After a year away from the championship spotlight, Solo Ball is ready for UConn to return to the top of college basketball.
The junior guard told FanSided's Sean Daley that seeing the championship banners around the practice facility in Storrs is all the motivation he needs to help lift the Huskies past last year's crushing 77-75 loss to Florida in the second round of the tournament, ending their postseason win streak at 13 games.
"All the banners around. The men's side. The women's side," Ball said, "It doesn't matter what side of the gym you walk on. There are banners everywhere and that's just the winning culture you want to play for."
Ball continues to learn from the best on and off the court
The junior guard has been active in the NIL space since arriving at UConn three years ago. Ball's partnership with TurboTax allows him to focus less on his NIL dealings and more on school and basketball. TurboTax is committed to helping student-athletes navigate NIL income confidently, especially during March when the madness begins.
"With TurboTax they just make NIL a lot easier. When you have tax experts by your side, you don't have to focus on anything else but basketball," Ball said. "The biggest thing, when you start your first NIL deal, is just to have the right people working with you."
"REJECTED BY BALL"
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 12, 2025
What a play by Solo Ball 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EBJZoIglNN
TurboTax is committed to financial education for NCAA athletes, helping them build tax literacy and manage self-employment income responsibly. Ball compares his growing knowledge of financial literacy to his freshman year with the Huskies, where he was the new guy on a defending championship team that needed to learn from the guys that had gone through the battles. It's knowledge that he hopes will pay off in April if UConn can cut down the nets for the third time in four seasons.
"I learned from the people in front of me. Cam [Spencer], Steph [Castle], Tristan [Newton], Hassan [Diarra] — every single guard in front of me that I got to see go through the fire," Ball added. "I learned a lot from how they handled certain situations and that's something I can apply now that I'm a junior."