Arizona’s European tour offered an early look at what could become the Wildcats’ next offensive engine, and Ivan Kharchenkov wasted no time taking center stage.
The sophomore forward was the most productive player on the trip, averaging 26.3 points per game while shooting 58.5 percent from the field as Arizona went 2-1 against Lithuania and Ukraine. His biggest night came in Saturday’s 88-74 win over Lithuania, when the German national put up 30 points and added five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
That kind of production marks a sharp rise from his freshman year in Tucson. In 2025-26, Kharchenkov was Arizona’s fifth option on a Final Four team, yet still managed 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 49.2 percent from the field in his first college season in the United States.
Arizona’s first two games on the trip were more uneven. The Lithuanian B team beat the Wildcats 99-88 on Wednesday, then Arizona bounced back with a 107-85 win over Ukraine on Thursday. Kharchenkov scored 25 points against the Lithuanian B team and followed that with 24 against Ukraine.
With starting guards Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries and forward Koa Peat off to the NBA, Kharchenkov is expected to be one of Arizona’s main offensive pieces in 2026-27. He’ll be joined in that role by returning starting center Motiejus Krivas and incoming five-star freshman guard Caleb Holt.
The Wildcats’ frontcourt picture also includes Krivas and Nebraska transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius, who CBS Sports National College Basketball analyst Jon Rothstein identified as a player to watch. Jarusevicius averaged 14 points and six rebounds over the three-game European tour after missing all but one game at Nebraska in 2025-26, and Arizona will need him to be a real contributor off the bench next season.
Jarusevicius also got a personal boost from the trip, playing in front of family and friends just 10 minutes from where he grew up, according to a blog post he wrote for the Arizona Wildcats website. Freshman forward Cam Holmes, Idaho State center transfer Evan Otten and Clemson transfer Randall Godfrey, who is projected to start at power forward, are expected to fill out Arizona’s frontcourt rotation in 2026-27.
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