and she gained a quick 25-30 pounds because she wasn't able to work out.
Trying to impress a new head coach as a freshman was difficult enough. Trying to get playing time after an injury was even worse.
"The coach told me I could stay if I wanted, but I wouldn't be playing much more," Piotrkiewicz said. "Since I didn't play much at all anyway, that was really disappointing for me."
Karyn Karlin, a former Liberty assistant coach, was in Europe and knew Wieslawa Piotrkiewicz. Karlin phoned Green to let him know that there was a pretty decent 6-3 forward looking to play college ball stateside.
By the time Green and Karolina spoke, she had already signed at Xavier. Still, Piotrkiewicz knew Liberty had some interest, and when it came time to transfer from Xavier, she knew Liberty would be a good fit.
"I felt like they let a pretty good ball player walk away," Green said.
Pained comeback
Smigelskaite was Liberty's top reserve last year before she tore her ACL with five games left in the season.
Her teammates' success in the Big South and NCAA tournaments provided some solace during her long rehab, but she clearly wanted to be on the floor with them.
Smigelskaite tried to rush back this season, thinking her knee was 100 percent healthy when it was really closer to 80 percent.
She "tweaked" the knee, and the setback kept her on the bench for most of the first half of the season.
She showed some life in Liberty's win against American, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds.
"From here on out, she's getting as much playing time as I can afford to give her," Green said.
"It's a green light for me to give it to her, and I'm going to see what she can do."
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