Ilgauskas says he'll try to come back from fourth broken foot.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

CLEVELAND _ If Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas were 35, he said the decision would have been easy. He would have played his final NBA game.

But Ilgauskas is 25. That's why he said Thursday he is determined not to retire after suffering a broken foot for the fourth time in the past 5{ years.

"The thought of retirement crossed my mind," Ilgauskas said Thursday while speaking to the media for the first time since he broke his left foot Dec. 22. "That's why I took a lot of time to think about it. The reason I didn't choose that decision is because I've been playing basketball since I was six years old. It's been a big part of my life. It would have been hard to give up something I really like. ... I was afraid that I would look back in a few years and regret that I didn't do everything I could (to come back)."

So Ilgauskas, who has missed the bulk of five of six pro seasons, will undergo his fifth surgery next Wednesday in Baltimore. Since his first surgery in 1995, Ilgauskas has added up that he has spent "one year on crutches."

Ilgauskas will have his latest surgery performed by Dr. Mark Myerson, who last month operated on Grant Hill's ankle. Ilgauskas said he has exchanged phone messages with Hill but has not spoken to him. Ilgauskas said he has heard good reports about how that surgery went.

Including those at the Cleveland Clinic, Ilgauskas said he visited "six or seven doctors" around the country in January to discuss his condition. He said he chose Myerson because he's "one of the top surgeons in the world."

Ilgauskas offered no guaranteed that he will be ready for next season's training camp. He said is looking at the "big picture" and is most ...