As the Arizona State men's basketball season rolls along, the upstart Sun Devil team takes each game to find their style and carve out their roles in the Randy Bennett system.

Ben Defty's presence in the paint. JRob Croy's three-point shooting. Emmanuel Innocenti's defense.

Paulius Murauskas brings all of it.

Murauskas, after being named to the Big 12 Starting Five of the Week after his first two games in Tempe, helped ASU find their third win of the year with a 22-point performance. Murauskas added 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to his tally in the 85-63 victory.

After three consecutive 20-plus point performances, including a career high 33-point night vs. UNCO, it is safe to say that Arizona State may have it's next star in the making.

Lithuanian Army Knife

While the points column sticks out the most, Murauskas makes his living off doing a little bit of everything. Exactly why he is the prototype of what Randy Bennett likes to see in his program.

On top of his 20-plus-point outings, Murauskas has nine or more rebounds in two contests, along with multiple steals in two of the three games. He even has some assists, as a sprinkle on top.

"Paulius is Paulius. He's got a lot. He's really improved as a leader, and he's gotten tougher. He's pretty tough, and he draws fouls every night," ASU HC Randy Bennett said. "He's strong, so that's one of those deals. He's gonna put whoever's guarding him in foul trouble, usually. So, I give Paulius a lot of freedom. He's trying to win, and that's number one."

Too Much To Handle

As Bennett mentioned, the main key to Murauskas' success has been his ability to get to the free-throw line.

"He's an interesting player because he draws fouls. You can lose a good player probably to foul trouble at some point in that game," Bennett said. "He's good at it. He's big. He's strong. Big part of what we do is playing off him, and you just gotta you gotta make some tough decisions on the other bench as far as what you can do, how you can guard him."

Paulius has shot seven or more free throws in each of the first three games, including a 10-13 night from the line vs. Hofstra.

He has made the most of these opportunities, as well, going 26-for-32 (81%) from the charity stripe.

Sky is the Limit?

Murauskas has already earned the preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award and a Karl Malone Award Watch List selection before entering the season. A week into the schedule, he notched the Big 12 Starting Five nod.

At just the beginning of the journey, what could be next?

Murauskas was already on the NBA Draft radar at Saint Mary's, but his time in Tempe could take him to the next level. Paulius was featured in the Top 100 Prospects for the 2027 NBA Draft on ESPN.

Wherever he ends up, the Sun Devils will need him to continue this tear if they want to raise their own ceiling as well.

"There's no question who the leader is. He's the leader," Bennett said. "Paulius has done so well with that. Paulius takes pretty good shots, and he cares. He's got to score and rebound for us to win, so him taking shots and being aggressive, we need it."