Azuolas Tubelis trying to improve draft status at NBA Combine

The way the mocks have it now, Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis will be one of those guys sweating it out toward the end of the NBA Draft on June 22.

Maybe he’ll get picked. Maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll sign as a free agent. Maybe he’ll sign a two-way contract between the G League and NBA.

Or maybe, if Tubelis plays and tests well enough at the NBA Combine this week, he’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the evening, knowing he’s certain to be taken somewhere among the draft’s 58 spots.

Tubelis is one of 78 players participating in the combine, plus another eight or so who were invited after playing well during the lower-level G League Elite Camp last weekend.

Held at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena, the combine measures players’ skills and body measurements while shuttling them around for private interviews with team executives and placing those who volunteer to play in five-on-five scrimmages. It isn’t yet known publicly to what extent Tubelis will take part in the combine, but he did run through the opening drills held Monday.

Typically, it can be risky for a big man to play in five-on-fives because guards tend to dominate the ball, but Tubelis has a unique set of skills, able to hold his own physically inside while also running and passing well for his 6-foot-10 size.

As of now, though, those skills — and a junior season in which he earned consensus second-team all-American honors — may not be enough to ensure Tubelis will be selected in the draft.

Among the major “best available” boards of draft prospects, Tubelis ranked No. 68 by ESPN, No. 55 by CBS, No. 62 by NBA Draft Room and No. 73 by The Athletic. The Ringer did not have Tubelis among the only 40 players it listed.

Of the major two-round mock drafts entering this week, Yahoo had Tubelis at No. 46 while USA Today put him at No. 56. He was not listed in mocks by SI.com and Bleacher Report.

While official statistics weren’t available remotely from the first day of testing Monday, Tubelis appeared on the Wintrust Arena board among the top nine leaders in the side-mid-side shooting drill but not in several others that were posted to Twitter by NBA Big Board’s Rafael Barlowe.

Tubelis shot 53.3% in the side-mid-side drill, tying for second as of Monday afternoon, but did not appear among the leaders in “3-point star drill” (variety of 3s off movement), spot-up shooting, three-quarter court sprint, pro lane drills as well as maximum (running) and no-step vertical leaps. Barlowe’s posts showed Tubelis shot 36.0% in spot-up shooting and 28.0% in the 3-point star drill.

Player testing will continue on Tuesday, while five-on-five scrimmages are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Players are also scheduled for individual interviews with teams during the week.

While Tubelis is expected to stay in the NBA Draft pool, he has not declared his intentions formally. If he decides to return to school next season, he will have until May 31 to withdraw.

“Zu has a right to approach this any way he wants to,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said last month. “He’s been an awesome dude that’s served our program incredibly well. We’re lucky to have had him, and if we get him back another year, we’ll be lucky to do that. But we’re gonna let him go through his process and make the decision he feels (is) best for him.”

Larsson out of G League Elite Camp

Already expected to return to Arizona next season, Swedish wing Pelle Larsson pulled out of the G League Elite Camp last weekend.

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Larsson declared for the NBA Draft last month and had been invited to the G League event, but the NBA confirmed to the Star on Monday he did not participate.

The Pac-12’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2012-22, Larsson split last season as a starter and key reserve, averaging 27.4 minutes while becoming the Wildcats’ fifth-leading scorer (9.3 points per game) and arguably their best defender. He also spent last summer playing for Sweden’s senior national team.

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, eight standouts from the G League Elite Camp were invited to participate in the NBA Combine, including Princeton “point-forward” Tosan Evbuomwan, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Tigers’ upset win over UA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 16.

Other UA targets at camps

Several potential UA recruiting targets who have also entered the transfer portal have been a part of the G League and NBA camps.

Former Tennessee forward Olivier Nkamhoua, a 6-9 power forward from Finland, played in the G League Elite Camp but was not invited to the combine.

Among the NBA Combine participants is Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma, who chose the Bluejays over the Wildcats out of Glendale Dream City two years ago, and North Dakota State big man Grant Nelson. According to 24/7 High School Hoops, UA is one of 18 programs who have reached out to Nelson in the event that he stays in college.

Michigan State tip time set

The Arizona-Michigan State matchup next season has been set for 2:30 p.m. Tucson Time on Thanksgiving Day at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California.

The game will be televised on Fox after its NFL coverage of Green Bay at Detroit.

Tickets are scheduled to go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. via acrisurearena.com and ticketmaster.com, as well as at the UA, MSU and Acrisure box offices.

Called the “Acrisure Classic,” the Arizona-MSU game will be technically part of a four-team event in which Arizona is also scheduled to host a low-major opponent — to be named — on Nov. 19. It will serve as UA’s “multi-team event” for 2023-24 after the Wildcats pulled out of the Wooden Legacy field.

Wasserman to represent Henderson

The Wasserman agency group posted a graphic to social media welcoming Cedric Henderson to “Team Wass,” indicating its basketball division will represent the departing UA forward.

A fifth-year grad transfer who arrived from Campbell last summer, Henderson isn’t considered an NBA Draft prospect but is a versatile combo forward who averaged 8.1 points while shooting 46.2% overall and 40.2% from 3-point range for the Wildcats last season.