NCAA Basketball: Top 10 pending 2023 NBA Draft decisions to watch next month

2. Azuolas Tubelis – Arizona Wildcats

After two seasons as a double-digit scoring starter, Tubelis became an All-American this past season in a breakout campaign. He led the Wildcats with 19.8 ppg and 9.1 rpg, shooting 57% from the field and 76% from the free throw line. The junior averaged 20.0 ppg during Pac-12 play and was neck-and-neck with Jaime Jaquez for Conference Player of the Year.

Outside of just four points in a loss to Stanford, Tubelis was in double figures in every game. That includes eight games of at least 25 points. One was a career-high 40 points on 16/21 shooting in a win over Oregon and a frontcourt that included former five-star prospect, Kel’el Ware.

Tubelis is one of the best pure post-scorers in NCAA Basketball. His consistency as an offensive player was the reason why Arizona got a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and had the guards done anything, could’ve advanced. He and Oumar Ballo was the best frontcourt tandem in the country and their coming back will make them a preseason top-5 team for 2023-24.

If Tubelis doesn’t return, Arizona could take a step back. They already lost Kerr Kriisa to the transfer portal and Ballo is a 4-year senior. The junior forward isn’t a projected draft pick at the moment but could opt to go pro overseas since he’s originally from Lithuania.