Arizona Basketball: Azuolas Tubelis on Karl Malone Award watchlist

With the Arizona Basketball season just around the corner, sophomore forward Azuolas Tubelis has landed on the Karl Malone Award watchlist for 2021-22.

The 2021-22 Arizona Basketball season is quickly approaching, and as the Wildcats have high hopes for this season, their success will be contingent on the play of sophomore forward, Azuolas Tubelis.

Just a freshman last year that came in as an international star with his twin brother Tautvilas from Lithuania, Tubelis also quickly became a fan favorite, and he showed off his dynamic skills and athleticism, en route to becoming one of the better players on the Wildcats and in the Pac-12 Conference overall.

Finishing the year averaging 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game in 26 games played, he was arguably the Wildcats’ most important player last season, and is also the biggest returnee from that 2020-21 team.

And with Arizona Basketball hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament, Azuolas Tubelis is going to be crucial to the teams’ success.

Coming into 2021-22, Azuolas has a lot of hype surrounding him, and with good reason too. As we are all far too aware, Arizona missed the tournament last year due to the self-imposed postseason ban, but again he was a big part of what that team did.

And with a big sophomore campaign, Azuolas is a player that could see his NBA stock rise, which means he could potentially be gone after the season.

So naturally, Azuolas has earned himself a spot on the highly coveted Karl Malone Award watchlist, an annual award that is given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top Power Forward in Men’s Collegiate Basketball.

The award is certainly a great distinction, and not just anybody is put on the watchlist. What makes the hype of the Wildcat even better is that he joins fellow Wildcat Ben Mathurin who was named to the Jerry West watchlist just days prior.