While Kerr Kriisa and Adama Bal quickly busted open Arizona’s roster transition season by hopping in the transfer portal this week, the biggest decision facing the Wildcats still awaits.
And it’s not only UA coaches and their fans who are waiting to see what Azuolas Tubelis decides to do next. Scouts on both sides of the Atlantic are also watching.
After becoming a second-team All-American as a junior this season, the 6-11 Lithuanian forward is in a unique situation. He’s not considered a likely first-round NBA draft pick — ESPN rates him the No. 73 draft prospect overall — but he at least will have options in the increasingly well-paid G League and in his home country.
Or he could return to the Wildcats for a fourth season, especially if there is a suitable NIL package.
Two-way contracts between the NBA and G League, typically offered to second-round draft picks or top undrafted players, now pay just over $500,000, or half of the NBA rookie minimum, but are not guaranteed. The lesser “Exhibit 10” contracts can earn a player up to $90,000, while standard G League contracts average about $40,000.
There’s also the possibility Tubelis could command a low-six-figure deal in Lithuania.
According to sources quoted by Lithuanian news site 15min.lt, Tubelis has a European market value of about $108,000-$216,000. His European rights are still owned by the home hometown club he played for, Rytas Vilnius, but the buyout is only about $54,000 and could be easily absorbed by a higher-paying club that plays in the top-level Euroleague such as Zalgiris, should Tubelis opt for the European route.
Even if he doesn’t immediately make the NBA, Tubelis could possibly earn more money and stay in front of NBA scouts by testing the NBA draft and either staying at Arizona or playing in the G League. (Tubelis already has listed “professional athlete” as his Twitter bio.)
After the Wildcats ended their season in a 59-55 loss to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Tubelis indicated he wasn’t ready for a decision.
“My thoughts are now just to get better, take some time off and get back in the gym,” Tubelis said. “I have no idea when I’m going to play, what I want to play, what to do.”
Tubelis’ decision is one of many questions facing the Wildcats as the transition season proceeds. Among them:
1. Is there a transfer who could replace Tubelis?
Even before Princeton finally bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 on Friday, speculation began about Tigers “point-center” Tosan Evbuomwan, a skilled British big man who was named the Ivy League 2022 Player of the Year and held his own against the Wildcats and Tubelis in UA’s season-ending loss.
Ivy League rules do not allow graduate students to play even if they have eligibility remaining, forcing their current graduates to go elsewhere if they want to use their extra season of eligibility offered to COVID-year participants. (The Ivies actually did not play at all in 2020-21.)
That rule resulted in Colorado picking up Ethan Wright from Princeton and Jalen Gabbidon from Yale this season. If Evbuomwan doesn’t opt to pursue pro basketball right away, he could also soon be on the transfer market.
CBS’S Seth Davis tweeted Friday morning that Evbuomwan would be the best player in the transfer portal, saying he could start for any team in the country.
Among players who have already entered the portal, Wyoming center Graham Ike told 247Sports that Arizona is among the schools who have contacted him. The 6-9, 250-pound junior averaged 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds while leading the Cowboys to a 25-9 finish and an NCAA Tournament appearance as a sophomore in 2021-22 but sat out this season with a foot injury.
Arizona forward Henri Veesaar polishes off a slam dunk against Oregon State in their Pac-12 game at McKale Center on Feb. 4, 2023.
2. Can Henri Veesaar help?
The freshman big man from Estonia showed off perimeter skills and an ability to run the floor well for his size early this season but fell out of the rotation midway through when Coach Tommy Lloyd went with only seven players. Instead of using Veesaar to replace Tubelis or Oumar Ballo, Lloyd instead often went with a smaller lineup featuring only one true big man.
But while that sort of thing can send a player straight into the transfer portal after the season, Veesaar said in a brief interview following UA’s loss to Princeton that he was looking ahead to meeting with coaches and finding out what he needed to work on during the offseason.
Maybe that helps get him on the floor more often next season.
“It’s never something you want to do if you’re used to (playing),” Veesaar said of his limited role late this season. “But ultimately, it’s the coach’s decision. He’s gotta do what’s best for the team. For the team I got to play my role. I tried, when I get those one minute, two minutes, to do my best.”
Another freshman big man, 7-footer Dylan Anderson, appears to have an even longer road to find playing time. A two-time Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year at Gilbert Perry High School, the 7-foot Anderson played in only 15 of 35 games, averaging 3.6 minutes.
3. How about another Cameroonian?
Although highly rated African prospects Darlan Thierry and Ulrich Chomche took a recruiting visit together for Arizona’s Jan. 21 win over UCLA at McKale Center, Thierry committed to the G League earlier this month.
But Chomche is still on the market, and his stock might be higher than ever.
“Cameroon’s best prospect since Joel Embiid?” read an ESPN headline last week. “Wunderkind Ulrich Chomche is Him.”
While it isn’t clear if Chomche will choose to attend a U.S. college, ESPN said the skilled 17-year-old is finishing up high school this year while playing for the Rwanda Energy Group club and has the option to attend one this year or in 2024.
REG coach Dean Murray told ESPN that Chomche is a hard-working student and player who would attract attention from “every team in America” if he were a student in the United States.
“He’s in Africa and probably every team in America still wants him,” Murray told ESPN. “He’s got a really good attitude. You can tell that he really loves to play basketball.”
Cameroonian big man Christian Koloko spent three years with the Wildcats before the Toronto Raptors made him the 33rd pick of the 2022 NBA draft.
Arizona guard Kylan Boswell hangs on the rim after polishing off a steal with a dunk against Colorado in the first half of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center on Feb. 18, 2023. Boswell earned a technical on the play.
4. Is Kylan Boswell ready for a lot more?
Initially expected to spend this season as a senior at AZ Compass Prep, then maybe a one-and-done year at Arizona before entering the 2024 NBA draft, Boswell instead reclassified to rehabilitate his broken foot at Arizona and get an early start on college ball.
While that meant he wouldn’t play in the McDonald’s High School All-American Game next week, it instead meant he had a full year of college experience to help him take over fully at point guard for Kriisa.
After missing the vast majority of the offseason and preseason workouts with his rehabilitation, Boswell progressed steadily as the season went on, especially after New Year’s.
He also showed a poise not common to 17-year-olds, scoring 14 points at both USC and UCLA in the final weekend of the regular season while turning the ball over only once between the two games and hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers.
“He’s getting some battle scars, and that’s a huge part of development,” Lloyd said at UCLA. “We all know he’s a special player. He’s really helping his team, and we’re all comfortable when he’s on the court.”
After next season, Boswell still could find himself in that same 2024 NBA draft. ESPN’s early mock draft has him going No. 25 in it.
Cal Baptist guard Taran Armstrong makes a no-look pass during the second half a game against Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021, in Austin.
5. How many recruits will Lloyd add?
Since taking over the Wildcats in April 2021, Lloyd has recruited selectively, knowing he can pull players out of the transfer portal or international countries in the spring as needed.
He might need to do plenty of that this spring. While UA was certain only of losing grad transfers Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson, the departures of Kriisa and Bal push the number of openings to four. (UA was one shy of the scholarship maximum this season but already has signed Texas guard KJ Lewis for next season.)
A potential loss of the Tubelis twins would create six openings, assuming Tautvilas Tubelis also leaves. There is also the possibility of more transfers out. Veesaar, Anderson and freshman wing Filip Borovicanin all had the limited numbers that can lead to a decision to transfer, although Borovicanin was recruited with the expectation that he might need more time to carve out a role.
Already, UA is active with international targets and transfers. Multiple players who recently entered the transfer portal reportedly said Arizona had contacted them, including several who could help fill the loss of Kriisa, including Temple guard Khalif Battle, Pepperdine guard Mike Mitchell, Cal Baptist guard Taran Armstrong and Lamar guard Nate Calmese.
A 6-6 Australian, Armstrong experienced McKale Center last season during UA’s 84-60 win over Cal Baptist. Armstrong was held to nine points and three assists to four turnovers but this season averaged 11.3 points and 5.0 assists.
Calmese was an Arizona all-4A selection at Gilbert Mesquite High School before averaging 17.6 points per game while shooting 48.1% from the field as a freshman this season at Lamar.
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Day 1 of the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 delivered some incredible action including a historic performance by Kansas State's Markquis Nowell in Madison Square Garden and another unforgettable finish between Gonzaga and UCLA. Check out the best moments of the March Madness Mania here.
