Arizona Basketball: Breakdown of international players from 2020 class
By Ian Mumm
Arizona Basketball newcomers – Azuolas and Tautvilas Tubelis – Lithuania – C, SF – 6’9/220, 6’6/190
Azuolas, the top Lithuanian and European prospect, is the most recent signee for Arizona. The ANGT Kaunas MVP averaged 20.5 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.8 BPG for Rytas Vilnius and 16.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.4 APG and 1.5 SPG for Perlas in the Lithuanian second division. He recently joined Rytas Vilnius in the country’s top division, prior to signing with the Wildcats.
His game continues to get better season after season and has a lot of ability to bring to the program. Azuolas is a back-to-the-basket post player with strong court vision and passing ability and is not selfish with giving up the ball for a better shot. He possesses the skills to put the ball on the floor, from the perimeter or his post-position, to attack the basket. He translates that into his biggest plus, which is navigating traffic around the rim and finishing through contact in creative ways. Azuolas should see plenty of playing time next season and an intense camp battle between the four bigs on next year’s roster can be expected.
His brother, Tautvilas, has shown very little internationally to evaluate and his game is more of a mystery at this stage. He only played seven minutes in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament and has not signed with a team in the Lithuanian league or that of any other country prior to arriving in Tucson. Given the crowded roster constructed this offseason, it is likely we see him redshirt and develop with the team for at least another season.