Freshman in name, 7-2 Motiejus Krivas brings international experience to Arizona basketball

Arizona’s internationally wired associate head coach had a chance to watch three Wildcats stand out at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in the Baltic country: Bennedict Mathurin leading Canada to a bronze medal finish, Azuolas Tubelis of Lithuania becoming the event’s fifth-leading scorer, and Oumar Ballo averaging nearly a double-double for his native Mali.

At the same time, in the corner of his eye, Murphy could also take a look at some other emerging European prospects, just on the off chance they might someday become interested in attending college in the United States and maybe, you know, play for the Arizona Wildcats.

Including the youngest one of all. While Tubelis starred for Lithuania, a 16-year-old fellow countryman named Motiejus Krivas came off the bench to average 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks over seven games.

The kid was already 6-11 at that point. Playing in a U19 event that included players two, three, or sometimes almost even four years older than he was.

So the fact that, more than two years later, Krivas just averaged 14 points and six rebounds for Arizona in three games last week, in just his second week of college basketball, doesn’t exactly shock Murphy.

Krivas is now almost 19 and also happens to be 7-foot-2.

“No. No. That doesn’t surprise me,” Murphy said. “He’s a very good player, but no, I’m not. I’m not very surprised. We expected him to come in and be really good.”

The surprise came in those first moments Krivas played in Latvia. Murphy, then the only assistant carried over from the Sean Miller to Tommy Lloyd coaching transition in 2021, said he noticed that Krivas was “young and mobile” during the FIBA event, which no doubt projected into good things ahead.

So a new recruitment began.

“That was the first time I saw him and then we then we really turned it up a little bit later after that,” Murphy said. “He continued to get better and better and then I think because of our success with Azuolas, that helped us out.”

By last spring, Arizona officially pulled him in. But it was never quite expected to be an easy adjustment, moving from a top Lithuanian youth club to college basketball.

“It’s way different from what I used to play,” Krivas said.

Even Murphy says Krivas still has a challenge ahead in staying consistent, continuing to deliver as a freshman playing in a new sort of game. It helps Krivas that he received a boost in development simply by matching up every day in practice with Ballo, now a returning all-conference center.

Krivas said Ballo has encouraged him to stay physical, avoid falling for shot fakes and to contest shots vertically.

“He’s a really good player. He gives me lessons every practice,” Krivas said. “He tries to help me. It’s really good that I have somebody like him by my side.”

Already after five games, Krivas has appeared a capable backup to Ballo. A week before Krivas dropped 20 points on Belmont, he even held his own at Duke’s intimidating Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In a game in which Lloyd used just eight players, saying he didn’t want to throw some of his guys into the fire right away, Krivas played 12 minutes while collecting six points and six rebounds.

UA won 78-73, vaulting to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 as a result.

“Man, it’s crazy,” Ballo said. “He’s just a freshman. You don’t really see that nowadays, a freshman coming in and stepping up, having a big moment playing the big games. Mo is a pro in this league. Even though he’s a freshman, he’s a pro. He knows how to take care of his body and he knows how to put himself in a good position to score easy basket.”

As it has turned out, Krivas has also provided a cushion of sorts for Ballo, who has been limited by several minor injuries over the past month.

Arizona’s 101-56 win over Texas-Arlington on Sunday was the latest example. Krivas had another 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting, along with three rebounds and two steals against the Mavericks, while Ballo played less than 20 minutes and took the rest of the night off.

That kept a few bumps and bruises off Ballo’s body before Arizona faces Michigan State in what is expected to be a physical, intense game on Thursday in the Palm Springs area.

“It is a big relief for me,” Ballo said. “When you’ve got a guy who can come in and do just as good as you can do and also keep foul pressure on other bigs, that’s going to help me down the stretch. I’m really grateful that we have him here.”