Petras Balocka thanks his father for two things.

First, the Hawaii junior forward gives a nod of appreciation to his old man, Vytautas Balocka, for making him constantly strive to become a better basketball player.

Honors for the second item, his boisterous personality, are shared with his mother, Jurate.

“;Yeah, I've always been (a) very emotional person,”; said Balocka, a junior college transfer who hails from Vilnius, Lithuania. “;I think I take that from my father, who was an emotional guy. My mom is kind of emotional too, so I couldn't be a calm kid. I guess I gotta thank them for that.”;

The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Balocka has carried both traits - his passion for the game and his passion for everything else - with him to Hawaii this season from Pensacola Junior College (Fla.).

Through seven games for the 4-3 Rainbow Warriors, he's averaged 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game as a key big man. He's started all but one game and scores in bunches during his limited time on the floor.

Balocka is also a team leader in elpg (exasperated looks per game). It's not difficult to tell when he's frustrated; he lets everyone know it. But that's largely because of the high personal standards he sets.

Basketball was in Petras' genes. Vytautas played professionally in Lithuania for 15 years - then part of the USSR - but retired before his son ever had a chance to see him play.

So the elder Balocka became Petras' mentor once the son started playing basketball at age 7. Petras earned a spot on the Lithuanian junior national team, then left the country to play basketball in the United States at 15. Since then, he's returned home every two years or so to see his family.

A basketball evaluation from Pops is mandatory each time.

“;You know, my dad's always been hard on me,”; Balocka said. “;I think it's a good thing, because you're not going to get anywhere if somebody is constantly giving you compliments. He is never going to tell me, 'Oh man, that's it, there's nothing there you can do. You're the greatest thing.' He's always hard on me and every time I play good he tells me, 'No, OK, you did this, this, this, and that wrong.' So I constantly get back in the gym and work on something new.”;

Out of high school, Petras went to Division I East Tennessee State for a year, but transferred out due to a lack of playing time. After a successful sophomore season at Pensacola (he averaged 13.7 points and 11.3 rebounds en route to All-Panhandle Conference honors), he chose Hawaii over Rutgers and several other big schools.

Like many European big men, Balocka can shoot from distance. But his time at the Community Christian prep school in Georgia set him apart from many of his former peers by introducing him to the hard-knock American post game against top-flight opponents.

Now, he draws upon both schools of hoop. His stout appearance belies an ability to burst laterally, if not vertically, for a full repertoire of post moves (he's shooting 53.1 percent overall). He can also spot up for an accurate set shot if opponents leave him open (a team-best 45.5 percent on 3-pointers).

The Hawaii coaches have given Balocka plenty of feedback during practices. Much of it has to do on the defensive end, since he arrived with a capable offensive game and the lower-body strength to back it up.

Sometimes, he can't help but give his teammates and coaches - usually assistant Jackson Wheeler, who recruited Balocka - some feedback of his own during practices. The two have already had some memorable (usually playful) exchanges.

“;I'll always be hard on him because I think he has a lot of potential,”; Wheeler said. “;I expect a lot out of him. I know there's a lot in there. Him, me, we're fine. Off the court, it's over with and back to normal.”;

Balocka, who is considering a major in communications, feels at home in almost any situation and is a gifted linguist (he is fluent in English, Lithuanian, Russian and Polish).

But his combination of antics and tendency to speak in a foreign tongue occasionally got Pensacola coach Paul Swanson riled up.

Lasha Parghalava, his roommate and teammate going back to Pensacola, recalled one particular instance.

“;(Petras) was yelling at our teammates and they come to me to ask him to calm down,”; Parghalava said. “;I try telling him, in Russian, to calm down and my coach thought we were fighting. I tried telling my coach that I was fine with him but we both got kicked out.”; He paused. “;A lot of times.”;

Hawaii coach Bob Nash knows Balocka means well. Nash emphasizes picking and choosing spots to be emotional - when it's not a detriment to team chemistry - and having more of an even keel in games.

Balocka must be listening. He hasn't been removed from any practices yet.