Fittingly, Karaban’s grand finale comes on the stage it was meant for

INDIANAPOLIS — From the moment Alex Karaban agonized about whether he would ever wear No. 11 for the Connecticut Huskies again last March, a moment like this was meant to be.

Karaban would not — COULD not — go out slumped in a chair, disconsolate after a second-round loss. If 2023-24, when both he and head coach Dan Hurley jointly and separately debated their futures, was unclear, then last year was the total opposite. The consummate teammate, who has interwoven himself into every possible fabric in the Gampel Pavilion walls over his four-plus years in the program, would be back for one more shot.

One more rally. One more night.

That one more night comes Monday, when Karaban and UConn vie for a third national championship in four seasons, something unprecedented in the ever-changing state of college basketball today. And given what the final foe in an all-time career, a Michigan team that has met almost all of its opposition this season with sweeping destruction, represents, the conclusion of an epic that could never end prematurely feels almost perfect to be one final titanic battle.

“No better ending,” Karaban said when asked to describe the gravity of how much it means to walk away the ultimate winner. “It’s what I came back for, to win another national championship and leave a legacy that’s unmatched in college basketball. So to have the opportunity to do that and to help UConn possibly win a seventh national championship, and then put myself in an extremely rare category that leaves my legacy untouched when I leave college basketball? It’s a dream.”

Karaban’s time in Storrs has been, more often than not, the sweetest dream for UConn fans. As comforting as a warm blanket, as soothing as a cup of tea, the senior has almost always known what buttons to push, exactly what to do to create a joyous memory. It is that innate quality that has compelled his teammates, young and old, to do this for him, one last time.

“Obviously, I’ve been with AK all these years,” Jayden Ross prefaced before highlighting the importance of winning a second title alongside Karaban. “Since I’ve been here and ever since the first day, (he’s) taken everybody in under his wing. We all get behind him in this program, he’s such a huge part to what we do. Nobody deserves it more than him, man…he just works so hard. So there’s definitely a lot of motivation that we have to go out on Monday and try and get the job done for him, because he just deserves it.”

“I think AK just holds the standard with this program,” Braylon Mullins echoed. “That’s the guy you look up to on the court. He’s been through it twice, and just knowing that he’s been through it twice, you can use him as an outlet. To make history Monday for him, I think that’s what we’re all trying to accomplish, and it would be so special for him.”

It would be equally as special for Hurley to win a third championship alongside a player he has called his most unique in terms of bonds he has built with those he has coached. Hurley, never one to shy away from feelings, has already cited the emotional nature of the Monday night stage. He takes it one last time, arm in arm with UConn’s winningest player, where they will stand together for the national anthem before going to war for the final battle.

“We’re getting to the maximum number of games,” the coach pointed out, finding value in squeezing every opportunity out of the ride. “And I just can’t describe to you, I cried the last two times on the way to the stadium, on the way to that last game. The feeling of having outlasted everyone but one other team, there’s a lot of honor in that. It’s an emotional last game. This is gonna be for all of us.”

It could be no other way.