Last season was a complete disappointment in Storrs, but that’s a bit of a strong statement that’s not quite true. The Huskies had a very fine season, won a ton of games, and made the Big Dance again, but Connecticut was coming off back-to-back national championships so failing to extend that streak is by definition a disappointment.
Regardless, Dan Hurley and company put together another strong campaign, with 24 wins, 3rd place in a tough Big East, and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies actually fell in that second round in a close battle against eventual champion Florida. Several prominent pieces were gone from those national title pieces but the Huskies got some solid play from new faces last season and are hoping for that again this year.
What’s fortunate here for the Huskies is that they do return three starters and some prominent talent from last season. Liam McNeeley is gone after starring as a freshman while a few other veterans like Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson won’t return this season either. Hurley and company have built another talented roster that has real potential this year to get back into the national title conversation.
We’re entering another season with heightened expectations for the Huskies and we’ll get just into why down below. Not only is significant talent back in Storrs but UConn brought in some prominent new pieces and might have a roster to make another deep postseason run. We’ll look at the important rotation pieces and take a peek at the upcoming schedule before making some real conclusions about this team as a whole.
Projected Starters
Guard – Silas Demary Jr. (Junior)
The work Demary did as an underclassman was very solid, though that was expected of that 4-star athlete from North Carolina. He helped lead Georgia to the NCAA Tournament last season, averaging 13.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. After those two seasons with the Bulldogs, Demary now takes a major role running the point for the Huskies, with hopes of even more productivity.
Guard – Solo Ball (Junior)
This past season represented a major step forward for Ball, who grew from a role player to a starter and major playmaker in the Huskies’ backcourt. That sophomore season saw him put up 14.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while leading the Big East by making 41% of his 3-pointers on the season. He was named Second Team All-Big East and lived up to his early billing and will be even more vital in this offense as a junior.
Guard – Braylon Mullins (Freshman)
The big freshman addition in Storrs, Mullins is a 6-4 shooting guard from Greenfield, Indiana who’s a 5-star prospect and should have a major impact. He’s a rising star and one of the best long-range shooting prospects in the entire freshman class. Mullins has solid athleticism and decent size and the potential to be an elite shooting guard both this season with UConn and at the professional level, especially with his scrappy defensive ability.
Forward – Alex Karaban (Senior)
Karaban has started nearly every game in his career and already has two national championships under his belt, though his junior season was clearly his most productive. He stepped into a vital role in the frontcourt by putting up 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game. Karaban did a bit of everything for the Huskies, with decent shooting metrics and defensive figures and will hope to make even more memories in his fourth year in Storrs.
Center – Tarris Reed Jr. (Senior)
A former Top 40 recruit, Reed played a pair of seasons at Michigan under Juwan Howard and had decent numbers as a starter in year two. The 6-10 forward from St. Louis found his way to UConn last season, averaging 9.6 points and 7.3 rebounds off the bench as the first reserve in the frontcourt. He’ll now have a more significant role and is coming off his best season as a rebounder and shot blocker.
Key Reserves
Guard – Malachi Smith (Senior)
A 6-0 point guard from the Bronx, Smith spent the last four years at Dayton before finding a new home with the Huskies to finish off his collegiate career. As a junior, he tore up his knee just seven minutes into the first game of the season, but bounced back nicely last year, averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 assists per game for the Flyers. Smith is a solid shooter, albeit not with a ton of opportunities from long-range, and provides important experience and depth in this backcourt.
Forward – Jaylin Stewart (Junior)
This is year three for Stewart with the Huskies and he’ll be looking to build on a pretty solid showing as a sophomore. The former national champion put up 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game largely as a reserve. He’s got the potential to provide even more for these Huskies and is an important frontcourt weapon off the bench, especially after making 72% of his 2-pointers last season.
Guard – Jacob Furphy (Freshman)
Another Top 100 prospect, Furphy is a 6-6 forward from Australia who could find minutes right away with these Huskies. He’s a talented wing who can do a lot of things on offense, with long-range shooting and the ability to drive to the basket. The defense is still coming together but he’s a piece to keep an eye on in Hurley’s system.
Center – Eric Reibe (Freshman)
Another major piece from the recruiting class, Reibe is a 7-0 center out of Maryland. He’s another high school All-American who opted for UConn over a long list of prominent schools and he projects as one of the best true bigs in this class. He’s not just some anchor to park in the paint, he’s a smart lefty who can score in rhythm and rebound at a high level.
Forward – Jayden Ross (Junior)
Ross is another player who came to UConn as a ranked recruit with expectations but has been relegated to a backup role. He had limited contributions as a sophomore, averaging just 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds a game but is rising up the depth chart. He hasn’t quite taken that next step with his time on the court, but UConn is hoping he can really develop his game as an upperclassman.
Schedule Outlook
Eyes will be on the exhibitions against Boston College and Michigan State, though the Huskies’ real season begins with three straight home games. A highly anticipated matchup sees them take on BYU in Boston on November 15, part of the Hall of Fame Series. Less than a week later, UConn hosts Arizona in another great matchup and will end the month playing Illinois at Madison Square Garden on Black Friday in the SentinelOne Showdown.
Those three big matchups are topped by what’s coming in December, beginning with a true road test at Kansas on December 2nd. A week later, the Huskies are back at Madison Square Garden to face defending champion Florida in the Jimmy V Classic. Three days later, the nonconference slate concludes with a talented Texas team coming to town before a matchup against Butler opens Big East play.
As UConn plays every league rival both home and away, there’s nothing unbalanced about the conference slate and they actually have a pretty gentle run at the start of it. Both matchups with St. John’s come in February and they won’t be at Creighton or Marquette until later in the season. That game in Milwaukee ends the regular season on March 7 before the Big East Tournament a few days later.
Season Outlook
There wasn’t anything inherently that went wrong last season that caused the Huskies not to win another national championship. They lost significant pieces from those title teams and while they replaced them with talented players, it just wasn’t the year for UConn, falling in that close battle to the eventual champion. However, as we’ve covered already, this team is loaded with talent both old and new.
While Reed wasn’t a starter last season, getting him, Ball, and Karaban all back is basically like three starters returning to action. The Huskies saw a brilliant step forward from Ball as he’s developing into one of the best shooters in the nation. Last year’s team didn’t exactly break any records with their long-range shooting, but the Huskies are hoping that Ball, alongside additions like Damary and Smith, can start changing that equation.
In the frontcourt things continue to run through Karaban, who has been the one major constant over the last three years for the Huskies. He was a full-time starter on those championship teams and he’s the piece that can spearhead another successful run in the postseason. Reed certainly showed his potential at times last season and now in a starting role can really become a lockdown player around the rim.
Let’s not forget the other new faces in town, as Mullins and Reibe could both blossom into very special players are immense success at the high school level. Figuring out the right rotation and lineups won’t be easy with so much talent, but it’ll be important to balance experience and talent, especially with these moving pieces in the backcourt. We barely focused on Damary, who basically led Georgia to prominence in a very difficult SEC and now gets to lead an even more productive offense.
There really aren’t any outlandish claims you can make after a program wins a pair of national titles, but this UConn team has the talent to add another trophy to an ever-growing trophy case. A lot of things still have to come together, but Hurley’s crews often gel as the season goes along. The bottom line is that this team has the talent and experience and it all boils down to these new pieces and how it all comes together.