At 19, Nedas Cholevinskas logged 633 minutes in Super League Basketball last season. No other under-21 came close. Only one other player even broke 300 minutes, and most barely cracked double digits. Three of the league’s top five under-21s for playing time were 89ers — Cholevinskas, Di-Jani Parkinson, and Timothy Nwanko.
| Player | Team | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|
| Nedas Cholevinskas | Surrey 89ers | 633.5 |
| Matthew Goodwin | London Lions | 302.9 |
| Di-Jani Parkinson | Surrey 89ers | 130.0 |
| Remy Udeh | London Lions | 43.1 |
| Timothy Nwanko | Surrey 89ers | 17.8 |
| Seth Wylie | Leicester Riders | 12.0 |
| Jamie Adair | Caledonia Gladiators | 9.0 |
| Edward Onyia | Leicester Riders | 6.0 |
| Lewis Stevenson | Caledonia Gladiators | 5.2 |
| Oscar Curran | Leicester Riders | 1.7 |
| Corey Hill | Bristol Flyers | 0.9 |
| Devontae Da Costa | London Lions | 0.1 |
All under-21 players who logged minutes across SLB competitions in 2024–25.
In a results-driven league, those minutes stand out. Surrey’s willingness to live with growing pains has given their youngest players a chance to grow on the floor rather than watch from the bench.
Skipping the College Route
Cholevinskas came through Barking Abbey, one of Britain’s most successful academies. In his final 2022–23 season he won Southern Conference Player of the Year and capped it with an MVP performance at the Hoopsfix All-Star Classic. Rather than follow the well-trodden route to a US college, he went straight into the professional game. A stint with Rytas Vilnius II in Lithuania proved a harsh introduction.
“It was tough because I didn’t get a lot of playing time and I didn’t really know why. I didn’t really feel wanted. Living there was alright because it is my home country, it was just the basketball side of it,” Cholevinskas told Hoopsfix.
Last season in Surrey he found something different — a team prepared to invest in his development rather than his immediate output. The turning point came in the Cup semi-final against Leicester, where he erupted with a shooting display that carried his team to an upset win. It was the kind of performance most players don’t reach until later in their careers: a knockout tie, against seasoned pros, with the result in the balance. Cholevinskas had it at 19. From that point on he became a central part of Surrey’s rotation.
At 6’5, he has the tools to grow into the type of wing every team wants. He is smart and versatile, long enough to guard multiple positions, confident as a shooter, and instinctive as a mover of the ball. If his late-season shooting holds and he adds the strength that often comes with age, he could become an easy-to-fit, impactful player.
Surrey’s Gamble on Youth
His rise wasn’t an accident. Surrey are the only SLB club building their identity around giving young players real rotation minutes — a choice shaped by the people leading it. Co-owner Dan Clark doubles as Team GB general manager, while head coach Lloyd Gardner spent 13 years running Barking Abbey. Both understand how decisive these years can be, and both have backed that belief on the floor.
Cholevinskas has become the symbol of that gamble. By 20 he has already gained the kind of professional experience most players don’t reach until years later. His progress shows both what Surrey’s approach can deliver — and what’s possible when a young player chooses to stay.
