Alex Karaban and Dan Hurley share pregame hug before Karaban became first active UConn player inducted into Huskies of Honor as part of senior day ceremonies before Saturday’s win over Seton Hall. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press)
For atop section 8 sits a display known simply to UConn fans as “the wall.”
The wall houses the Men’s Huskies of Honor, a place to commemorate program legends whose numbers are not retired, but still recognize the impact they have made during their time in Storrs. A similar display for the women’s basketball program can be found across the court, at the top of sections 1, 2 and 3.
The black sheet covering could mean only one thing, that the wall was adding a new legend to its perch. And who better than the all-time winningest player in UConn history to add to his laundry list of accolades by becoming the first active Husky on the wall?
Alex Karaban was officially memorialized in Connecticut basketball lore Saturday, hours before he delivered a performance that was quintessentially Karaban to help UConn come from behind to defeat Seton Hall, 71-67. Blindsided by the transpirings after being escorted onto the court by his family on senior day, it was the surprise and spontaneity of the spectacle that made the ensuing emotion so genuine.
“You don’t really see a lot of emotion out of him, so seeing him crying like a baby coming out, I just lost it right there when I saw it,” Dan Hurley recalled. “He’s one of the greatest players that’s worn the uniform. Players have gone on from here and had careers in the NBA, but when they were in the uniform, who’s done more than this guy?”
“Honestly, I had no idea,” Karaban said when asked if UConn’s intentions to mark his legacy were divulged. “I think I was confused at first because they made me stay in a circle once the whole celebration happened. When I first came to UConn, I never thought that’d happen. To have the career that I’m having, and then to look up there and see my name up there, my legacy up there forever, it’s special. I’m just overwhelmed with emotion, overwhelmed with how blessed I am to be in this position. That’s something that can’t be taken away from me.”
Nor can Karaban’s heart or will to win cannot be extricated from his soul. With UConn trailing by a 56-49 margin entering the final eight minutes of regulation, the crafty veteran did what he has done habitually for four years. His back-to-back threes trimmed a three-possession deficit to just one point, with Braylon Mullins culminating a 10-0 Husky run a half-minute later on a triple of his own. Sports at any level are never scripted, but knowing Karaban and his penchant for timely, clutch shots, it was not crazy to think that maybe this time, they could be.
“I mean, you could almost guarantee AK is gonna make a momentum play,” Solo Ball gushed. “Whenever we get a transition bucket or a transition stop, I almost start celebrating before the possession is over because I almost know he’s gonna get a shot and it’s gonna go in.”
“That’s just the pedestal he’s always worked at. Just to see it the past three years from my perspective, the dude’s on the court every single day working his butt off. He’s just incredibly motivational for anyone that’s around him.”
Karaban’s endurance should be celebrated on this day as well. Just two weeks removed from being physically compromised after a collision at Butler that prompted Hurley to compare him to Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series, Karaban played his first full 40-minute game of the season, leading all players with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and draining five of six three-pointers. Never once did the thought of coming up for air make its way to the surface.
“I was never gonna ask for a sub,” he boldly declared. “I was never gonna ask anything. I wasn’ gonna play (like) something was hurt, nothing. Just keep trying, keep pushing, and do everything to help us keep it a win. I can’t have a loss here.”
Neither could any of his four fellow seniors recognized before the game, for that matter.
“When I saw that, I was like, ‘yeah, we got this,’” Tarris Reed, Jr. exclaimed. “It’s go time now.”
Undaunted, Seton Hall battled into the final minute before Ball and Karaban, fittingly, iced the game at the free throw line for the 119th victory of the latter’s career to elicit a much more joyful outpouring of emotions.
“I let the game come to me,” Karaban admitted. “I was more so focused on just getting a win. I wanted a win in the last Gampel game of the year and my last personal game in this arena. I think everything happens for a reason. I just got rewarded for all the four years to where the shots wanted to fall in the last game.”
On this day, such a reward was befitting for an immortal the likes of whom may never be seen again in college basketball.
“You see how the fans reacted,” Karaban said. “I mean, they were cheering, they were just celebrating what I’ve done for four years. That’s something I can’t trade.”
“Being here for four years, I can come back to
UConn whenever and it’s always a home for me. No matter how good or bad my life is going, I know Storrs is always home for me.”
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