Paulius Murauskas (F | 204 cm | ‘04) ~ Lithuania

20.7 pts, FG2-55.1%, FG3-29.0%, FT-86.5%, 6.0 reb, 2.7 ast, 1.4 st, 3.3 to, 0.9 blck

The scoring champion of this tournament. Murauskas showed his scoring capabilities and towards the end of the tournament he gave me the feeling that he is going for this title and he took every opportunity to score. Offers a lot of flexibility as a forward that can create shots for himself, handles the ball well while also knows how to move without the ball and run the floor. Still needs to put more work on his three point shooting but hard very good numbers from the FT line which is a promising sign. Can play physically and with a lot of contact too and is an adequate defender but the tools are there to be even better on that side of the floor.

18 pts, FG2-61.5%, FG3-53.8%, FT-64.3%, 13.0 reb, 2.2 ast, 0.5 st, 2.5 to, 1.8 blck

Paulius spent this past season on loan in Kedainiai Nevezis so it was good to see him in white and green again. He had a great all around performance and yet again proved to be one of the best players in his age group. Had a bit of a shaky start, but quickly adjusted and his performance in the Final was the main reason why Zalgiris was able to get back in that game, but in the end, wasn’t enough. Paulius brings a lot of versatility and is a nightmare for opponents. Still needs some work on his ballhandling skills, but can play – inside, outside, face up and back to the basket. This time also added 3 point shot to the mix, converting over half of his attempts and dropping 6 threes in the Final. He works hard on his craft, and this time showed quicker release and if the shot is there to stay it would give him even more flexibility in the future. Always with a chip on his shoulder, likes to talk, tough physically and mentally. Additionally, it was good to see him step up as a leader, showing support and giving advice to younger players. Performed defensively as well, but in my opinion, there is still more to him on this end of the court.

(Written by Igor Chytrzynski)

15.5pts, 2FG-65.4%, 3FG- 23.5%, FT-61.5%, 7rebs, 1.3ast, 2.3stl, 1.8to, 0.5blks

2004-born Paulius was a top scorer and rebounder for Zalgiris and got recognized with an All-Star five honours. Nice to see him expanding his game in the lane, looked a lot more confident driving straight all the way to the basket than in the summer. Was able to finish strongly around the rim, played through contact as well as energized himself and his team after big plays.

Looks tough- minded and to have a very competitive nature, wasn’t backing down despite playing against two- year older opponents and even at times seemed to be enjoying himself having physical scraps inside with bigger players. Needed to keep reminding myself he’s only 2004 as he was on par with the rest of the competition for the most part. Great body with impressive wingspan and an already good level of strength, showed some defensive versatility performing pretty well both inside and outside, done an especially good job on Victor Wembanyama, trying to make his life as difficult as possible, limiting his performance to 0 points when defending him.

Has a tendency of picking up silly fouls, needs to be more careful, was too aggressively battling his way through traffic for rebounds, sticking his elbows out on offense or jumping over the backs of other players resulting in foul troubles which for example significantly limited his performance in the Final. Rather average shooter at the moment, takes a while to set his feet and pull off, don’t impress with his percentages both from behind the arc and FT line but doesn’t get discouraged and keeps taking his chances.