March 17, 2002

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser has been known to drop a Lithuanian word or two into casual conversation.

It's Prosser's way of trying to narrow the language gap with two of his players, senior Darius Songaila and freshman Vytas Danelius. They're Lithuanian.

Prosser can pronounce 10 or 12 words, including "pasitikejimas," which means "confidence."

"He's a funny guy. He tries to learn some Lithuanian," Songaila said. "He uses it all the time. I don't think it helps, but it shows he cares about you as a person."

Songaila has lived in the United States for five years and speaks English well. Danelius has been in the country for two years and is still getting comfortable with English.

"Vytas doesn't know a lot of things," Songaila said. "He's still young. I know my way around and I try to show him."

Prosser, in his first season at Wake Forest, has had few foreign-born players.

"I think my Lithuanian probably isn't as good as his English," he said, referring to Songaila. "Those two guys are really a delight to coach."