2023 Recruiting: SF Matas Buzelis

[seeya27]

 

[HooperScooper]

Connecticut: "It was really good. I liked everything to be honest. They have an awesome campus."

Crossroads Elite: 2023 Matas Buzelis makes a statement, discusses visits

ANDOVER, Kans. -- Just outside of Wichita, the 2021 edition of the Crossroads Elite Invitational took place over the weekend. One of the nation's premier camps for freshmen,

247sports.com

 

[Matrim55]

I'll be 0% surprised if this kid ends up a top 10 player in the class. We'll be on him til the end, but it's going to be a tough go.

 

[THC]

I'll be 0% surprised if this kid ends up a top 10 player in the class. We'll be on him til the end, but it's going to be a tough go.

After Bowen, my second biggest wish for the 2023 class.

 

[Dove]

They to get bacon jalapeno motzah ball soup on the menu next time he is here.

Game over.

 

[HooperScooper]

I'll be 0% surprised if this kid ends up a top 10 player in the class.

Considering Eric Bossi, one of the guys who does the rankings, thinks so then I think it will probably happen.

We haven't updated our 2023 rankings since the spring but Buzelis has been in line for a big bump for a while now. In fact, he's made a very strong case for five-star status and is pushing for at least the national top 10 and he thinks he has proven he could be even higher.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

for those who watch this stuff, how does Buzelis compare to Griffiths? Obviously we'll be recruiting both, but do they project as same position/player type in college?

 

[husky429]

for those who watch this stuff, how does Buzelis compare to Griffiths? Obviously we'll be recruiting both, but do they project as same position/player type in college?

The better comp is Bowen. I expect we're recruiting them for the same spot.

Buzelis is a stretch 5 or 4. Bowen probably more exclusively a 4.

Bowen = Akok role
Buzelis = Johnson role

Griffiths is a 3. Maybe even a 2.

 

[Burnsbros23]

The better comp is Bowen. I expect we're recruiting them for the same spot.

Buzelis is a stretch 5 or 4. Bowen probably more exclusively a 4.

Bowen = Akok role
Buzelis = Johnson role

Griffiths is a 3. Maybe even a 2.

He’s not a 5 at all

 

[karstenkibbe]

The better comp is Bowen. I expect we're recruiting them for the same spot.

Buzelis is a stretch 5 or 4. Bowen probably more exclusively a 4.

Bowen = Akok role
Buzelis = Johnson role

Griffiths is a 3. Maybe even a 2.

To my non-expert eye, Buzelis’ game looks a heck of a lot more skilled and multifaceted (Luka Doncic comes to mind) than Johnson’s.

 

[Umami Zen]

IMO.. Buzelis has a similar floor game to Kyle Filipowski. Sees the floor well with the ball in his hands

TBB/Griffiths/Buzelis will all benefit from a college SnC Program.LOL

 

[Ricker]

Griffith self describes as a tall guard, so a 2G and if he was on the floor with 2 other guards you might call him a wing, but he might see it as playing guard in a 3 guard lineup.

Buzelis is a swiss army knife player like Karaban is. In some of these competition games he brings the ball up and initiates the offense. He has said and takes pride that he has point guard skills. In the Brewster lineup at Avon Old Farms the team has ball handling guards and he played off the ball. In those games he spots up from 3, cuts to the rim without the ball, drives to the rim with the ball, and aggressively follows his 2 point shots to compete at the rim for tip ins. He has long rangy arms around the rim playing the way we all want Polley to play. I think it is just good enough to say Buzelis and Karaban are mostly frontcourt players. The key attribute is that they score efficiently and make other players better. Johnson & Bowen are more defined at that stretch 4 rim running rim protecting role. We are geographically so lucky to have these guys in our recruiting footprint for relationship building with the staff, and, with the fact that they know each other and seem to like playing together.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Perhaps a 2023 class of…

PG/CG: Castle
SG: Griffiths
SF: Bowen
PF: Buzelis

Griffiths, Bowen, and Buzelis are somewhat interchangeable position wise imo. Bowen specifically is a more skilled version of Akok that could play majority of his minutes at the 3. Buzelis plays like skinner version of Flip.

That class would be ok I guess.

 

[Son of Robert]

Griffith self describes as a tall guard, so a 2G and if he was on the floor with 2 other guards you might call him a wing, but he might see it as playing guard in a 3 guard lineup.

Buzelis is a swiss army knife player like Karaban is. In some of these competition games he brings the ball up and initiates the offense. He has said and takes pride that he has point guard skills. In the Brewster lineup at Avon Old Farms the team has ball handling guards and he played off the ball. In those games he spots up from 3, cuts to the rim without the ball, drives to the rim with the ball, and aggressively follows his 2 point shots to compete at the rim for tip ins. He has long rangy arms around the rim playing the way we all want Polley to play. I think it is just good enough to say Buzelis and Karaban are mostly frontcourt players. The key attribute is that they score efficiently and make other players better. Johnson & Bowen are more defined at that stretch 4 rim running rim protecting role. We are geographically so lucky to have these guys in our recruiting footprint for relationship building with the staff, and, with the fact that they know each other and seem to like playing together.

Excellent post @Ricker , thanks for the clarity on these players. I'm thinking if we get two out of these three we would be absolutely killing it.

 

[husky429]

I was thinking of the wrong tall white kid. Haven't seen Buzelis play more than a few minutes fwiw.

Bowen is definitely not playing a lot of minutes at the 3 with his current skillset though. We'll have to wait to see how his game changes at Brewster for that

 

[BGesus4]

Perhaps a 2023 class of…

PG/CG: Castle
SG: Griffiths
SF: Bowen
PF: Buzelis

Griffiths, Bowen, and Buzelis are somewhat interchangeable position wise imo. Bowen specifically is a more skilled version of Akok that could play majority of his minutes at the 3. Buzelis plays like skinner version of Flip.

That class would be ok I guess.

Yeah a 5 star caliber player at every position would be acceptable

 

[HooperScooper]

Yeah a 5 star caliber player at every position would be acceptable

Barely. We would still find things to b!tch about.

 

[t8per]

The 2023 class is LOADED with 6'6 - 6'9 wings.

Taylor Bol Bowen, Matas Buzelis, Reid Ducharme (who will all play together at Brewster this year), as well as Gavin Griffiths and Justin Edwards (who Hurley really focused on at Peach Jam).

Realistically, we can only take on one or two of these guys (considering we'll probably be in the market for a PG and C as well).
It'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

 

[THC]

Perhaps a 2023 class of…

PG/CG: Castle
SG: Griffiths
SF: Bowen
PF: Buzelis

Griffiths, Bowen, and Buzelis are somewhat interchangeable position wise imo. Bowen specifically is a more skilled version of Akok that could play majority of his minutes at the 3. Buzelis plays like skinner version of Flip.

That class would be ok I guess.

Don't forget Ducharme, and Miranda. A class of 6 it is.

 

[Matrim55]

I'll be 0% surprised if this kid ends up a top 10 player in the class. We'll be on him til the end, but it's going to be a tough go.

That was quick.

ESPN Basketball Recruiting - Player Rankings

Where do the nation basketball recruits rank? Check out the player rankings on RecruitingNation.com

www.espn.com

 

[imno1]

That was quick.

ESPN Basketball Recruiting - Player Rankings

Where do the nation basketball recruits rank? Check out the player rankings on RecruitingNation.com

www.espn.com

View attachment 69574

Obviously the rely on your expert evaluations

 

[lange10]

Could Buzelis and Bowen exist together on the court? Not very familiar with their games.

 

[HooperScooper]

Matas Buzelis -- Currently on a visit to Wake Forest, Buzelis was straight up spectacular and clearly the top performer of the event. Pushing 6-foot-10 his ability to handle the ball, shoot and create had me thinking that he was like some type of young, new age Toni Kukoc. Obviously, I’m not expecting him to be that good before he’s done, but I do think he’s got a bright future. Currently a four-star prospect, Buzelis will be a five-star when we update 2023 rankings and he’s pushing for the top 10, maybe even top five nationally. He’ll visit Florida State at the end of the month and recently saw Connecticut, DePaul and Kansas unofficially.

Crossroads Elite Invitational: Bossi's class of 2023 standouts

ANDOVER, Kans. – The Crossroads Elite Invitational camp has now established itself as one of the top places in the country to see prospects from the junior class and

247sports.com

 

[alexd]

I'm still waiting for our first Lithuanian born player to suit up for us. I'm finding mixed info on Buzelis. I know he is from Chicago which has a huge Lithuanian community. But I can't find defintive info on whether he was born in LTU and came here with his parents or was actually born here. Honestly now, I don't care. I just want this young man in a Husky uniform.

 

[Ricker]

Could Buzelis and Bowen exist together on the court? Not very familiar with their games.

I hope so, Buzelis and Bowen play on the same Brewster team now and looked fantastic playing at Avon Old Farms in the first game before Bowen tweaked a wheel and sat out the next 2. Ducharme is also on that same Brewster team. Griffith plays with Bowen now on the 2023 AAU team, and Karaban has played with Bowen when Bowen plays at times on the 2022 Expressions team. I assume the 2022 and 2023 AAU teams must practice together and that would mean Griffith as well as Bowen and Karaban. They all know each other well. The strength with Buzelis is that he facilitates everybody's game because he draws attention and moves the ball as a willing and able passer like Karaban. Bowen also steps out and capably hits the 3, but he is less prolific and only takes 1-4 attempts in a particular game.

The issue for us will just be how many frontcourt players we have on board when 2023 rolls around. Clingan, Karaban, Johnson, would be expected. Sanogo could still be here, Akok eligibility wise could be here, Springs also. If they all came back, (which I doubt), I think we would only have room for 1 of Bowen, Buzelis, and Miranda

In the natural order of things we only have room for 3 players from the 2023 class. We have a full 2021 roster. In 2022 we lose Whaley and Polley and gain Clingan and Karaban. Whether the Cole, and/or Martin scholarships are also open for 2022 or deferred to be 2023 openings will depend on whether they use the Covid year. Gaffney's scholly would be #3 if he didn't use his Covid year.

Guys I like so far:
Cole replacement targets: Castle or Wilcher or Westry 2022 (long shot but in top 10)
Gaffney replacement: Griffith or Edwards over (Ducharme, ...
Martin replacement: Bowen, Buzelis, Miranda
Other replacements: (Any of the above guys)