At seven feet tall, it's hard not to notice Kaleb Tarczewski. It's even harder not to notice his struggles with consistency throughout the season. Everyone once in a while he'll show you his true potential. But over the last five games, Tarczewski has shown us more than flashes of greatness.
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Let's throw it back to Washington State on February 15th, the tail end of the great northwest road trip. Not only was that a near perfect offensive performance for Arizona, but that was the beginning of Kaleb's rampage. Finishing 6-6 from the field, 5-7 from the line, Tarczewski totaled 17 points, just one point shy of his career high. He also added four rebounds and a block to help lead the way.
After going 19 days without a home game, it seems the big man felt good to be back in the Old Pueblo. In a 30 point win over USC, Tarczewski went at it early, scoring seven of his 15 in the first four minutes. He also added nine rebounds and a block to his stat line. His offensive production took a bit of a hit vs UCLA, scoring just five points, shooting 2-3 from the field and 1-2 from the line. But once again, he added nine rebounds and yet another block.
This past week, Kaleb spent his 22nd birthday in Boulder, Colorado, where he had another monster performance. Finishing with 14 points and four rebounds in an 82-54 win over the Buffs, it's pretty safe to say his birthday went well. And then Utah, the one circled on the calendar, the toughest road game of the season for Arizona. Jakob Poeltl, Jordan Loveridge, Dallin Bachynski; it didn't matter who was on Kaleb, he was having his way. His fourth game in nine days scoring in double figures, this time for 14 points, shooting 3-4 from the field and 7-9 at the line. Add six rebounds and a block and it seems as Kaleb Tarczewski is finally finding his rhythm.
Averaging 13 points and six rebounds over the last five games, Kaleb is bringing exactly what this team needed. Better late than never right? If Kaleb can produce at this pace going forward, Arizona might just be the deadliest team in the tournament next to Kentucky.