The offseason has officially begun for Arizona Basketball in the wake of a loss to Clemson in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. A roster shakeup seems imminent with the NBA Draft and NCAA Transfer portal looming, and the first few dominoes have already fallen with promising freshmen Paulius Murauskas and Filip Borovicanin hitting the transfer portal.
Arizona forward Paulius Murauskas is in the transfer portal https://t.co/iF6Slo17Kf
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) April 1, 2024
Murauskas, like former Arizona standout Azuolas Tubelis, came to Arizona from Lithuania. The 6-foot-8 forward spent one season with Arizona, where he saw sparing minutes mostly in end-of-game situations when the outcome was already decided.
Murauskas averaged just 5.1 minutes and 2.7 points per game, with most of his usage coming in the early season. He played a season-high 18 minutes in the opener against Morgan State and posted 10 points, before grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 5 points in 15 minutes the next week against Southern. After that, though, his usage plummeted but he did show a few flashes.
His best outing of the season, though, was undoubtedly Arizona's first game against Arizona State. In a mere six minutes, Murauskas hucked up two 3-pointers and both rang true. He scored an additional basket and also cashed in on all four of his free throw attempts for 12 total points while snatching three rebounds too. Arizona ended up throttling the rivals 105-60.
Borovicanin made the trip to Arizona from Serbia, but his stay will only last one season. The 6-foot-9 wing was a very small part of the rotation in a few games but was rarely fed any consequential minutes. Borovicanin played in 14 games, averaging 5.6 minutes and 2.3 points per game.
His usage tapered off abruptly following the game against Cal, where he logged 14 minutes — just one minute off his season-high of 15 against Southern. This was strange, considering he did fine in the game against the Golden Bears: 14 minutes, 6 points, three assists, three rebounds, a steal, and a block.
Borovicanin's best game in an Arizona uniform, though, was the season-opener against Morgan State. He also reached double digits for the only time this season, scoring 11 points in 13 minutes. Add in seven rebounds and two assists to boot, and he was never able to meet the bar he set in his Wildcats debut.
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