Rytis Petraitis | Bear Insider

Johnfox

3:30p, 4/26/24

Air Force transfer Rytis Petraitis tells @On3sports he will make a college choice this weekend.

His final two are Texas and Cal.

- The 6-7 forward averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. From Arlington, Texas @Rytis331 https://t.co/XulYtGPtRP https://t.co/ZQyWRcTc10 pic.twitter.com/NVJym0pZzN
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 26, 2024

Cal and Texas are his top 2

oskiswifeshusband

3:35p, 4/26/24

Hopefully he's a Cal Bear!!!

stu

3:36p, 4/26/24

I wonder if the current protests will matter to Petraitis?

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/education/2024/04/25/ut-austin-professors-students-pro-palestinian-protest-campus-live-updates/73450483007/

Johnfox

3:45p, 4/26/24

He's from Texas. However, sounds like he'll come off the bench there. Starting role is guaranteed for him at Cal.

bearsandgiants

5:43p, 4/26/24

In reply to stu

stu said:
I wonder if the current protests will matter to Petraitis?

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/education/2024/04/25/ut-austin-professors-students-pro-palestinian-protest-campus-live-updates/73450483007/

Ours are historically better. Will be interesting to see how they develop, whether our new police chief from the Capitol Police force is eager to crack skulls, and if our new Chancellor has respect for the 1st Amendment.

barsad

10:54p, 4/26/24

Exactly what does the stat sheet look like when you're saying one school's protest is "better" than the other? Number of arrests? Days camping? Zone defense by protestors vs the cops' baton-fueled offense?
Are we sure this guy wasn't in Cobra Kai?

KoreAmBear

7:31a, 4/27/24

In reply to barsad

barsad said:
Exactly what does the stat sheet look like when you're saying one school's protest is "better" than the other? Number of arrests? Days camping? Zone defense by protestors vs the cops' baton-fueled offense?
Are we sure this guy wasn't in Cobra Kai?

Fear does not exist in this dojo.

3Cats4CAL

7:49a, 4/27/24

I hope he chooses Cal but I expect him to stay in Texas.

Civil Bear

9:38a, 4/27/24

In reply to barsad

barsad said:
Exactly what does the stat sheet look like when you're saying one school's protest is "better" than the other? Number of arrests? Days camping? Zone defense by protestors vs the cops' baton-fueled offense?
Are we sure this guy wasn't in Cobra Kai?

Number of classes missed or disrupted in the name of free speech.

bearsandgiants

8:48p, 4/27/24

If we land this fella, will that be enough for people to pony up whatever Madsen needs to land that final big-man piece?

JB was a Chieftain

9:01p, 4/27/24

He's a Cal lock! Book it

Bearly Clad

9:25a, 4/28/24

For what it's worth on3 predicts him to Cal. Idk how reliable they are but that's their take

Gkhoury2325

11:52a, 4/28/24

In reply to Bearly Clad

Bearly Clad said:
For what it's worth on3 predicts him to Cal. Idk how reliable they are but that's their take

They had stojakavic as a transfer prediction to Cal for almost two weeks at 100%. They seem pretty reliable.

Cal88

12:03p, 4/28/24

Playing in the ACC has got to be a bonus for someone like him, especially given that the new ACC also includes his Dallas metro hometown.

BerkeleyBAT

12:04p, 4/28/24

NEWS: Air Force transfer forward Rytis Petraitis has committed to Cal, source tells @On3sports.

The 6-7 sophomore averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game this season. Also considered Texas.

Petraitis becomes the 7th portal commitment to Mark Madsen this… pic.twitter.com/A8YTkX1OOA
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 28, 2024

89Bear

12:13p, 4/28/24

Madsen
Can
Recruit

Cal88

12:19p, 4/28/24

Welcome Rytis!

SonomanA1

1:44p, 4/28/24

I am curious about what are the rules for transferring from a service academy?

stu

1:54p, 4/28/24

In reply to SonomanA1

SonomanA1 said:
I am curious about what are the rules for transferring from a service academy?

You're no longer guaranteed to make bird colonel.

TilWeWobble

2:01p, 4/28/24

Now it would be great to land Mahaney; stealing star players from Stanford and St. Mary's would demonstrate that Madsen intends to turn Cal into the dominant basketball school in the Bay; it's time to announce that there's a new sheriff in town!

parentswerebears

2:11p, 4/28/24

In reply to TilWeWobble

TilWeWobble said:
Now it would be great to land Mahaney; stealing star players from Stanford and St. Mary's would demonstrate that Madsen intends to turn Cal into the dominant basketball school in the Bay; it's time to announce that there's a new sheriff in town!

Two spots left….

calumnus

2:31p, 4/28/24

In reply to parentswerebears

parentswerebears said:
TilWeWobble said:
Now it would be great to land Mahaney; stealing star players from Stanford and St. Mary's would demonstrate that Madsen intends to turn Cal into the dominant basketball school in the Bay; it's time to announce that there's a new sheriff in town!

Two spots left….

I know some were counting him as a "big" but at 6'7" he is not really. I think we need to land Boyer.

calbear80

2:45p, 4/28/24

Rytis is official. Great addition to the roster as he can do it all.

Go Bears!

Johnfox

3:40p, 4/28/24

Things that stood out to me about Rytis Petraitis are

- He's an average 3 point shooter. Not the best, but can knock down 2 or 3 a game.
- He knows how to get to the rim and finish at a high rate (very crafty under the rim)
- Passing seems to be a strength (I expect Madsen to put the ball in his hands a lot)
- Petraitis does the dirt work under the rim (always crashes the boards and has a lot of rebounds and put backs)
- He is a lockdown defender (I watched some of his games earlier this season and he shut some pretty good players down. Able to block shots and steal the ball).
- His game reminds me of Jaylon Tyson. He still has 2 years left so maybe he can be a future 1st round pick.

Very good pickup!

bipolarbear

5:23p, 4/28/24

In reply to 89Bear

89Bear said:
Madsen
Can
Recruit

Always
Be
Closing

01Bear

5:29p, 4/28/24

In reply to SonomanA1

SonomanA1 said:
I am curious about what are the rules for transferring from a service academy?

On the NCAA regulations front, probably no different than transferring from any other school. But Rytis will probably be on the hook for the cost of tuition, room and board, fees, etc. that was already paid for by the government at Air Force, unless he opts to serve in the military after graduation.

Big C

10:12p, 4/28/24

A good analog for Rytis Petraitis is Cal forward Matt Beeuwsaert from the late '80s. "Beez" prepped at Mater Dei (Parade AA), played at Notre Dame for two years, then transferred to Cal. An undersized PF with all-around skills, he was one of the roster's strengths, noted for his high hoops IQ.

Later played in Europe for a while and achieved a bit of fame as a cartoonist.

Both players also have hard-to-spell European names, too. (Yes, I had to google "Beeuwsaert".)

AZ Bear

7:13a, 4/29/24

I had been thinking about making reference to Beeuwsaert too! I watched him play at Cal and had the same general impressions that you noted.

But details of exactly how he did at Cal have faded from my memory and I was reluctant to try try to spell his name so I passed on posting about him!

Thanks for doing so Big C (and allowing me to copy and paste Matt's last name!

MinotStateBeav

7:32a, 4/29/24

Maybe a Harper Kamp type player, with more outside game.

Intuit

8:01a, 4/29/24

In reply to Big C

About the Coaches (mypersonalbasketballcoach.com)

Matt Beeuwsaert (a.k.a. Coach Beez) was a Scholastic, Parade, and McDonald's All-American out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. He was an All-Orange County Player of the Year, All-Angelus League MVP, and CIF Player of the Year. He was an integral part of Gary McKnight's first CIF Championship team and was also Team Captain. In an article by Steve Fryer of the O.C. Register, Coach Beez was voted as one of the top 25 high school players of all-time to ever come out of Orange County.

RedlessWardrobe

8:01a, 4/29/24

In reply to MinotStateBeav

MinotStateBeav said:
Maybe a Harper Kamp type player, with more outside game.

Doesn't appear to have the physical structure of Kamp. But that doesn't always equate to strength.

smokeyrover

9:34a, 4/29/24

https://gazette.com/sports/air-force-sports/air-forces-petraitis-using-parents-footsteps-to-carve-out-his-own-modeling-their-perseverance/article_9b43b078-9b4a-11ed-8703-df8c0e785fbe.html

Good read on Rytis.

DaveT

11:55a, 4/29/24

Rytis Article

Good article on Rytis and why he chose Cal.

Cal88

12:42p, 4/29/24

^Great reads, thanks guys. Also confirms that our passage into the ACC is an upgrade in terms of BB recruiting, it puts us ahead of say, USC, UW or Oregon.

Quote:
Petraitis has yet to meet any of his new teammates. "It's looking like it's going to be a great program and I'm excited to be a part of it, especially the first year in the ACC," he said. "Hopefully we can make a big impact and surprise everyone.