Former Saint Mary’s forward Paulius Murauskas is joining former coach Randy Bennett at Arizona State
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Former Saint Mary’s forward Paulius Murauskas is joining former coach Randy Bennett at Arizona State.
Bennett was named Arizona State’s coach on March 23 and Murauskas announced Wednesday on Instagram that he will be following his coach to the desert.
“I followed my heart and chose the place where I trust the people and feel valued not just as a player, but as a person,” Murauskas wrote. “I want to finish my college journey with the people who made the last two years so amazing and helped me become who I am now as a person and a player.”
St. John’s also made a big splash in the transfer portal, adding former Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman, and Michigan State landed 7-foot-2 Anton Bonke from Charlotte.
The 6-foot-8 Murauskas saw limited action as a freshman at Arizona before thriving in two years at Saint Mary’s. The Lithuanian forward averaged 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a junior and twice played in the NCAA Tournament with the Gaels.
Murauskas was one of the most sought after players in the transfer portal and had several offers before deciding to join the Sun Devils. He is the first major addition for Bennett at Arizona State since he was hired to replace Bobby Hurley.
“A lot of people think decisions in the transfer portal are only about money, but for me it is about people,” he posted.
Freeman played two seasons at Syracuse, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds. The 6-9 forward averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds last season, scoring at least 20 points eight times.
Freeman joins a program that won consecutive Big East championships and is coming off its first Sweet 16 run since 1999.
Bonke fills a critical need for the Spartans, who lose big men Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler and didn’t want to rely solely on 7-1 incoming freshman Ethan Taylor in the post. Bonke, a junior from the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, played limited minutes at Providence before transferring last year to Charlotte, where he averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball