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Florida Adds Lithuanian Guard Kajus Kublickas to Complete 2023-24 Roster
Florida basketball has filled its final scholarship opening ahead of the 2023-24 season.
According to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports, Todd Golden and Co. have added Lithuanian guard Kajus Kublickas to the roster prior to its upcoming campaign.
Kublickas is the ninth new addition to the Florida roster this offseason, completing a drastic reconstruction of the depth chart orchestrated by Golden after just one season in charge at UF. He's also the third international athlete brought in since the head coach's arrival in March 2022, joining forwards Aleks Szymczyk (Germany) and Alex Condon (Australia).
Standing at 6-foot-1, the Gators' newest piece spent time performing in the second-tier affiliate of 12-time defending Lithuanian League champions Zalgiris Kaunas.
He produced as an impressive facilitator from the backcourt for Zalgiris Kaunas II, accounting for 3.6 assists in 21 appearances. Supplementing that effort as a scorer from the perimeter, averaging 8.9 points while converting 37.7 percent of his 3-point attempts, Kublickas proved to be a multi-faceted backcourt piece with high-upside playmaking capabilities.
He backed up the claim as an efficient guard prospect during his time with Lithuania’s U18 national team, compiling 6.9 points — shooting 46.9% from the floor and 45.4% from three — 4.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in 22.4 minutes across seven contests of international play.
As a result, Kublickas slots in perfectly as a piece off the bench for the Gators in the upcoming campaign. He helps patch two areas of relative weakness — facilitation and consistent three-point shooting — for a unit that is otherwise well-rounded with potential for upward growth beyond his first season in Gainesville.
He's expected to compete for rotational minutes behind UC Riverside transfer Zyon Pullin at the point guard spot.
The Gators 2023-24 scholarship roster now consists of returning pieces Riley Kugel, Will Richard, Denzel Aberdeen and Szymczyk, transfers Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr., Julian Rishwain, EJ Jarvis, Tyrese Samuel and Micah Handlogten as well as the three additions via the 2023 class, Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and, now, Kublickas.
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