Rapolas Ivanauskas battled through a five-month recovery his freshman year at Northwestern after shoulder surgery in October 2016. He was cleared in April 2017 and played for a couple months. Then during a pickup basketball game, he dislocated his shoulder again. Throughout his two years at Northwestern, Ivanauskas felt he was only 100-percent for a handful of days at best.

“It was pretty arduous, pretty frustrating,” Ivanauskas said.

He underwent surgery again in December 2017. During Colgate’s summer sessions, Ivanauskas still hadn’t been cleared, forcing him to do non-contact drills. But now that he’s cleared and back in action, Ivanauskas feels there is more work to be done.

“I still feel like i’m learning new things about myself everyday,” Ivanauskas said. “I feel like i’m still not playing like I truly can be.”

Feeling as if he had fallen behind from almost two years of being at less than full strength, Ivanauskas decided to transfer away from Northwestern, which is about 40 minutes from his home in Barrington, Illinois and moved 735 miles to Colgate. He has started in all five of the Raiders’ games this season, tallying four double-doubles and leading the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game. Colgate’s (4-1) leading scorer and rebounder faces off with Syracuse (2-2) in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night.

Colgate head coach Matt Langel said it’s important to find an athlete who wants what your team has to offer. For Ivanauskas, the Raiders offered an opportunity to play, and a lot.

Langel had known Northwestern’s head coach, Chris Collins and one of its assistant coaches, Brian James, for most of his life. Through those relationships, Langel had some insight on Ivanauskas.

“He’s got strong values and great morals,” Langel said. “He’s a good human being. He’s a good teammate. He’s a hard worker.”

Courtesy of Colgate Athletics

The strong reputation of Ivanauskas has already proved true to his new teammates at Colgate.

“He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, he’ll work hard for you,” Colgate guard Jordan Burns said. “And you know he truly and genuinely cares about everyone who’s in his life, and he wants the best for everybody.”

On the court, the addition of Ivanauskas, a 6-foot-10 forward, to the starting lineup added length and stretched the floor. The Raiders can now flash a lineup in which everyone can shoot the 3, Burns said.

Transferring away from Northwestern to a school much further from his home has been hard, Ivanauskas said, including leaving his family and all of his best friends. But the people at Colgate, his teammates, and the coaching staff have welcomed him in with open arms, treating him as an important part of the team from day one.

Through everything Ivanauskas has gone through, he is humbled to be back on the court.

“Just happy to be playing again and really blessed to be playing again,” Ivanauskas said. “And just happy with the opportunity because there were times where I felt like through my injuries and things it was gonna be really hard getting out and being able to play well again.”

Published on November 21, 2018 at 8:27 am