Auburn basketball just fired general manager Brian Kloman, just nine days before their season opener against Southeastern Louisiana. Talk about a bombshell drop. This isn’t just a personnel change, this is a full-blown eligibility nightmare involving Lithuanian wing Mantas Rubstavicius, a guy Auburn literally paid €300,000 to get on campus only seven months ago. Kloman, who was only hired from Louisville in March, is out, shrouded in controversy.
The Eligibility Nightmare That Blew Up
The entire dismissal stems from a massive eligibility problem with Rubstavicius, who hasn’t been cleared by the NCAA. He was even trying to get a temporary restraining order to play, which, let’s be real, is never a good sign. Kloman was the point man on Rubstavicius’s recruitment, and apparently, he dropped the ball in the most catastrophic way possible. The core issue? Kloman allegedly hid that Rubstavicius had already been enrolled in university courses over in Europe. That detail changed everything for his NCAA eligibility case. Rubstavicius’s reps thought he was good to go because he was within his five-year window of graduating high school and was trying to start his collegiate education at Auburn. But that European university enrollment? Huge hurdle. It starts the NCAA’s five-year eligibility clock. So, Rubstavicius wasn’t a first-time student, and Kloman allegedly hid that crucial fact, completely wrecking the kid’s shot at playing college hoops. What a mess.
A €300,000 Buyout for Nothing
Rubstavicius was supposed to be a major piece for second-year coach Steven Pearl, and Auburn really went all out to land him. We’re talking paying a €300,000 buyout to Žalgiris Kaunas, a top-tier Lithuanian club. This guy wasn’t some rookie, either; the 24-year-old had experience playing in both the EuroLeague and the Australian NBL. At 6-foot-6, he was even in the mix to start for Auburn at the small forward spot, playing alongside returners Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton. Now? He’s gone. “Rather than continue with the uncertainty associated with my ongoing lawsuit, I have decided to pursue an opportunity in Europe,” Rubstavicius stated. “I want to thank the Auburn administration, Coach Pearl, and my teammates for all their support during my time here. I wish them all success.” Coach Pearl echoed that, saying, “Mantas is an exceptional young man with a bright future ahead of him. We appreciate the time he spent as part of our Auburn basketball family and wish him nothing but success as he takes this next step in his career.” Kloman’s international ties were a big reason Auburn hired him in the first place, which makes this whole situation even more frustrating.
This is another rocky moment for Coach Pearl, who just barely missed the NCAA Tournament last season before leading the Tigers to the NIT championship. Now he’s heading into the opener against Southeastern Louisiana without his new GM, and without a high-profile player who cost the program big money. The stakes are already high for Auburn this season, and the team needs to find a way to move past this quickly.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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