Benas Veikalas (born 24 September 1983) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player. He can play both guard positions, but prefers the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

position.

Early career

Born in Joniškis, Veikalas moved to the United States at the age of 18 and played basketball at Horizon High School in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, winning a state championship. After high school, he was recruited by Mike Dunlap to play for

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver ...

, an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

two time National Championship team. He led the team his senior year, averaging 9.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 22 minutes per game.

Professional career

Veikalas returned to Lithuania for his first season as a professional. He played for BC Nevėžis of LKL. After two successful seasons, he moved to

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and signed with BK Prostějov. With BK Prostějov, Veikalas led the team in scoring, played Euro- challenge, and the team finished runner up in the National Title games, 2 years in a row and named to the Czech all star team. After 2 seasons with BK Prostějov, In 2011, he joined

Telekom Baskets Bonn Telekom Baskets Bonn is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball league in Germany. The club's s ...

. With Telekom Bonn, he led in scoring, was voted to the National All Star Team, was Voted to All Decade Legend team, made 3 appearances in the top 4 German national cup, played across Europe in the Euro-Cup, and was team captain. In the summer of 2012 he was named as alternate to the Lithuania National Team for the Olympic Games in London. In 2013, Veikalas extended his contract with the team for two more seasons. In 2015, and 4 years in Bonn, Veikalas signed wit
S.S. Scandone
Veikalas played in the Euro-Cup, National Italian Top 4, and finished in the top 4 of National Playoffs, and was voted to the Italian All Star Team. Veikalas returned to Germany to finish his career in 2016-2017
BG Goettingen
Veikalas was offered an additional contract in Gottingen, however decided it was time to retire. Since retiring he has gone to coaching his children in the USA in both school teams, rec and AAU. He also gives private lessons to up and coming basketball players.

Personal life

Benas Veikalas is married to Stacey Veikalas and they have 3 children. Anthony Veikalas, Vincas Veikalas, & Amber Veikalas.

References

External links

Metro State Roadrunners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veikalas, Benas 1983 births Living people BC Nevėžis players BG Göttingen players Lithuanian men's basketball players 21st-century Lithuanian sportsmen Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in Germany Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the United States Metro State Roadrunners men's basketball players People from Joniškis Sportspeople from Šiauliai County Shooting guards S.S. Felice Scandone players Telekom Baskets Bonn players