Coach Joe Pasternack fulfilled his vow to “scour the earth” to complete UC Santa Barbara’s roster for the 2022-23 men’s basketball season, receiving national letters of intent from a pair of foreign players on Wednesday.
Evans Kipruto, a 6-foot-9 and 245-pound center from Kenya, and Matija Belic, a 6-7 wing from Serbia, will bring international experience to the Gaucho lineup next season.
“It’s going to be a highly competitive environment at practice,” Pasternack said. “The guys are going to have to bring it every day.
“I think it’s going to be a very deep team, but you still have to see what the new guys really are. It’s tough losing a four-time all-league player (Amadou Sow, who is now playing in the NBA Summer League for the New Orleans Pelicans).”
Pasternack previously signed Koat Keat Tong, a 6-10 All-State forward from Irvine’s Crean Luthern High. Andre Kelly, a 6-9 All-Pac-12 forward from Cal, will also join the Gauchos as a graduate transfer.
Kipruto averaged 10.3 points on 61.9%. shooting and 6.4 rebounds last season for national JC power Barton, Kan. Community College.
“He went to high school in California at Renaissance (Academy of the Arts), which is where Koat Keat went before he transferred to Crean,” Pasternack said. “He’s got three years of college eligibility left.
“He has a lot of length … We’re really excited about him.”
Belic, a 20-year-old freshman, has played the last three years for Mladost Zemun in a top Serbian league. He averaged 16.4 points, shooting 41.3% from the three-point line, and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Although Pasternack has yet to see Belic play, he came highly recommended from the same contacts who steered him toward Serbian center Dusan Ristic when he was recruiting for Arizona. Ristic went on to earn All-Pac-12 honors for the Wildcats.
“I’ve never seen him in person but I hear he’s pretty good,” Pasternack said. “I have watched a lot of film on him. He can drive, he can shoot threes — he’s very versatile and has some athleticism.”
He’s still putting together his schedule for next season, although he recently signed up the Gauchos for the Jerry Colangelo Hall of Fame Classic.
“We’re playing Appalachian State in a tripleheader at the Phoenix Suns Arena,” Pasternack said. “We’re the undercard for the USC-Colorado State game … St. Mary’s is playing Wyoming.
“We still have one or two more games to schedule.”
He’s also searching for a replacement for associate head coach John Rillie, who was hired earlier this week to become the new head coach of the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League.
“It’s crazy how many people are interested,” he said.