Just a few months before the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season, Auburn's two international signees have finally made their way to campus. French center Narcisse Ngoy arrived on campus several days ago, and Lithuanian wing Mantas Rubstavicius landed on the Plains last week.
The international duo are two of the Tigers' tallest additions to the roster, a clear attempt by head coach Steven Pearl to fix what was a major issue for last year's squad when it came to the paint.
Rubstavicius, who stands at 6-foot-7, committed to Pearl and the Tigers back in May, but did not officially sign and report to campus until after his season ended Zalgiris in the Euro League. At 202 pounds, Rubstavicius isn't quite as wiry as a certain former Auburn wing, but still drew the comparison from Pearl.
"He's going to have a lot of similarities to Chad (Baker-Mazara) as far as the way he plays — his ability to shoot the ball, and his ability to play out of ball screens," Pearl said, per Auburn Undercover. "There's not a lot of 3 men that can do both. That's one thing Mantas will really bring to the table. He's rangy defensively. He's not a crazy athlete but I think he's got really good instincts, and he understands how to make plays at the right time."
Of course, fans (and probably the coaching staff, as well) will hope that Rubstavicius proves to exhibit less problematic behavior than Chad Baker-Mazara. The former Tiger was a fan-favorite even after getting thrown out of Auburn's first March Madness game against Yale two years ago, a game that the Tigers would go on to lose. The Auburn Family's goodwill for Baker-Mazara decreased after he ultimately chose to transfer to USC, where he ended up leaving the team before the end of their season.
Rubstavicius has a substantial professional career at age 24, having played professionally since 2018. His career began in Lithuania before he played in Australia's National Basketball league for the 2023-24 season. In 2024, Rubstavicius atteneded the NBA G League Elite Camp and played in the Summer league for the Golden State Warriors.
Auburn Undercover reports that Auburn basketball will take the Fourth of July week off before getting back to summer practices.
"I'm excited to see how (Rubstavicius and Ngoy) fit in next week," Pearl said. All we've seen is them come in on their own and do their own work while they're getting cleared. Excited to see how quickly they're able to gel, pick up the system and get incorporated moving forward."
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