Here's a Shocker: Griskenas picks Wichita State

By TROY HYDE ~ Sports Writer

Three Rivers standout Mantas Griskenas had plenty of options when considering his home for the next two years.

St. Louis University would have had him, Nevada could have snagged him, but the 6-foor-7 Lithuanian decided to sign with Wichita State on Wednesday and will continue to don black and gold, now for the Shockers.

The Billikens should have landed Griskenas, but the firing of Brad Soderberg ended that relationship. Nevada was his second choice but too many players at his position forced the Region XVI Player of the Year to look at Wichita State, a school that came on board when it hired new coach Gregg Marshall away from Winthrop.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do, to be honest," Griskenas said. "I liked both coaches and wanted to go to both schools. It was a tough decision."

Besides the previously-mentioned programs, Griskenas visited Idaho State and was also offered scholarships at Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, Evansville, Illinois State, Dayton and East Carolina. He gained some interest from Georgia, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Next year, Griskenas will turn in the 2,200 maximum fans he played in front of at the Bess Activity Center for sellout crowds at the 10,500-seat Charles Koch Arena.

"The gym is beautiful and I am looking forward to playing in front of sell-out crowds," Griskenas said. "They told me they even have a waiting lists for tickets."

Making the transition to the Division I level can often be tough at times, but Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said Griskenas will do just fine.

"He's played against some awfully good players here," Bess said. "I think he'll need to gain 12-15 pounds, but his best work is ahead of him.

"We were blessed that our best player was also our hardest worker. Now Wichita State is blessed and they'll know by next Christmas just how good he is."

At Three Rivers, Griskenas averaged 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and helped lead the Raiders (25-9) to the NJCAA Tournament. His role at Wichita State is expected to change, however, as he most likely won't be needed to rebound as much.

"He'll have a different role," Bess said. "He had to rebound here but there will be guys there that rebound. He'll be freed up to shoot the ball more at Wichita State."

Griskenas, who was named to the NJCAA All-American team this past season, said Marshall expects to play him at small forward and move P.J. Couisnard to shooting guard. Couisnard was second on the team in scoring last year at 11.8 points per game.

"I feel like I can do both -- shoot and rebound," Griskenas said. "I just want to play enough so I can play professional either (in the NBA) or in Europe."

Bess said he feels like Griskenas made a smart choice in choosing Wichita State but also said he wouldn't have gone wrong at either school.

"He had a lot of options," Bess said. "SLU would have had a good chance if Soderberg wasn't fired. I am a (Rick) Majerus guy, but he was hired too late in the process."

Griskenas liked the facilities at both Wichita State and Nevada but playing time and having a former coach around with him were the biggest factors in his decision. Former Raider coach Dominic Okon, although it is not official yet, looks to be heading to Wichita State to take a job in basketball operations.

"I'm sure Mantas liked the idea of having a friendly coach there," Bess said.

The Shockers went 17-14 last year and lost to Missouri State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. They advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2006 and went 26-9 under former coach Mark Turgeon, who is now at Texas A&M. This past season, the Shockers started 11-0 but finished just 8-10 inside the MVC after going 14-4 the year before.

Marshall guided Winthrop to a 29-5 record this past season and his team upset Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Griskenas becomes the second commitment to sign a scholarship at Wichita State. Marshall also got a signature from NJCAA third team All-American Ramon Clemente, a 6-6 forward from Paris Junior College.

"Mantas is skilled, athletic and a hard-playing forward," said Marshall in the Wichita Eagle. "He can really shoot the ball from the perimeter."

Griskenas plans on studying the business side of either microcomputers or information systems.