Ojārs Siliņš

Ojārs Siliņš

Siliņš with Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in 2015
No. 4 – Telekom Baskets Bonn
Position Small forward/Power forward
League Basketball Bundesliga
FIBA Europe Cup
Personal information
Born (1993-07-20) 20 July 1993
Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality Latvian
Listed height 204[1] cm (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight 98 kg (216 lb)
Career information
NBA draft 2014 / Undrafted
Playing career 2009–present
Career history
2009 DSN Rīga
2009–2010 BK Ķeizarmežs
2010–2012 Pallacanestro Reggiana Youth
2011–2016 Pallacanestro Reggiana
2016-present Telekom Baskets Bonn
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Latvia
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
2013 Estonia National Team

Ojārs Siliņš (born 20 July 1993) is a Latvian professional basketball player who plays for Telekom Baskets Bonn in the German Bundesliga. He plays at both forward positions.

Professional career

Siliņš made his professional debut aged 16 with hometown team BK Ķeizarmežs during the 2009–10 season, playing in both the Latvian Basketball League and the Baltic Basketball League (6.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in the latter).[2] Transferring midseason to youth side Stella Azzurra Roma, he participated in the Euroleague Next Generation Tournament with the team, finishing as top scorer of the Rome leg with 20.5 points per game, in addition to 5.3 rebonds.[3]

Siliņš had a trial with Italian professional side Trenkwalder Reggio Emilia, later signing a multi-year contract.[4] His first team debut was in December 2011 in a Cup game, scoring 13 points.[5] During his first complete season as a pro, Siliņš averaged 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.

On 25 April, Siliņš top-scored for Reggio Emilia with 14 points to help then get past Royal Halı Gaziantep in the EuroChallege semi-final,[6] as the side went on to win the competition.[7] He sarted all but one game during the domestic season, posting 7.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in nearly 24 minutes per game. His averages increased to 9 points and 1.2 blocks during the playoff quarterfinals series against Montepaschi Siena. Siliņš was named the second best young player in Serie A[8]

Siliņš was an early entry for the 2014 NBA draft,[9] with a good performance at the adidas Eurocamp enhancing his stock,[10] though he would go undrafted. He signed a two-year contract extension with Reggio Emilia in the summer.[11] After being hampered by injuries during the first part of the 2014–15 season, he profited from being repositioned at his natural small forward position, performing well in the title playoffs as the team reached the finals. In September 2015, Siliņš won the Italian Supercoppa for the first time in club's history. In June, 2016, Siliņš and Reggio Emilia repeated their way back to Italian League finals, but, once again, lost. Later that month, OJ announced his intention to leave Reggio Emilia after six years spent there. [12]

At the beginning of October 2016 Ojars signed a one month deal with Bundesliga team Telekom Baskets Bonn and after an excellent performances during the month signed an extension for a season despite offers from other teams.[13]

International career

Siliņš has played for the Latvian under-age sides at the Under-16, U-18, U-20 European Championships and the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.[14] With the Under-20's, he would earn a silver medal at the 2013 U-20 European Championship played in Tallinn, averaging 12 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in about 38 minutes per game.

He was invited to the senior national team for Eurobasket 2013 subsequently but was unable to answer the call-up due to an injury; again due to an injury he was forced to miss Eurobasket 2015.

In 2016, Silins finally made a debut in Senior National Team and took a part in 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men, averaging 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blockshots per game.[15]

Player profile

Siliņš is 6 ft 8.5 in (2.045 m) tall with shoes, with a 7 ft 0.75 in (2.1527 m) wingspan.[16] He's an athletic combo forward with a good physique, in addition to a decent three point shot, ability to drive-and-kick and post-up smaller opponents. Capable of guarding multiple positions, he runs the floor well, rebounds on both ends and can compete with stronger opponents in the post.[17]

Personal

Ojars is the son of a late Latvian movie and theater actor and sports enthusiast Aivars Siliņš. Mother Anita works in a theater. Also, his older sister Mara is a former actress but older brother Andrejs is a basketball writer. Ojars has also an older half-sister Elīna who's a former politician.

Honors and awards

Club career

Individual

National Team

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.