Their faith in UConn reaffirmed, Hurley and Karaban move on from NBA flirtation to obsess over latest Husky success

Dan Hurley embraces Alex Karaban during UConn’s latest NCAA Tournament run. Both turned down NBA opportunities in offseason to return to Huskies, who seek a third consecutive national championship. (Photo by The Boston Globe)

UConn’s stint atop the basketball world has not been interrupted for the past 18 months, but that’s not to say that the Huskies have not had an uneventful reign as kings of the sport.

Losing three starters from its 2022-23 national championship team was no problem for UConn, who powered through the following campaign to cut down another net and raise another banner. However, the latest attempt at an encore will involve having to replace four starters who were selected in the NBA Draft last June. And for a brief moment over the summer, it appeared as though the Huskies may have had to navigate the minefield of a new season with a new leader after Dan Hurley was courted by the Los Angeles Lakers to fill their head coaching vacancy.

Hurley ultimately passed on the offer coach the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and the Lakers moved on to former Duke star and ex-ESPN analyst J.J. Redick, but the experience made UConn a better unit as a whole, even if there was some uncertainty about which way the winds would blow.

“For a couple days, they were in a tough spot,” Hurley recalled. “I think the process for the players was a tough one to go through, but it’s not the worst thing for young people to go through uncomfortable situations. It’s going to help them deal with a lot more uncomfortable situations that’ll come up in life, and then beyond that, I think it shows a commitment that I have to them. I think it shows a commitment that I have to UConn, it shows a commitment that I have to the people in that room.”

“We’re stronger from it,” Alex Karaban echoed. “We were all happy for him when he was going through that process, but at the same time—when he was going through it and after it—we just made sure we were stronger. Obviously, we’re just happy that he’s back.”

Karaban had his own decision to make during the offseason, as the junior forward tested the waters and went through the NBA Draft process in an experience he termed a learning opportunity for himself and his game. When the prospect of returning to UConn without the man who recruited him there was on the table, it made the life-changing choice harder, but the potential All-American found perspective in his coach’s own dilemma in the wake of his own decision to follow his gut and return to Storrs to chase history.

“It was stressful,” Karaban reiterated. “It’s obviously not the news you’d want to hear, selfishly, but for Coach Hurley, I was happy. He’s changed my life, he’s changed countless other players’ lives too, and he deserved to go out there and make a decision for himself and his family. We were all just happy that he did that, and we’re all happy that he came back.”

Hurley and Karaban used each other as sounding boards and sources of advice through their journeys, which fortified an already strong relationship that the coach not only cherishes, but openly questions the possibility of another bond so deep with a future student-athlete, a credit to two like mindsets being drawn to one another and naturally gravitating toward similar objectives.

“We have a unique connection,” said Hurley. “I think me and Alex Karaban are wired the same way. We think about our family and then we think about basketball, and then we go back to thinking about our family, and we think about basketball more. Then I may pray, and then I’ll think about basketball again. We don’t have a lot of extra space in our lives for anything that doesn’t involve our pursuits in basketball and our family, and that’s why we’re so connected at the hip. And I don’t know that I’ll ever have a relationship like that again.”

Fittingly, Hurley remains just as attached to UConn, and to a larger degree, the game of basketball. For a young college coach, the allure of an NBA franchise—especially a marquee name such as the Lakers—could be too good to pass up. Hurley places a strong emphasis on his New Jersey and Northeast roots, a major factor in his decision to turn Los Angeles and its celebrity clientele such as Jack Nicholson down. He admitted his old-school path to his current perch has become increasingly unconventional, but is more devoted to that and to his desire to just improve what he has even further.

“I think you look at the whole situation, and it’s validation for the path I’ve taken to this point,” he reflected. “All the benefits of being a high school coach for a significant amount of time, coaching at Wagner, coaching at Rhode Island, taking all the proper steps along the way, the way coaches used to get jobs like UConn. Now, that’s kind of their first job at this level. I just think I have a lot of pride, just in my journey to this point and the validation of that with that opportunity, but I don’t think about it a whole lot. I’m so obsessed with the next recruit that we want to get, the next practice that I’m absolutely obsessing over how well that goes, and how locked in I am on the opener.”

Blue-collar man turned headliner: Alex Karaban’s journey from redshirt to recognition

Alex Karaban has overshot expectations through first two seasons at UConn, and looks to do similar entering a junior season where Huskies chase third straight national championship. (Photo by UConn Athletics)

Alex Karaban has blended so seamlessly into the fabric of UConn basketball for the past three years to where it may be easy to discount his star power as he enters his redshirt junior season.

In fact, when you listen to the forward recount his initial experiences in Storrs, you may wonder how he even arrived at such an historic precipice in such a short period of time.

But that speaks to the essence of Karaban and his unassuming work ethic, one that is now brought to the forefront as the Huskies’ leader as his four fellow starters from last year’s national championship lineup have all moved on to the NBA. And while the highest level is a firm objective for him now, there was a point where even he had no idea what the future would hold.

“I had no beard, I didn’t know what to expect,” Karaban recounted as he traced his journey from recruit to role player to face of the program. “I’ve grown a lot mentally, physically, emotionally, everything. Being in this program has changed me. I feel like a new person right now ever since I stepped on campus. Shoot, I don’t even know how to think about it. I think my confidence is through the roof right now, just providing more offensively every year and being able to step up to the task. I’ve provided such a great role for the last two years and I have a new role this year, just being able to live up to those expectations and really being the guy for the team this year.”

Never one to sugarcoat experiences over his tenure in the Nutmeg State, Karaban—a preseason first team all-Big East selection who could potentially flirt with All-American honors by the time the dust settles on his junior campaign—has already singled out areas where he feels he needs to improve, even as those close to him can see a transformation in his game.

“I think the shooting can always improve,” he conceded. “I’m trying to be a more efficient shooter. I felt like during March Madness last year, I didn’t shoot the ball well at all, and during segments of the game too, I was really up and down with my shooting. I’m just trying to be more consistent with it, and defensively, just continuing to improve. I feel like I made a big jump freshman to sophomore year, and I’m trying to make an even bigger jump defensively sophomore to junior year.”

Karaban’s head coach, who compared his innate and almost obsessive drive to better himself to that of his former teammate, Tristen Newton, when he bashed the oversight of his forward for lack of preseason recognition, did praise the intangibles that have yielded the player UConn hopes will lead the way to a third consecutive national championship and the first true dynasty in college basketball in over a half-century.

“His ability to pick up concepts and process the game, how simple he kept his life…it’s his education, it’s his family and it’s basketball,” Dan Hurley reflected as he cited what impresses him most about Karaban. “He’s not caught up in NIL and agents and getting more followers, or posting videos. The guy just wants to win, he wants to get better, he wants to be a great basketball player, he wants to win championships, he wants to do his best. I guess it’s boring for people.”

While some may be turned off by the apparent muted personality, Samson Johnson sees the chance to share a court with Karaban as an opportunity to further his basketball education, if you will.

“Playing against Alex, you realize a lot of things about yourself,” Johnson began. “He might not be as fast as some of the other wings, but he plays with so much intelligence. He’s so smart, he cuts very well, obviously he’s the best shooter in the country, in my opinion. Going against him every single day, you only get better.”

Karaban was initially rumored early in the offseason to be joining Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Newton and Cam Spencer in the professional ranks, but after an eventful summer in which he tested the NBA Draft waters and went through the combine process, came to the realization that his work was far from finished.

“It was definitely stressful,” he said of the draft process and summer workouts. “It was a huge learning opportunity for me. I learned a lot about myself, my game, and who I am as a person through those moments. I wouldn’t trade it for the world and I have no regrets making this decision. I’ve always had a gut feeling that I needed another year, and I’m glad that I followed through with that.”

“For myself, (Hassan Diarra) and Samson, we have the chance to three-peat and that’s something that’s unheard of in college basketball now. To be able to add myself to one of the winningest players in college history, that’s something that’s motivated me every single day. Just to have that chance at it is something that makes me want to get better, makes my teammates want to get better every day.”

As Karaban and his teammates continue to improve in their own way, there still remains a desire from one person in particular for his de facto franchise player to ramp up the intensity. Unsurprisingly, it comes from the person known for his aggressiveness and toughness, one who admits he would be much more vocal if thrust into a similar position.

“If I was him, I’d be running around screaming at people,” a candid Hurley calmly intoned. “If I had on the line what he has on the line this year in terms of standing in sport, claim to career, the things he’s trying to do from a draft standpoint, I would get more lockstep in terms of it becoming more of an Alex-led team. Alex is incredible, leads by example, work ethic, just knowing where to be. He’s on point in every way, but I think that if I had on the line what he does right now, I would be just breathing fire on a daily basis.”

Perhaps the fire will be lit from within over the course of the season. Karaban admitted at last week’s Big East media day that he had become so accustomed to being overlooked that the all-conference distinction he did receive meant very little, if at all. But as he downplays his impact to a program chasing history, it appears far greater to the man who signed him to deliver what has now become a norm in the self-proclaimed basketball capital of the world.

“I’d say Alex returning just put us in a position where we realistically could go into the season saying we have a chance to have the same goals, which is to win the national championship and win the Big East,” Hurley declared. “If he doesn’t return and we’ve gotta go into the portal and get kind of an Alex Karaban type of player, it more than likely would have been just too much to overcome for us losing five starters to the NBA. I guess maybe with just losing four starters to the NBA, we still believe—based on everything we lost the year before, losing three with two key bench pieces—that we’re not in uncharted territory. We’re very comfortable having lost a lot, because we just lost a lot and we’re even better.”

What makes this year’s UConn team different from its title-winning incarnations?

Dan Hurley remade UConn roster in offseason, and while it may appear different, Huskies’ perch atop college basketball is almost unchanged. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

What makes you different, makes you beautiful.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and one of the more appealing qualities of UConn basketball in recent years is that the Huskies have not run with the proverbial crowd. Dan Hurley and his staff go their own way with the operation of an elite basketball program.

And if the past two years in particular have been any indication, UConn has its own kind of style that sets it apart. Perhaps that is why the Huskies have captured the collective heart of a fan base that, year in and year out, ranks among the most unique—if not passionate—in college basketball.

Sometimes, it feels like UConn does not fit into the prescribed boxes that define the proverbial blueblood programs associated with the sport. Even with six national championships in the past quarter-century, casual observers of the college basketball world still do not know what lies within the water and locker room in Storrs. And it starts with a simple test to determine whether a recruit is right for the program, according to Alex Karaban.

“If he cares about basketball,” the junior forward said when asked how to weed out a prospective newcomer. “If he’s asking you questions about NIL, if he’s asking you questions about the coaching staff and you get a response from him that wouldn’t really fit in with the team, I think that’s when you could tell he doesn’t fit into the program.”

“As long as the guy wants to be coached hard, cares strictly about basketball and comes in every single day to work harder, become better, then he fits in perfectly with our coaching staff. Coach Hurley knows exactly what he’s doing, and on the visits, you get a great sense (of that). We’ve got a lot of players on the ground to recruit, too, so we know exactly if he’ll fit in with us. (The coaches) ask questions, we really just try to get to know the guys.”

Dan Hurley readily admits that playing for him is not for the weak at heart. Throughout his career as a player and coach, the Jersey City toughness he learned seemingly in utero has reflected itself in his practices usually being more strenuous than the games that follow. Couple that with a program that has the reputation and resume of a UConn, and the process becomes even more selective.

“Not everyone could play for me,” he cautioned. “Not everyone could play at UConn and thrive and succeed. The intensity of the program is enormous, and the pressure to perform in March is very enormous. It’s different than playing at a place where just getting to the tournament and winning the first-round game, everyone’s throwing you contract extensions and flowers. That’s not this place. You have to be a champion here to be remembered and to be celebrated.”

“I think we zeroed in on the type of men that could be successful here, recruiting offensive players that could score and run complex offensive systems and make plays, then we’ll teach them how to play defense. There’s probably a philosophical shift. In a way, I think with the transfers, there’s adjustments that they’ve gotta make because of the work rate, the intensity and environment, how we play every possession. For anyone that comes into the program, particularly a college transfer who’s done it a much different way, it’s almost different than a high school player that you recruited and hasn’t been in college before. It’s almost an easier transition, even though they’re less experienced players.”

The transition takes on a different tone this year as the Huskies replace four cornerstone players who became NBA draft picks four months ago, with only Karaban reprising his starting role. While the veteran admits UConn is more reliant than usual upon development of its role players, the Massachusetts native has come away impressed with the shooting potential on this year’s roster, suggesting that the dynamic offense that defined last year’s championship outfit could be even stronger.

“Every team is a new challenge,” Karaban reiterated. “It’s a reset button and that’s the hardest thing, trying to get back to the level that we were at last year. I’m excited to experience those challenges, to gain new friendships and teammates, and I truly can’t wait. Every season presents new challenges, and we’re looking forward to it.”

“I think our shooting and our offensive ability is something that’s super unique and something that’s different from the last two years. I think it’s just the off-ball movement and the weapons that we have, just how smart we are with our cuts. You see so many actions and sets that look the same, just different actions out of it. I just think we gotta find it on the defensive end and find that toughness as well.”

Among the upgrades to the perimeter are highly-touted freshman Liam McNeeley, who flipped his commitment from Indiana late in the offseason to sign with the Huskies and poses a matchup problem with his length and marksmanship on the wing. Currently nursing a calf injury, Hurley is bringing him along gradually in his recovery—similar to how he did when Stephon Castle was injured last November—but early returns suggest a similar, game-changing impact once the Texan returns to the court.

“He’s big-time,” Karaban said of McNeeley. “I think he’s gonna be one of the best freshmen in the country. The shooting that he presents and just his maturity as a freshman, it’s one of a kind. He’s truly a special player, and I can’t wait for him to get on the court and really just show everyone what he’s capable of.”

The starkest contrast to last season will likely be found inside the arc, where UConn must replace the two-way play of Donovan Clingan after the 7-footer was drafted seventh overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. Samson Johnson, who backed him up last year the same way Clingan did Adama Sanogo the year prior, has been tasked with the majority of the load in the paint. The new starting big man will force teams to attack him differently due to his point center skills, something Hurley and assistant coach Tom Moore have brought to the forefront in a similar vein to former Marquette center Oso Ighodaro, now a member of the Phoenix Suns.

“DC was kind of like, an inside-the-paint guy on offense, and obviously on defense, he was the best defensive center in the country,” Johnson said of Clingan and his impact. “For me, it’s not quite the same thing because I’m not as tall as him, but I can play on the perimeter a little bit. I’m going to play like a point center, distribute it around, pick-and-roll, lob threat, stuff like that. (Hurley) definitely wants me to do some of the things Oso did, grab a rebound, push the ball, get under the point guards trying to get the ball from me, and try to push the pace.”

Still, the main component of Johnson’s work as a center, cleaning up the glass on both sides of the basketball, remains unchanged.

“I feel like I have to grab every rebound possible,” he stated. “That’s my job as a big man, those are things that I have to do as a big man. It’s a work in progress for me. I know last year, I struggled with it a lot, but I’ve been putting the work in just to make sure this year I improve.”

Stepping into Johnson’s role as the change-of-pace big will be Michigan transfer Tarris Reed, a more physical and traditional center compared to the athletic Johnson, who insists his tag team partner will be up for the challenge.

“I think he’s going to be ready, for sure,” he said of Reed. “He’s going to help us a lot. For a guy his size and his height, he moves really well. He’s really strong, too, and he could do a lot of things not a lot of bigs his size and height could do. Pure strength, back to the basket, he could do a lot of things. Offense, defense, blocking shots, stuff like that.”

At the end of the day, though, it comes full circle to the character of the players brought into the program. Just as he is a different coach in terms of how he approaches his job, Hurley is a different evaluator of talent than some of his counterparts. Recent results suggest he has found the right balance between talent and positive impact outside of basketball, a credit to the relationships he has been able to foster and cultivate since taking over for Kevin Ollie in 2018. And what makes the Huskies different makes them beautiful to the man who can simply brush off criticism with trophies and championship rings.

“These unique human beings I’ve had a chance to coach these last couple years,” a proud Hurley gushed, citing the bonds he has been able to build with his recruits. “The Clingans, the Cam Spencers, the Jordan Hawkins, the Andre Jacksons. If we keep getting the right type of people, we’re not gonna go anywhere.”

Queens aims to keep it simple and keep it moving in 2024-25

Queens coach Grant Leonard (center) and players Bryce Cash and Leo Colimerio speak with ESPN at ASUN Media Day.  (Brian Wilmer/Daly Dose of Hoops)

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CHARLOTTE -- When starting a basketball season where an NCAA tournament berth is not only an improbability but a total impossibility, it would be easy to have lowered expectations. Don’t look anywhere inside Curry Arena for those lowered expectations, though.

Queens University of Charlotte is in the penultimate year of its NCAA reclassification period, meaning that the Royals are only eligible for the CBI (College Basketball Invitational) or CIT (College Insider Tournament) postseason tourneys. Instead of seeing what the Royals can’t do, coach Grant Leonard and his staff have focused on what they can do:  building the program’s culture and setting a new standard after years of success at the Division II level.

“We don’t do very complicated things,” Leonard says. “We do simple things well.”

Those simple things have already put in place some encouraging results. Queens went 18-15 (7-11 ASUN) in its first year, followed by a 14-19 campaign with seven more league wins in 2023-24.

“I always tell people it’s not a light switch. You don’t flip it. It’s more like a dimmer,” Leonard says. “I think we’re moving ahead a little bit faster (in the reclassification process). We’ve won a game in the conference tournament. Just making the conference tournament is a big jump. We’ve not only made it, we’ve won a game.

“I think our guys are hungry to make the next step – not just winning a game, but to host a conference tournament game, to be in that top four (of the league) and to be in the conversation that we should be able to win the conference tournament.”

Whatever step the Royals make this year will be led by a new point guard – the third in three seasons in Charlotte. While the point guard will be new, the player won’t be. 6-5 sophomore Bryce Cash (7.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2 apg) will handle the ball – and the decision-making – for much of the Royals’ offense.

“(Bryce) is playing the point this year and wasn’t last year,” Leonard says. “I just found that we trust Bryce’s decision-making. Bryce makes great decisions, he makes easy plays, and he makes them look easy. I think that’s going to be a huge key to our success.

“I think he understands the goals of our offense better than any player we’ve had – maybe even better than (former Queens star) Kenny Dye. Bryce understands the entire concepts of what we’re doing, so he’s going to make the right decision. Some (opposing defenses) are different – pressing, drop, or conservative – but then, how do we attack that? Bryce’s understanding of that is the highest I’ve ever seen.”

Cash – a Charlottean who played just a few miles away from campus at Carmel Christian – embraces both the Royals’ style of play and the ability to play home games with his family in the stands.

“It’s family, man,” Cash says. “Even having cousins, aunts, uncles at all my games – that’s what I love, so that was a main decision behind why I came here. I have family from Charlotte that comes to my games. Queens presented me with a family culture, so it really matched well. I love my city. I love Charlotte. I love everything that Queens has to offer.”

Leonard’s offense is one of the things that Queens has to offer that Cash loves.

“G emphasizes for us to play fast and play smart,” Cash says. “Get two feet in the lane, make the right pass. It’s simple basketball, but not a lot of people can do it. It’s really fun basketball, so I feel that’s why it attracts a lot of players.”

Leonard’s style attracted an influx of talent to the 2024-25 club. The returners should play significant roles, as well.

6-2 senior guard Chris Ashby (9.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg, .391 3FG, .923 FT) and 6-4 senior guard Kalib Mathews (2.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.3 apg) provide veteran backcourt presence, while 6-7 senior forward Jaxon Pollard (3.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) brings toughness and versatility to the Royals’ frontcourt.

7-0 senior center Malcolm Wilson (1.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg) collects praise from Leonard.

“His intentionality of figuring out what his strengths are – I’ve never seen a player grow so much in one year,” Leonard says. “He understands what he’s good at, and he’s only doing those things. He’s staying away from the trouble spots, which has really helped him. He has made himself a threat offensively by just being more aggressive, rolling to the rim, and being open for lobs, which is an NBA concept.

“Defensively, he’s on the same page – talking, communicating, and protecting the rim. I just think that he’s really understanding who he is as a player, which has made his value go up so much.”

Leonard’s style and the Queen City also allow the Royals to lure talented newcomers. 6-7 grad transfer Leo Colimerio (6.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) joins the program from Fresno State, giving Leonard another talented wing with size.

“(Charlotte and the Queens community) allows us to attract players that might be a little bit above our level,” Leonard says. “Leo’s a four-year starter in the Mountain West. That’s not normal for an ASUN player to get a player that started that much in a much larger league, but he wanted to be here in Charlotte and wanted a bigger role on a team, and now he’s going to be able to have that.”

6-5 junior forward Nasir Mann (7.5 ppg, 6 rpg at McNeese State) and 6-10 freshman center Sawyer Mayhugh (redshirted at UMass) also enter the program from Division 1 schools. Mann’s brother, Tre, plays for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. 6-2 junior guard Asjon Anderson (20.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.5 apg at Ranger Junior College) provides quick scoring capability and is another former Division 1 player who started his career at Utah Tech. 6-4 junior guard Caleb Parr (13.7 ppg at Northeast Mississippi CC) also provides a veteran presence on the roster.

6-1 freshman guard DJ Shine (7.2 ppg last season) joins the Royals from prestigious Brewster Academy. Queens also adds a pair of players from outside the United States in 6-9 forward Maban Jabriel (15.1 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 4.8 blocks at Tri-City Prep in Canada) and 6-6 forward Yoav Berman, who played on Israel’s national teams and drew interest from schools like Illinois and Florida. 6-6 New York native guard Jacob Brandly averaged 23 points per game at the renowned Combine Academy and may see minutes.

Whatever becomes of Queens in the 2024-25 campaign will obviously be heavily dependent on the team’s grouping of talent. The more telling measure, however, may come in the form of the pillars Leonard and his staff have installed in the program.

“The most important thing is your culture, and your culture is set by the players that return,” Leonard says. “Bryce Cash, Kalib Mathews, Jaxon Pollard, Chris Ashby, Malcolm Wilson – they’re the core of who we are and they’re the ones who hold our standards solid. Those guys are actually the ones that do most of the recruiting. I start the recruiting process and we get the players to campus, but those guys choose this school because they want to be around guys like Bryce and Malcolm.”

Queens starts its regular season inside Curry Arena on Monday, Nov. 4, against the University of Lynchburg.

 

As UConn chases history, Huskies aren’t facing added pressure, just a renewed commitment to process

Dan Hurley and UConn are chasing history, but Huskies’ head coach has unique perspective of not shying away from third straight national championship while also focusing on player development more than another trophy. (Photo by UConn Athletics)

Some coaches and players tend to downplay high expectations and opportunities to reach unprecedented heights in sports.

Yet again, Dan Hurley is not just some coach. His UConn players are not your token YMCA rec leaguers getting shots up after work.

Hurley, along with his new-look roster, has tackled the burning question head-on since the Huskies defended their national championship with a second consecutive crown last April. Where some of his contemporaries may sidestep the issue to avoid placing further pressure on their own units, the 51-year-old continues to show his different wiring, revealing that the quest to join UCLA as the only other program to win three straight national titles has only made him more aggressive in some ways.

“I’ve talked about the historical nature of our season pretty consistently,” Hurley revealed as he returned to Madison Square Garden, a venue UConn won all seven of its games in last season, for Big East media day. “It’s the elephant in the room. It’s there, and you can’t hide from this opportunity. That’s why I’ve coached this team so hard. I’ve coached this team harder than I’ve coached any other team that I’ve had because I know the challenge that lies ahead and the level that people have studied us, how we play and how people are preparing to beat us, and the target, just how relentlessly you have to strive to improve to defend what we have right now.”

“The season that we’re gonna embark on is going to be rare in terms of what we could accomplish, to literally join those UCLA teams, historical opportunity and how you can’t give everything that you absolutely have to reach that level of sport.”

The three-peat opportunity, which if completed, would represent the first in college basketball since John Wooden’s Bruins won the last of their seven straight championships in 1973, was one of the deciding factors in UConn’s lone returning starter coming back to Storrs in an attempt to add to his legacy.

“That’s one of the main reasons why I did come back,” redshirt junior forward Alex Karaban declared. “I believe we have a great chance at chasing a three-peat and adding myself to history. If I could be one of the winningest college players of all time, that’s something I never thought would happen going through the recruiting process in high school. I just can’t wait, and I gotta make sure I get myself and the guys on the team to realize that this moment’s once in a lifetime. We have an opportunity in front of us that we may never see again in college basketball.”

Karaban echoed Hurley’s candor when addressing the historic context of UConn’s 122nd all-time season—which tips off a week from Wednesday against Sacred Heart—but also admitted that the primary focus has not necessarily been so much on cutting down the nets in San Antonio next April.

“We’re not really talking about that right now,” Karaban said. “We’re more so talking about how we could become a better team heading into tomorrow, and making sure the guys take steps every single day to reach the level that we can ultimately be at. (Hurley) reminds us that we’re chasing historic things and it’s always a privilege to wear the UConn jersey. He reminds us about that every single day, but it’s more just seeing folks every day, getting better.”

Center Samson Johnson, who is one of three players—Karaban and Hassan Diarra are the other two—on both national champion outfits the past two seasons, was also cognizant of the need to improve even as the Huskies were the near-unanimous pick to win the Big East for a second consecutive year. UConn was also ranked third in the Associated Press’ preseason Top 25 poll, but the significance of the number pales in comparison to the growth that the big man has not only made on his own, but observed closely from his teammates.

“It means a lot, but at the same time, we don’t feel entitled to it,” Johnson said of the preseason plaudits. “We know we have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to win the Big East this year. This league is really tough and we’re gonna have to put the work in.”

As for the labor since returning from Arizona with a trophy in tow, the fruits of UConn’s labor may not be fully present, as Karaban admits his group is far from a finished product, but the upside and attention to detail is already in midseason form.

“It’s tough to tell right now,” said Karaban when asked if this year’s iteration of the Huskies could eclipse what the program did in each of its past two endeavors. “Last year’s team was the greatest team in college basketball. We’ve still got a long way to go to chase that, but we’ve got a lot of young guys that are excited to prove themselves and just get on the court. It’s a new energy surrounding the team.”

“You could see it from day one,” Johnson added, citing the ubiquitous desire and hustle in summer practice sessions. “Guys are all over the court making plays on offense and defense. It’s a great thing to have in a team, where you know you could put nine, ten guys on the floor that can impact winning. That’s a great thing for us. For a team like this, we need that kind of competition to get better every single day, so when we go against another team, we know we have guys that are ready to compete.”

UConn is not only chasing history in a physical sense, it is doing so with a set of circumstances no other college program has ever attempted to overcome. After Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer all became NBA draft picks, Hurley reloaded by adding a trio of freshmen in Isaiah Abraham, Ahmad Nowell and Liam McNeeley—the latter having been voted the Big East’s preseason freshman of the year—to the ranks of seven returning players. To fill the void left by Clingan and Castle, he reached into the transfer portal to pluck Tarris Reed from Michigan to shore up the frontcourt, while adding Aidan Mahaney—who the Huskies played against in 2023 when he was a freshman at Saint Mary’s—to a lethal and deceptively strong guard stable.

What makes the additions even more intriguing is that neither of the two incoming transfers started in UConn’s exhibition against Rhode Island two weeks ago, and could very well be in reserve roles for most of the season, something Hurley addressed as a byproduct of his team’s depth but also unusual for how a top program has experienced a higher player turnover rate than most.

“I guess you could look at it two ways, right?” Hurley reflected. “You could say we must be really good if a guy that’s a really, really good player like Aidan did not start the exhibition game, where the quality around him is good enough for him to be in an off-the-bench role. But you could also be saying to yourself, ‘we really needed this guy to come in and play like Tristen, play like Cam.’ So you could look at that in one of two ways.”

“It’s such a unique position to be in. Ours is so different because we’re returning basically no one. It’s crazy to see the amount of players we’ve cycled through, and then you have players in our league that played against Josh Carlton (who transferred from UConn in 2021) and they’re still in the league. We’re so many players removed from just two years ago, so it’s so unique, the position we’re in.”

What is also unique is the way in which Hurley operates as a coach, how he operates as a manager. His perfectionism and innate desire to win without cutting any corners has spread throughout his staff as well, which is why he denied any added stakes from a personal sense going into this season. His explanation, however, further defines the maniacal sickoism—by all means a compliment to his ability to raise the bar—that makes him so very well suited to the blue-collar program he oversees.

“No pressure,” he deadpanned. “In one way, I guess you look at it and you say to yourself, in a weird way, if we don’t win three in a row, what are people gonna say? You suck as a coach? You could only win two in a row? You spend so much time obsessing over where your team’s at, and in my mind, every year—no matter what you’ve accomplished before—if you’re the coach at UConn and you have the resources that are poured into your program that I have poured into mine, and the way the school has invested in me in terms of my contract, that I owe it to the people that invest in me and invest in these players to literally drive the people around you to places that you don’t think they can get to, in such a pathological, sick, obsessive way that you’re just pursuing the championships so friggin hard. You’re not even thinking about the three-peat pressure because you’re so obsessed with the process.”

St. John’s locks down Towson in last exhibition tuneup before opener

Rick Pitino calls out directives as St. John’s limited Towson to 46 points Saturday in exhibition at Carnesecca Arena. (Photo by Vincent Dusovic/St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino wanted to see what he had from his second unit Saturday, so the Hall of Fame coach submitted an unconventional starting lineup Saturday afternoon as his St. John’s team hosted Towson in its second exhibition contest before its opener against Fordham on November 4.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, it didn’t matter who contested the opening tip, as the Red Storm dominated in a defensive masterclass against a Towson team picked as the preseason favorite in the Coastal Athletic Association. St. John’s took control in the opening minutes of the first half, tightened the screws as the afternoon ensued, and held the Tigers to 28 percent shooting from the floor in a 64-46 domination at Carnesecca Arena.

“I wanted to play guys I haven’t seen in games to see what they can do getting ready for Fordham,” Pitino said of his starting lineup, which consisted of freshman Jaiden Glover, sophomore Brady Dunlap, and transfers Vince Iwuchukwu, Aaron Scott and Deivon Smith. “I didn’t care about playing the starters too much, because I know what they can do.”

“Our mindset coming into this game was we needed to work on our defense,” added Scott, whose 11 points matched RJ Luis for the team lead. “We gave up a lot of points against (Rutgers) and we knew this team was a very experienced team, they had a lot of starters coming back. So we had to lock in on the defensive end, and as you can see, we only gave up 46. We locked in on defense and we got the stops we needed.”

In last week’s first of two tuneups before opening night, St. John’s won an uncharacteristic shootout against Rutgers, scoring 91 points to the Scarlet Knights’ 85. Pitino, by design, wanted to prepare his team for a strong defensive opposition so that his own group could come away the better unit on that end of the floor, and was ultimately satisfied with what he saw as the Johnnies forced 25 turnovers and ran Towson off the 3-point line for the majority of the day.

“This was a much better performance,” he reflected, comparing Towson’s defensive pressure to what the Red Storm would eventually see from Seton Hall during Big East play. “We wanted to be the better defensive team against an outstanding defensive team, and we certainly did a lot of great things defensively. We rotated well, we stopped the ball, we challenged shots. We just didn’t block out.”

The other positive takeaway was the continued development of the bench. Pitino was vocal about needing to cultivate his backup forwards and centers last week, even as Zuby Ejiofor carved Rutgers up for 27 points and 13 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive glass. Iwuchukwu and freshman Ruben Prey each logged more than 15 minutes of game action, with fellow rookies Glover and Lefteris Liotopoulos — the latter of whom made his debut Saturday — also played double-figure minutes as the Red Storm was able to showcase its immense depth throughout the afternoon.

“Ruben’s the better five man on the perimeter, and (Vince) is better inside,” Pitino said. “Ruben’s a very good European player, knows how to pass, knows how to move, and (Vince) is a different type of player. So I have confidence in both of them now, and I found that out today. I wanted to see them, because they were so impressive in practice the last two days.”

“We’ve got a lot of depth,” Scott said of the 12-man rotation. “As you can see, we subbed five in, five out, and we still played. We still kept the intensity up with the subs, and we have a lot of depth. The freshmen, it’s their first year and they gotta get used to the game speed and everything, but today was really a good showing for them, to build trust for Coach so that they could play.”

Pitino hinted at facing different styles over the course of the season, the other reason why he wanted to test his team against a gritty Towson side. While last year’s iteration of the Red Storm was marked by a longer cohesion period before the team hit its best stride, this year’s outfit seems more organized defensively, a concern that popped up in losses to Michigan, Dayton and Boston College last season. The main objective on this day was to simply be the better defense while also using the day to find out more about what the coach had at his disposal. Mission accomplished.

“That’s what we wanted to get out of this game,” Pitino further elaborated, likening Saturday’s game to his national champion Louisville’s matchup with Wichita State in the 2013 Final Four. “We’ve been working about 75 percent of our practices just with man defense, and one of the reasons we weren’t ready at the beginning of last year was we weren’t good defensively. We learned a valuable lesson (and we) came away with an outstanding defensive performance. Towson is a very well-coached team, very good defensively, very physical, and we got a lot out of playing against them. It was really, really good for us today.”

What Quinnipiac hopes to get from Miami University transfer Ryan Mabrey

Ryan Mabrey was Quinnipiac’s sole transfer portal pickup this offseason. The Miami University expatriate will be Bobcats’ primary replacement for Matt Balanc at shooting guard position. (Photo by Miami University Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — On April 29, the defending MAAC regular season champion Quinnipiac Bobcats hosted their lone transfer for a visit they wanted to keep quiet. Eight days later, junior guard Ryan Mabrey announced his commitment after spending two seasons with the Miami University Redhawks. 

So what made Mabrey so special that head coach Tom Pecora decided to make him the only dip into the portal this offseason?

“An experienced, crafty basketball player,” Pecora said. “He can really shoot the ball.”

Mabrey slots into the starting lineup, ideally with graduate student guard Savion Lewis backcourt. Joining forces with the nation’s second-leading assist man should bode well for Mabrey, who grew up just a few hours from campus in New Jersey. 

“Savion Lewis, when I first got here, came up to me immediately and started talking to me,” Mabrey said. “He just kind of brought some energy towards me that I really, really liked. I really felt at home, I’m close to home here. I’m loving it so far.”

In his first two seasons in the Mid-American Conference, the six-foot-five-inch guard averaged 24.1 minutes per game and 7.7 points per game, en route to a spot on the 2022-23 MAC All-Freshman team. His coming out party was a 11-game stretch where he dropped double-digit performances in nine of those games.

“He’s honestly the best coach I’ve ever played for, and I’m not just saying that,” Mabrey said about his initial interactions with Pecora. “He’s a great guy, he knows exactly what to say and when to say it. He coaches us hard, but it’s out of love, like you can tell it’s not just him yelling at us. He teaches us.”

It won’t be easy trying to replace Matt Balanc as the team’s shooting guard. In his six seasons in Hamden, Balanc — who is now playing in Denmark — racked up 1,721 points, good for second in program history. He also became the second Bobcat to take home the MAAC Player of the Year Award after leading Quinnipiac to their first MAAC regular season title, following Cameron Young in 2019.

“He's doing well, he's enjoying it,” Pecora said of Balanc. “Look, Matt's a worker. You're a pro, man, you eat what you kill. So you’ve gotta go out every day and Matt's got that in his DNA. So I think he could have great success (overseas).”

But the Bobcats’ coaching staff feels comfortable with Mabrey sliding into the rotation. It has felt like a smooth transition for both parties, one they hope can translate into success on the floor.

“They find me a lot. I could shoot the ball and I could do a lot of other things,” Mabrey said. “They really look for me, especially if I start getting going. Savion is great at distributing and finding other players, and I love playing with Lex (Alexis Reyes), Mari (Amarri Monroe), Paul (Otieno), Doug (Young). They're all great players. We got guys coming off the bench. So far, I've meshed really well, I'm surprised.”

And if the New Jersey native is anything like his backcourt predecessor, Quinnipiac will likely be right back where it was last year — 24 total wins, with 15 of them coming within the conference.

“They had four returners back who all played serious college minutes,” Mabrey said. “When you have that, you’ve got a real chance to win. So I really want to be a part of that.”

Quinnipiac gearing up for second season with Pecora, and first with overwhelming expectations

Tom Pecora addresses his team’s prospects at Quinnipiac media day. Bobcats were picked as favorite to win MAAC. (Photo by Quinnipiac Athletics)

By Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports)

HAMDEN, Conn. — It was an offseason of golf and Italian boat rides for Tom Pecora.

The Quinnipiac men’s basketball head coach — and reigning MAAC Coach of the Year — took a few weeks and finally made the trip to Florence with his wife after having to cancel the first two times.

“We think buildings are old here, and then you’re inside structures over there that are five, six, seven hundred, 1,000 years old,” Pecora said during Wednesday's media day. “It was cool, and it was good to go somewhere without a team.”

Once the summer rolled around, it was time to get back to work — and back to his team.

“We’re excited for the season to start, I think the guys have been so locked in,” Pecora said. “We have shirts that say, ‘FINISH,’ and we gave them out the first day of practice. They've had a great work ethic about them.”

One quick look around the Bobcats’ starting lineup appears to be the same as last season’s regular season champions. Other than Matt Balanc — the MAAC Player of the Year who went overseas post-graduation — the rest of the starting lineup all remains intact. 

Graduate student guard Savion Lewis, graduate student forward Paul Otieno, senior forward Alexis Reyes and junior forward Amarri Monroe all return for another season in Hamden. It’s rare in today’s era of college athletics to retain so many key players, and Pecora’s staff was able to keep the core of the rotation that will now serve as the squad’s four captains. 

“We know what our culture is, we stay true to each other and I think every day, we come in knowing that we have to get better,” Reyes said. “We just, every day, come in and get better.”

But how much better can these Bobcats truly get? Quinnipiac went 15-5 in MAAC play a year ago and fell one defensive rebound shy of playing in the conference championship game. What more does this team really need to do?

“Defense wins,” senior guard Doug Young said about the mentality of this team. “That’s what wins championships.”

“At the end of the day, we didn’t win anything,” Monroe, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, said. “We’re just gonna embrace it. We’re not gonna take no days off, everybody’s going to be prepared and perform every day.”

Defensively, Monroe — who underwent a name change this offseason from Amarri Tice — and Young are two of the grittiest guys on the floor when it comes to causing chaos for opponents. It’s also the immense depth that this squad brought in to replace Balanc. 

In the starting five, junior guard Ryan Mabrey is likely slotting in as the team’s shooting guard. The transfer from Miami University gives the team a crafty shooter along the perimeter and was so highly coveted by this coaching staff, they didn’t even want it known that he was on campus for a visit. 

“He’s an exceptional passer,” Pecora said. “He’s got a great feel for the game. That was the one spot, you know, with Matt Balanc moving on at that two guard spot, we wanted to make sure we could bring in a veteran.”

“A lot of people have definitely stood out to me,” Mabrey added on who caught his eye this summer. “They’re all great athletes. (Freshman guard Jaden Zimmerman) has definitely stood out. He’s really athletic, has got a nose for the ball, just plays hard.”

That has been one of the biggest endorsements that the coaching staff gave its freshman class yesterday. Zimmerman, guard Samson Reilly, and forwards Grant Randall, Braylan Ritvo and Spence Wewe have all opened eyes. They may not acquire significant playing time, but a solid rotation of the young players will help alleviate some of the pressures the starting five may face. 

“They can play multiple positions, which is something I love,” Pecora said. “They’re going to continue to just grow and grow, and hopefully not too fast, because I’d like them to stay a couple years.”

Rounding out the roster includes more depth pieces, including graduate student forward Richie Springs, who grabbed some key minutes down the stretch a year prior. 

“You compete for minutes,” Pecora said. “Is Paul a better player if he’s only gotta play 28 minutes? Can we get 12 minutes to share? And Richie obviously can play the four and the five. There’s a lot of different options out there.”

Up first on the docket for the Bobcats is a November 4 date with crosstown rival Yale, who came off a resounding upset against Auburn in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. While Pecora mentioned his team is fully healthy, minus a few of the common bumps and bruises, it is expected to be a solid start for the campaign.

Some players are looking forward to Yale, others have their calendars circles for St. John’s (November 9) and Saint Peter’s (January 3 and February 28). At the end of the day, the one game this team is really preaching about is the one that would catapult it into its first March Madness appearance. 

“The main goal is to win a MAAC championship,” Lewis said. “The personal goals will come, the accolades will come. I believe that if I focus on giving my all to this team and being able to win, then everything good is going to come from that. It’s us, that’s all we can focus on.”

And once their goal is achieved, Pecora will get back onto the golf course more in the offseason. 

“I’m getting old, man, and I don’t work at it enough to have a great short game,” Pecora said. “I have to find more time to do that. If we have another winning season, next year I will.”

Big East Media Day Photo Gallery

Photos from Big East media day at Madison Square Garden on October 23, 2024:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)