Azuolas Tubelis not only college star facing stay-or-go decision

CHICAGO — The end of the NBA Combine on Sunday meant Adem Bona must soon decide if he will help break UCLA’s heart.

Players testing the NBA Draft have until 10 days after the Combine ends — 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 31 this year — to withdraw if they want to play for an NCAA school next season. Their decisions, and whether they also opt to transfer elsewhere if they do return to school, will affect the Pac-12 and other conference races all over the country.

In Arizona’s case, the deadline isn’t much of a factor. Azuolas Tubelis is not expected to return to the Wildcats, who have added three players over the past week to ensure staying nationally competitive next season.

But a number of other combine participants have stay-or-go decisions still pending, including Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, Purdue’s Zach Edey, Dayton’s DaRon Holmes, Marquette’s Olivier-Maxence Prosper, North Dakota State’s Grant Nelson, Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma and Washington State’s Mouhamed Gueye — plus Bona and Jaylen Clark of UCLA.

The Bruins are already expected to lose starters Jaime Jaquez, Amari Bailey and guard Tyger Campbell early to professional basketball, while Clark and Bona appear to be on the fence.

The Pac-12’s Freshman of the Year last season, Bona is projected by ESPN to be taken No. 44 in the draft, while USA Today has him at 46. Clark, rehabbing an Achilles injury suffered against Arizona on March 4, is considered a fringe draft pick.

“My heart is with them,” Bona said of UCLA during his combine media interview. “I do generally love the team and love every single one of my teammates. I want the best for them and I want the best for myself, also.”

Gueye, meanwhile, said he was staying in the draft though he has not made a formal declaration (WSU coach Kyle Smith was seen at the combine). The Cougars managed to pull Gueye back last season after he tested the draft the first time, but Gueye said he thinks he has improved considerably since then.

A first-team all-Pac-12 pick last season, Gueye also played like an NBA draft pick in the Cougars’ 75-61 upset over Arizona on Jan. 7, with 24 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.

“I think I showed a lot more of my game this year,” Gueye said. “I played more. I had the ball more. I was more assertive.”

Within the Pac-12 race, Arizona and USC have already made their cases to stay competitive for next season’s race.

Arizona now has 11 projected players on hand for 2023-24 after a productive recruiting week in which it landed a veteran combo forward known for aggressiveness and defense in San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson, along with a pair of Lithuanian prospects who could help immediately: strong-shooting wing Paulius Murauskas and 7-footer Motiejus Krivas

USC, meanwhile, has added renowned 2023 high school prospects Isaiah Collier and Bronny James, while Colorado pulled in potential NBA lottery pick Cody Williams of Gilbert Perry High School and former TCU big man Eddie Lampkin to its core of returnees.

But Bona and Clark, together, could help determine whether UCLA has a shot at defending its regular-season championship.

So close, yet so far

Despite being a four-star Arizona recruiting target loaded with potential — and playing just two hours away from Tucson at Glendale Dream City Academy — Arthur Kaluma has never taken an official recruiting visit to Arizona.

For one thing, he committed to UNLV during his senior year. For another, that senior year happened to be 2020-21.

“It was the COVID year,” Kaluma said. “I couldn’t take a visit.”

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So even after Kaluma decommitted from UNLV in April 2021, when both the Rebels and Wildcats changed coaches, he was still unable to visit in person despite interest from new UA coach Tommy Lloyd. He wound up choosing Creighton in May 2021.

Until the Wildcats landed Johnson on Saturday, it also appeared they might try to get Kaluma on campus this spring. Kaluma said at the Combine that he was “pretty sure” Arizona has contacted his family and that he would consider the Wildcats if he does not stay in the draft.

“Arizona is a great school, definitely a great school,” Kaluma said. “I know coach Tommy. Coach Tommy is a good person, very good person.”

However, Johnson’s commitment gave the Wildcats 11 players, eight of whom can play anywhere from small forward to center, so Arizona is not expected to recruit another frontcourt player.

Two-way players

Kaluma and Nelson are among the players riding the increasing trend of declaring for the NBA Draft and the NCAA transfer portal at the same time, to maximize their opportunities (and NIL potential) if they stay in college.

But it’s complicated. So Kaluma has a “staff” of sorts to handle the options out of the portal, just in case.

“Most of the colleges are going to my mom and my dad right now, and then they’ll come to me,” Kaluma said. “As of right now they’re handling it because I’m really focused on trying to get to the NBA.”

Nelson, the North Dakota State standout forward, has a similar plan, handing all the college recruitment to his brother, Justin. So much so that Nelson hesitated to even name the many schools that have contacted him, though Arizona had reportedly been among them before Johnson’s commitment.

“I haven’t done any recruitment yet, so I guess everything’s wide open,” Nelson said Thursday during the combine. “My brother has been huge, just helping me stay focused on this, on my goals right now.”

Tubelis out-jumped

Of the limited testing results the NBA has posted from the combine, Tubelis shot competitively but struggled in jumping and agility.

Tubelis shot 60.0% in off-dribble movement to the left side, according to the NBA’s stats site, ranking fourth of 11 players listed as power forwards, while he shot 28.0% of “on the move” shots, ranking last among power forwards.

In spot-up shooting, Tubelis recorded 36.0% in “college corner left shots,” ranking 10th of 11th among power forwards, while the Wintrust Arena scoreboard said he hit 10 of 10 free throws.

Among the strength and agility results of 14 power forwards tested, Tubelis ranked eighth on the lane agility drill (11.17 seconds) and last in three-quarter-court sprint (3.5 seconds), standing vertical leap (23.5 inches), and maximum (running) vertical leap (30.5 inches).