Saint Mary's looks to strengthen their position within the WCC by adding Arizona transfer Paulius Murauskas. The Lithuanian native has over 1,500 pro minutes to his name in the two years before coming over stateside and playing college basketball.
A deciding factor in Murauskas leaving Arizona was the lack of minutes as a freshman: 117. However, by converting on 14 of his 27 three-point attempts, he shows that his reputation as a sharpshooter translated quickly to the PAC-12 level. This makes it feasible for Saint Mary's that he won't need much time to adjust to their style of play.
Despite the limited sample size, it's clear that Murauskas will be asked to add three-point shooting value to Saint Mary's. This will help them lower the pressure on Alex Ducas—the only Gael shooting above 36% from three.
Despite their unbeaten record in the WCC, Saint Mary's failed to continue their dominance in the NCAA Tournament. Murauskas' primary value will be adding offensive versatility and being an extra guy opposing teams will have to worry about in their scouting reports.
His primary value will be as a connective passer. Murauskas will also be asked to attack closeouts, from where he can potentially expand his offensive role. His excellent handles allow him to take the pressure off guys such as Augustas Marčiulionis and the above-mentioned Ducas. With Mahaney leaving, there's enough opportunity for Murauskas to grow into an important role early and make up for lost time during his freshman season.
The Gaels can look forward to a low-risk high-reward type of transfer in Murauskas. As an older sophomore, he brings invaluable experience combined with the above-mentioned pros. Therefore, Murauskas can be considered one of the best incoming transfers among all WCC teams so far.
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