Augustas Marciulionis was raised in a basketball family, but the Saint Mary’s standout is making his own mark

Randy Bennett first met Augustas Marciulionis over 20 years ago when he visited Lithuania to run a basketball clinic for Marciulionis’ father, Sarunas, a former NBA player and future Hall of Famer.

Sarunas may or may not have been paying much attention to the local traffic rules, and Augustus, only 1 year old at the time, may or may not have been “buzzing” between the driver’s side and passenger side, with no car seat in sight.

“I was like, ‘This is crazy,’” Bennett said, shaking his head. “(Augustus) doesn’t even have a seatbelt on and (his dad is) whipping around these streets.”

This moment hinted at what was to come.

Nearly 20 years later, the energetic toddler had become a talented 6-foot-4 freshman point guard for Bennett. Although Marciulionis had learned the importance of car safety by the time he arrived at Saint Mary’s College, just 20 minutes east of Oakland, he still had an adventurous side that surprised Bennett.

Bennett expected that because Augustas was the son of Sarunas, the first Lithuanian to play in the NBA — who spent most of his seven NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors in the early 1990s as a skilled shooter and passer credited with bringing the Eurostep to the U.S. — Augustas would already be close to a finished product.

Instead, Bennett found 195 pounds of raw talent, full of potential but inexperienced in what it takes to succeed at this level

“You’d think because he’s a Marciulionis that it’s automatic, ‘Hey, this guy is a pro,’” Bennett said. “It wasn’t like that. He had to learn how to bring it every night.”

It took two years for Marciulionis to become a regular starter, but those early struggles laid the foundation for him to grow into the player he would become.

When Marciulionis steps onto the Rocket Arena floor on Sunday night for the seventh-seeded Gaels (29-5) to play against second-seeded Alabama (26-8) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, he will do so as a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year. His future might even surpass that of former Saint Mary’s players who went on to the NBA, like Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova.

“We’ve had a lot of good point guards,” Bennett said. “He’s at the top.”

The player known to his teammates as “Goose” credits his father for “keeping my head where it’s supposed to be.” While Sarunas is a big name in basketball back home in Lithuania, Augustas just laughs when asked if he could be considered Lithuania’s version of Bronny James, the son of NBA legend LeBron James.

“No,” Augustas said. “No, no. It’s not that.”

For one thing, Augustas would probably beat his dad in a one-on-one game if they ever played. However, he points out that Sarunas is now 60 years old and “couldn’t jump over a newspaper” because of his knees, which are no longer in shape for running up and down the court.

Even so, you can see parts of Sarunas in his son’s game. It shows in how smoothly he moves and how he often thinks ahead by a few steps.

While Bennett credits Marciulionis for taking his game to the next level this season — achieving career highs in points (14.3) and assists (6.0) while leading the Gaels to the WCC regular-season title — what he has done off the court may be even more impressive.

The 18-year-old who came to Saint Mary’s with little recognition — unless you count the Zoom call he had with Bennett during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Bennett drove around on a golf cart trying to explain Northern California to someone who had never been there — with limited English skills, has grown into a 22-year-old who is confident in himself and his second language.

“He’s grown,” Bennett said. “He’s grown as a person. He’s grown as a leader. But being over here, being in the same program, being here four years, he’s kind of taken on more and more responsibility and become a better and better player.”

One of Marciulionis’ goals is to finish his college career by helping the Gaels reach the Sweet 16 for only the third time in the program’s history

During Marciulionis’ time at Saint Mary’s, the Gaels have managed to match and, in some cases, do better than their long-time WCC rival Gonzaga. The Gaels have won the last three WCC regular-season titles. However, they haven’t had the same success as Gonzaga in March.

Marciulionis and the other senior players at Saint Mary’s understand the importance of this moment.

“We want to leave it better for the future so people will take Saint Mary’s (more serious) nationally and pay more attention so they can recruit better players (and) get more money,” he said. “We can impact that by winning a game or two more.”

To achieve that, Marciulionis will have to compete against Alabama All-American Mark Sears, who, like Marciulionis, hopes to play in the NBA next year. This will be a tough challenge, but it’s similar to growing up with a father who is a national hero and still choosing to follow in his footsteps.

“He’s a little under the radar, but what he’s done the last two years has been impressive,” Bennett said. “He’s a good player. He’s really good on both sides of the ball. He’s a good defender. He’s got a nice little gap to improve still.”