Arizona’s Mathurin, Tubelis go in top-50 of ESPN’s 2022 NBA mock draft
Apr 20, 2021, 1:26 PM
Bennedict Mathurin #0 of the Arizona Wildcats high fives Azuolas Tubelis #10 after a three-point shot against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half of the NCAAB game at Desert Financial Arena on January 21, 2021 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Even though we are still months away from this year’s NBA draft, it’s never too early to look ahead at next year’s class.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony released his 2022 mock draft on Tuesday with a couple of familiar names from Tucson making the list.
Two Arizona Wildcats made it into Givony’s top 50, including guard Bennedict Mathurin and forward Azuolas Tubelis.
ESPN used its basketball power index projections from the remainder of the 2020-21 season to order the mock and reflect which traded picks might convey in 2022
In the first round of his mock draft, Giovony has Mathurin going 18th overall to the Golden State Warriors.
During his freshman year, Mathurin averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
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The 6-foot-7 guard was also named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.
He strung together a couple of good performances, including a 31-point, eight-rebound outing against Oregon State in mid-January.
Mathurin also put up a double-double against the Washington State Cougars, going for 24 points and 11 rebounds in early January.
In the second round of Givony’s mock draft, Tubelis was selected by the New York Knicks with the 47th overall pick.
The 6-foot-11 forward from Lithuania also made the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team alongside teammate Mathurin.
Tubelis appeared in 26 games for Arizona last season while posting 12.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
The 2022 draft is headlined by Paolo Banchero (Duke), Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) and Jaden Hardy (undecided), who are the first three off the board in Givony’s mock draft, respectively.
