Alex Karaban (11) is celebrated by his teammates and UConn fans after Saturday’s win over Georgetown, the 116th of his career, most in program history. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
For four years, Alex Karaban has found a way to make Husky supporters admire him.
Whether by way of his trademark deep three-pointers, a finesse that is almost impossible to replicate, or through his relentless dedication and hustle, the Massachusetts product has become as treasured to UConn fans as the warm embrace of a loved one.
Karaban provided the latest such unforgettable night in his marriage to the Huskies on Saturday, when after Georgetown threatened to steal a road win after trailing by 12 points earlier in the second half, the senior forward secured the rebound of the Hoyas’ errant go-ahead field goal attempt before sinking two free throws to seal the game and become the winningest UConn player of all time, with 116 victories under his aegis.
What made this latest triumph unique to any of the 115 to come before it was Karaban’s compromised physical state. The veteran was kneed in the thigh during Wednesday’s win at Butler, and was still bearing the effects of that collision Saturday. Still, as he has done countless times prior, he managed to stick it out and deliver a performance his head coach likened to the iconic walkoff home run in the first game of the 1988 World Series.
“He couldn’t really move,” Dan Hurley recounted Saturday. “It was like Kirk fucking Gibson for the Dodgers, he was dragging his leg around basepaths. It obviously wasn’t as dramatic a moment in sports history, but he couldn’t move, really, or he was compromised. But if he doesn’t play, obviously we don’t win the game.”
The love story between Karaban and Connecticut basketball is far from a fairy tale, however. In fact, his first impression when arriving in Storrs was no different than that of most teenagers encountering their first taste of attraction, one of awkwardness and overall uncertainty that — long after a relationship develops — becomes an experience they look back on and laugh about due to its sheer ridiculousness in retrospect.
“We were scared to death of Alex,” Hurley reminisced. “Not the game, not the mind, not the skills, not the work ethic, not the commitment, team-first mentality. He was just a scary introvert. I mean, I thought he was gonna piss his pants when he got on the court. He just was so awkward socially. When he first got here, he was just fucking weird.”
So many years later, player seemed to concur with coach.
“Well, I’m gonna say first, (Hurley’s) right about the awkwardness, he’s right about everything,” Karaban conceded with a sheepish grin that has become commonplace as he winds down his career. “I was super shy coming in, no beard. I think I told him after my redshirt year, too, that my first game that I watched was at Seton Hall and I wasn’t even playing, I wasn’t eligible to play and I told him I was gonna throw up. I was like, so nervous, so I’ve definitely grown a long way as a player.”
“When I first came to UConn, I was worried about playing, just getting out there, just making an impact. To now be the all-time winningest player at a program like UConn, to have my name at the top of that list is special. I’ll forever be blessed for all the teammates that I’ve had, I’ll forever be blessed to play for the best coaching staff that’s made it easier to get those wins.”
Indeed, Karaban has come a long way from the early enrollee in the spring of 2022, watching a Husky team take its first steps toward eventually becoming a juggernaut that produced back-to-back national championships in the next two seasons. Hurley praised his young charge for his maturation, eventually realizing that the timid young man he brought in was a different personality in the heat of battle. But as is oftentimes the case in the most successful and intimate of relationships, persistence prevailed. In this particular courtship, it was Hurley’s faith in the long run that ignited the first sparks that led to an eternal flame.
“I misread the whole situation,” Hurley admitted. “His happy place is on the court. It’s like he’s at his happiest and most confident in front of 20,000 people playing basketball.”
“For him to say all those words is a blessing,” Karaban said. “He’s the first person who believed in me and he’s the first person who really gave me confidence out there as a player. He didn’t have to play me my freshman year. He didn’t have to start me, he didn’t have to do any of that. For him to believe in me and have all that trust in me, and for our relationship to grow this much, he’s been the most influential person in my life. I don’t know how I could repay him. I’ll forever be grateful for him, and he’s always part of my life.”
The compatibility is mutual among those closest to Karaban, who have also fallen for his innate ability to be seemingly perfect and endearing so much for so long to where the dream date, so to speak, becomes reality. Perhaps the closest to Karaban among the locker room spoke to that point, heralding the consummate teammate for the ease with which he approaches his commitment, thereby making the road smoother to travel together.
“Being around him for the past three years, he just makes everything easier for everyone around him,” Solo Ball said. “That’s one thing that you can’t trade for the world. Just being out on the court, you know exactly where you need to be and you could ask him for literally anything. And then off the court, just a great dude, down to earth. I love AK. Everything he’s done for this program is just something you can’t trade for the world.”
So on a night most commonly associated with the celebration of love, it seems only fitting that the longest-tenured object of UConn fans’ affections was able to provide another forever moment in a relationship full of them.
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