When Florida announced the signing of point guard Kajus Kublickas, it wasn’t a common name among American recruiting circles. That’s because Kublickas, a native of Lithuania, wasn’t in the American system at all but instead came from the development program of Zalgiris, the top club in all of the basketball-crazed nation of Lithuania and one of the best teams in Europe. Coming to Gainesville he didn’t have much opportunity to play as a freshman given he was behind Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton, but he’s someone loaded with offensive talent that has received high-level coaching, and whenever he’s called upon he’ll likely be ready to contribute.
With Kublickas not getting many opportunities as a freshman there isn’t a lot to go off of film wise when it comes to seeing where he is on his development journey, but we did get to see him play a lot of minutes against good competition this summer when Kublickas played for Lithuania in the European Under-20 Championships, an event that was also attended by Urban Klavzar who was playing for Slovenia. Despite being a small nation Lithuania has always done well in international competition, and they played extremely well against bigger nations with Kublickas running the point.
Ultimately Kublickas averaged 11.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists leading Lithuania to a 5th place finish–an excellent showing playing against European powerhouses. While his numbers were really good, it doesn’t tell the whole story of just how important Kublickas was an how pivotal he was to Lithuania due to the fact they played one of the purest forms of team basketball you’re ever going to see, whipping the ball around unselfishly and always making the extra pass, to the point where no one on the team put up huge individual numbers. This is something that speaks well to what Kublickas will do whenever he does get his chance with the Gators, because while he possesses a lot of individual scoring ability and is known in Europe for his scoring–he is more than willing to be unselfish and look for his teammates first. Of course, if he needs to–he can go get a bucket one on one, using his tight handle and quick first step to knife into the paint and finish.
One area of concern was his three-point shot as he shot just 27% at the tournament, but that shouldn’t be seen as any major concern. He had to take some late clock heaves that hurt his percentages, and when you look at the sample size of his career he has been able to knock down shots at a good clip. With many of his attempts off the dribble at the Euro U20s you’ll also hope he gets easier opportunities at Florida off the catch, and he should be capable of knocking those down responsibly.
Defensively Kublickas was solid, but this is going to be the area of biggest concern when it comes to him ultimately playing a regular shift in the SEC. Kublickas is just 6’1” and he’s not particularly long and his frame isn’t built out, so if he’s going to be competitive he’s going to have to be extremely quick and intelligent. Right now the intelligence piece is there, but he’ll need to continue to work on his quickness to the point where he can be a pest to play against on the ball, because he isn’t athletic or long enough to be a responsive defensive player.
Right now the Gators will be starting veteran guard Walter Clayton at the point, and they also want Alijah Martin to get some opportunities there. Denzel Aberdeen is someone who is capable of playing that role as well, bringing huge defensive ability and length to that position. The Gators also brought in Urban Klavzar, a point guard with loads of professional experience. It’s tough to see the pathway to Kublickas playing a significant role for this team, but he’s a talent that should be nurtured and one that will be ready to go if called upon. Florida brought in Kublickas to be a multi-year program piece, and right now they are happy with his development, and now the only question is when his opportunity could come.