Category: NCAA Basketball (NCAAB)

Lithuanian prospect Paulius Murauskas signed a letter of intent with Arizona, he told ESPN on Wednesday.

Considered one of the top international talents in the Class of 2023, the 6-foot-9 forward led the FIBA U18 European Championship in scoring last summer with 20.7 points per game.

As a 17-year-old this season, he averaged 8.4 points per game with Nevezis in the Lithuanian first division.

“My decision to go to the NCAA is all about improvement,” Murauskas told ESPN. “Especially physical improvement to be able to compete in high-intensity games. Personally, I think that this will be the best place for my further development as a person and as a basketball player.”

Murauskas becomes the seventh international player on Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd’s roster for 2023-24, joining Motiejus Krivas (Lithuania), Oumar Ballo (Mali), Pelle Larsson (Sweden), Henri Veesaar (Estonia), Filip Borovicanin (Serbia) and Conrad Martinez (Spain).

–Field Level Media

Class of 2024 forward Bryce Dortch announced Tuesday he will play for Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights’ third commitment of the recruiting cycle.

Dortch is considered a four-star prospect and No. 108 overall in his class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

The 6-foot-8 Dortch is entering his senior season of high school at Brimmer and May School. He took an official visit to Rutgers earlier this month and chose the Scarlet Knights over Virginia Tech and Temple.

“They reached out consistently, always just reaching out to me or my family,” Dortch said in a livestreamed interview on 247Sports. “… It was just the best fit for me. They made it clear how they would use me and I’m just excited.”

Though not a traditional basketball power, Rutgers and coach Steve Pikiell added Dortch to a class that includes five-star forward Ace Bailey, a consensus top-three recruit in 2024, and four-star center Lathan Sommerville.

On3 Sports ranked Rutgers’ recruiting class sixth in the country after Dortch’s commitment.

–Field Level Media

Kentucky welcomed Class of 2023 three-star forward Jordan Burks on Monday, just the eighth player on the Wildcats’ 2023-24 roster so far.

The Wildcats have the top-ranked incoming recruiting class, a six-man group highlighted by consensus top-10 players DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw and Justin Edwards. Point guard Robert Dillingham is the fourth five-star of the bunch, per the 247Sports composite rankings.

But coach John Calipari and the Wildcats aren’t getting back former National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, Chris Livingston or Cason Wallace, former starters who entered the NBA draft.

Guard Antonio Reeves entered the transfer portal but could decide to return to Kentucky, while forward Lance Ware (Villanova) and guard Sahvir Wheeler (Washington) are tranferring.

Burks was once committed to Ole Miss before backing out. Burks’ high school plays in the Overtime Elite league, and he led the league last season with 27 points per game in the regular season and 23 ppg in the playoffs.

The 6-foot-9, 190-pound Burks was ranked No. 172 overall in his class by the 247Sports composite.

–Field Level Media

North Dakota State forward Grant Nelson, one of the top players remaining in the NCAA transfer portal, is expected to commit to Alabama, several reports said Monday.

Nelson was deciding between Alabama and SEC rival Arkansas after visiting both schools.

An All-Summit League first-team selection, Nelson posted 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game over 30 starts in 2022-23. He declared for the NBA draft and received an invitation to the scouting combine before withdrawing ahead of the May 31 deadline to maintain his NCAA eligibility.

In three seasons at North Dakota State, the 6-foot-11 Nelson owns career averages of 12.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest.

With the Crimson Tide, he’ll help replace the production of forward and SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller, who is expected to be a top-three selection in this month’s draft.

–Field Level Media

Combo guard Simeon Wilcher, a high-end four-star high school prospect who decommitted from North Carolina last week, will play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s, multiple reports said Monday.

Wilcher was ranked No. 34 overall in the Class of 2023 and No. 7 among combo guards, per the 247Sports composite rankings.

He played his high school basketball at New Jersey powerhouse Roselle Catholic and had been committed to North Carolina since October 2021.

St. John’s hired Hall of Fame coach Pitino from Iona this spring after firing Mike Anderson. Pitino has since reshaped the Red Storm’s roster with several incoming transfers, three from Iona — Daniss Jenkins, Cruz Davis and Quinn Slazinski – as well as Zuby Ejiofor (Kansas), Ivy League Player of the Year Jordan Dingle (Penn), Glenn Taylor Jr. (Oregon State), Nahiem Alleyne (UConn), RJ Luis (UMass) and Sean Conway (VMI).

–Field Level Media

Three Arkansas State basketball players were arrested Saturday night and face charges of theft of $1,000 or less.

Forward Dyondre Dominguez, guard Terrance Ford Jr. and forward Julian Lual were booked by the Craighead County (Ark.) Sherriff’s Office, online records showed. They were released after about two hours.

Both Ford and Lual were part-time starters for the Red Wolves in 2022-23, their first years with the program. Dominguez committed to the school in April after three seasons at UMass.

“The Athletics Department and Coach (Bryan) Hodgson are aware of the situation and are in the process of gathering all the information,” Arkansas State said in a statement. “Once all the details have been obtained, the matter will be addressed in an appropriate manner.”

The three players are awaiting a hearing on Monday, according to KAIT Channel 8 in Jonesboro, Ark.

–Field Level Media

Former Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma announced Sunday he is transferring to Kansas State.

The 6-foot-7 rising junior chose the Wildcats over Kentucky and Alabama after a weekend visit to Manhattan, Kan.

#EMAW pic.twitter.com/DwX3812U6K

— Arthur Kaluma (@___kingart) June 11, 2023

Kaluma was the highest-ranked player remaining in the transfer portal, according to ESPN.

He averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 37 starts for the Bluejays in 2022-23. Over two seasons at Creighton, Kaluma averaged 11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 68 games (67 starts).

–Field Level Media

Former Dayton guard/wing Mike Sharavjamts is transferring to San Francisco, ESPN reported Friday.

Sharavjamts entered his name in the NBA draft earlier this spring but withdrew ahead of the May 31 deadline to maintain college eligibility.

Sharavjamts started 20 of 32 games as a freshman at Dayton this past season. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.6 assists per game and was named to the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie team.

ESPN reported that the 6-foot-8 Sharavjamts will play point guard at San Francisco, a West Coast Conference program. He chose the Dons over a list of finalists that featured Indiana, Memphis, Nebraska and Pitt.

Sharavjamts was the first citizen of Mongolia to earn a Division I athletic scholarship and goes by the nickname “Mongolian Mike.”

–Field Level Media

The Auburn basketball team has bolstered its frontcourt with a commitment Friday from junior college transfer Addarin Scott.

A 6-foot-9 forward from Dallas, Scott averaged 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds with 40 blocks in 31 games (28 starts) as a sophomore last season for Navarro (Texas) College. He improved on his numbers from his freshman season, when he averaged 6.4 points and 4.8 boards with 24 blocks in 30 games (eight starts).

Scott, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, posted on his Twitter account Friday that he was committing to play for head coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers.

“I would like to first thank all the schools & coaches for recruiting me and allowing me to be apart of your program, it was not an easy decision for me but I feel like it’s the best decision for my family and I,” Scott wrote.

Scott thanked his mother, his high school coach and the Navarro College coaching staff and the school in Corsicana, Texas.

“With that being said, I am EXCITED to announce I will be attending Auburn University! Thanks to Coach Pearl and staff for believing in me and I’m EXCITED to get to work!”

Let’s work?? ??#AuburnTigerBasketball #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/jJG3VA7ybu

— Addarin Scott (@AddarinScott) June 9, 2023

Scott is ranked No. 54 for junior college recruits in the Class of 2023, according to jucorecruiting.com.

Auburn already saw the return this offseason of big man Johni Broome, who took his name out of the NBA draft and returned for another season with the Tigers.

–Field Level Media

Louisiana star big man Jordan Brown has entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports on Friday.

The 6-foot-11 Brown recently withdrew his name from the NBA draft. If he transfers to a new school, it will be the fourth of his college career.

Brown, who was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, played one season at Nevada (2018-19) before transferring to Arizona. He sat out his first season due to transfer regulations and played for the Wildcats in the 2020-21 campaign, averaging 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds to earn Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year honors.

Brown then transferred to Louisiana and enjoyed two solid seasons. He averaged 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds in 2021-22 and 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds last season, when he led the Ragin’ Cajuns to the NCAA Tournament.

He was second-team All-Sun Belt in 2021-22 before being a first-team selection last season. He also was MVP of the Sun Belt conference tournament last season.

Louisiana fell 58-55 to Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tourney to end a 26-8 season.

–Field Level Media