TicketsCINCINNATI -- Cincinnati head men's basketball coach Wes Miller has announced Simas Lukosius (pronounced See-moss Lew-koh-shiss), a 6-foot-7 transfer guard from Butler, as the team's third spring signing.
"We are very excited to welcome Simas to our program," Miller said. "He's a mature player with great experience playing both internationally and in the Big East. He's a very skilled offensive player who makes great decisions with the ball, makes the players around him better and also shoots it well from deep. We love his toughness and tenacity. I believe he will fit in well with our team and impact winning."
Lukosius started 32 games for the Bulldogs this year, seeing a vast improvement from an already solid 2021-22 freshman campaign. The Kaunas, Lithuania, native averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 33.4 minutes per game, while his 37.8-percent three-point clip was up 9.2 from the previous season. Lukosius is also shooting 84.7 percent from the foul line in his career and will have two years of eligibility in Clifton.
This past season, Lukosius poured in a career-high 28 points against Villanova and finished with 23 versus St. John's in the Big East Tournament. He also had seven assists against Marquette and three games of three steals and 10 games with three or more treys.
Lukosius had seven games in double-figure scoring as a freshman, all against Big East foes, to average 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds with four starts. His peak came in the Big Apple with a then-career-high 27 points as Butler defeated Xavier in the first round of the conference tournament, including 12 in the overtime period. He shot 11-of-13 from the foul line in that game, going 89.1 percent on the year.
Lukosius' high-level experience preceded his time in America, having played in the Basketball Bundesliga, the highest-level league in Germany in 2020-21. He was also in the ProB circuit in 2019-20 as well as competing with Bayern Munich in the adidas Next Generation Tournament, among many other European highlights. Lukosius is also fluent in Lithuanian, Russian and German.
His father, Mindaugas, is a professional basketball coach who has experience leading teams in Kuwait, Lithuania, Russia, Lebanon, Germany, and Bahrain.
2023-24 NEWCOMERS
Rayvon Griffith (SF, 6-7, 180, Cincinnati, Ohio, Compass Prep (Arizona))
Jizzle James (PG, 6-1, 180, Orlando, Fla., Olympia HS)
DaVeon Thomas (PG, 6-0, 190, Columbia, S.C., Kilgore College)
Jamille Reynolds (F, 6-10, 280, St. Petersburg, Fla., Temple)
CJ Fredrick (G, 6-3, 185, Cincinnati, Ohio, Kentucky)
Simas Lukosius (G/F, 6-7, 225, Kaunas, Lithuania, Butler)
SEASON TICKETS
Fans can learn more about packages for Cincinnati's inaugural Big 12 season, by visiting the online ticket office.
"We are very excited to welcome Simas to our program," Miller said. "He's a mature player with great experience playing both internationally and in the Big East. He's a very skilled offensive player who makes great decisions with the ball, makes the players around him better and also shoots it well from deep. We love his toughness and tenacity. I believe he will fit in well with our team and impact winning."
Lukosius started 32 games for the Bulldogs this year, seeing a vast improvement from an already solid 2021-22 freshman campaign. The Kaunas, Lithuania, native averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists over 33.4 minutes per game, while his 37.8-percent three-point clip was up 9.2 from the previous season. Lukosius is also shooting 84.7 percent from the foul line in his career and will have two years of eligibility in Clifton.
This past season, Lukosius poured in a career-high 28 points against Villanova and finished with 23 versus St. John's in the Big East Tournament. He also had seven assists against Marquette and three games of three steals and 10 games with three or more treys.
Lukosius had seven games in double-figure scoring as a freshman, all against Big East foes, to average 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds with four starts. His peak came in the Big Apple with a then-career-high 27 points as Butler defeated Xavier in the first round of the conference tournament, including 12 in the overtime period. He shot 11-of-13 from the foul line in that game, going 89.1 percent on the year.
Lukosius' high-level experience preceded his time in America, having played in the Basketball Bundesliga, the highest-level league in Germany in 2020-21. He was also in the ProB circuit in 2019-20 as well as competing with Bayern Munich in the adidas Next Generation Tournament, among many other European highlights. Lukosius is also fluent in Lithuanian, Russian and German.
His father, Mindaugas, is a professional basketball coach who has experience leading teams in Kuwait, Lithuania, Russia, Lebanon, Germany, and Bahrain.
2023-24 NEWCOMERS
Rayvon Griffith (SF, 6-7, 180, Cincinnati, Ohio, Compass Prep (Arizona))
Jizzle James (PG, 6-1, 180, Orlando, Fla., Olympia HS)
DaVeon Thomas (PG, 6-0, 190, Columbia, S.C., Kilgore College)
Jamille Reynolds (F, 6-10, 280, St. Petersburg, Fla., Temple)
CJ Fredrick (G, 6-3, 185, Cincinnati, Ohio, Kentucky)
Simas Lukosius (G/F, 6-7, 225, Kaunas, Lithuania, Butler)
SEASON TICKETS
Fans can learn more about packages for Cincinnati's inaugural Big 12 season, by visiting the online ticket office.