| Vytas Danelius |
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Vytas Danelius Photo Gallery
Pronounced vee-tus dan-a-loose ... When healthy, Danelius is a physically strong player who could be one of the ACC's best rebounders... coming off a personally disappointing junior season in which he was plagued with nagging injuries all season... suffered tendonitis in his knee on the first day of practice last season and never seemed to get fully on track... the coaching staff expects big things out of a healthy Danelius this season... has a soft shooting touch and must be guarded from behind the three-point arc... he made 10 three-point field goals over the last 10 games of last season... was one of the ACC's biggest surprises two seasons ago as a sophomore... was a great complimentary player to All-American Josh Howard... earned second team All-ACC honors that season in which Wake Forest won the ACC regular season title... has a sense of urgency as a senior... worked hard in the off-season in preparation for his final year... has played in 90 games and started exactly half of those... has scored in double figures 36 times in his career... owns eight career double-doubles... has scored 754 career points, putting him well within reach of 1,000 career points... closing in on 500 career rebounds (he has 484)... played this past summer for Lithuania at the Global Games in Dallas... saw action in four games before injuring his shoulder.
2003-2004
Played in 25 games and started 13 times... averaged 17.4 minutes of action per game... missed six games and was hampered all season by nagging injuries including an ankle sprain and tendonitis in his knee... sank 17 three-point field goals (on 46 attempts)... scored in double figures seven times... had one double-figure rebound game and one double-double... had seven dunks.
BIGGEST GAMES OF 2003-04
Made 2-of-4 three-point field goal attempts on the way to 13 points in Dec. 2 win over visiting Indiana... recorded his only double-double of the season -- 13 points and 10 rebounds -- in Jan. 20 game against visiting 11th-ranked Georgia Tech... scored 10 points and made both three-point field goal attempts Feb. 15 vs. 13th-ranked Cincinnati... instrumental in late season win at Maryland Feb. 28 with a season-high 23 points and a career-best four three-point field goals... made 3-of-4 three-pointers and scored 12 points in NCAA Tournament second-round win over Manhattan (March 20).
2002-2003
Named second team All-ACC ... named to the USBWA All-District 3 Team ... played in all 31 games and started 30 times, averaging 30.8 minutes played per game ... ranked third on the team and 19th in the ACC in scoring (12.3 ppg.) ... averaged more points in ACC play (13.9 ppg.) than overall ... finished second on the team and fourth in the ACC in rebounding (7.5 rpg.) ... ranked fourth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (2.81) ... ranked fifth in the ACC in defensive rebounds (4.65) ... his field goal percentage (.510) ranked second on the team... that percentage would have ranked third in the ACC, but he did not have enough attempts to qualify ... ranked ninth in the ACC in free throw percentage (.784) ... added three-point shooting to his arsenal, making 18-of-48 attempts (37.5 percent) ... finished third on the team with 25 blocked shots ... in ACC games only, he ranked 15th in the league in blocked shots with 0.75 per game ... had five double-doubles, ranking second on the team to Josh Howard ... averaged 13.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in two ACC Tournament games ... a big reason Wake Forest led the nation in rebounding in 2003 ... his 14 rebounds against Temple on Dec. 1 and against Duke on Feb. 13 tied for the most by a Deacon player in 2002-03 ... scored a then-career high 20 points Dec. 5 against South Carolina State after going 10-of-10 from the free throw line ... bounced back from an early January slump by scoring 19 points in a Jan. 15 win over nationally-ranked Maryland ... scored 20 points in a loss at Virginia Jan. 23 ... poured in a career-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Jan. 28 victory at Clemson ... was instrumental in Wake's Feb. 13 win over Duke by scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 boards ... matched his career high Feb. 23 in win over visiting Virginia ... had a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) in regular season finale at NC State (March 8), helping the Deacons secure the ACC regular season title ... slumped in the NCAA Tournament, scoring just six points in two games.
2001-02
Saw action in all 34 games and started twice... named honorable mention Freshman All-ACC... averaged 16.8 minutes of playing time per contest... led the team in field goal percentage (.566)... struggled from the free throw line early, but rebounded to shoot a solid 72.4 percent from the stripe... averaged 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game... finished fourth on the team with 17 blocked shots... scored in double figures eight times and registered two double-doubles... after playing limited minutes in the first two games, he saw 25 minutes of action and scored a career-high 14 points in a home win over Elon in game three... was 6-of-7 from the field against the Phoenix... scored 13 points, went 7-of-7 from the free throw line and blocked a career-high four shots against South Carolina State on Dec. 7... blocked a pair of shots and pulled down seven rebounds in a key home win over nationally-ranked Marquette on Dec. 29... came off the bench for 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes in a Jan. 2 home victory against Richmond... recorded his first career double-double (11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds), went 3-of-3 from the free throw line and dished out a pair of assists in a Jan. 12 home win over Clemson... went 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line en route to 13 points in a big ACC road win at NC State... scored 13 points, grabbed eight boards and dished out two assists in a home victory versus Virginia... earned his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds at home against Duke on Feb. 21... also played well against Duke, March 9, in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament... scored 11 points, went 5-of-7 from the field and grabbed five rebounds against the Blue Devils while playing a career-high 31 minutes... saw significant action in each of Wake¡¦s two NCAA Tournament games... played 21 minutes against Pepperdine (also had eight rebounds) and played 21 minutes in the second round against 11th-ranked Oregon (seven points).
HIGH SCHOOL
Park Tudor School, 2001... played for coach Ed Kelly at Park Tudor¡K selected as an Indiana All-Star... averaged 21.5 points, 13 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game for the Panthers¡K shot 67 percent from the floor... nominated for the McDonald's All-American Game... ranked 66th among high school prospects by Prep Stars and was ranked 72nd by Hoop Scoop.
SUMMER, 2000
Played for the Lithuanian Junior National Team in the Euro Cup... helped lead that team to the finals.
PERSONAL
Full name is Vytautas (vee-tow-tus) Danelius but prefers to go by Vytas ... speaks four languages -- Lithuanian, English, Russian and some German ... hobbies include fishing and hunting ... chose Wake Forest over a number of schools ... was actually recruited to Wake Forest twice ... he verbally committed to Dave Odom's staff, but after Odom departed for South Carolina, Danelius was recruited once more to Wake by Skip Prosser ... has three brothers, ranging in age from 11 to 22 ... played for the Lithuanian Junior National Team in the Euro Cup in the summer of 2000.
