Kaleb Tarczewski close to extension with Olimpia Milano, per report

Photo by Juan Navarro/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Kaleb Tarczewski has had a successful run in Italy, and it looks like he’ll be there a bit longer.

The former Arizona Wildcats big man is close to an extension with Olimpia Milano, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, an Italian news outlet (h/t Sportando).

Other than a brief stint with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League in 2016-17, Tarczewski has spent his entire four-year pro career with Olimpia Milano.

This year, he started in 39 of the 49 games in which he appeared and averaged 8.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 65.5 percent from the field and 68.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Olimpia Milano plays in Italy’s top league (Serie A) as well as the EuroLeague. Before the coronavirus crisis put the 2019-20 season on ice, Tarczewski’s team was 14-7 in Serie A and 12-16 in the EuroLeague.

Olimpia Milano is led by former San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Ettore Messina, one of the most accomplished coaches in Europe.

Before heading overseas, Tarczewski spent four seasons at Arizona and was the starting center on the 2013-14 and 2014-15 Elite Eight squads.

Though his career numbers—8.8 PPG and 6.5 RPG—don’t pop off the page, Tarczewski was a tremendous asset on defense because of his rare blend of height, strength and mobility.

He is arguably the best player Arizona has had in the Sean Miller era when it comes to hedging ball screens, a big reason the Wildcats often had elite defenses with Tarczewski at center.

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