Last Year: 37-3; 18-2, Big East regular season and tournament champions, won the NCAA Tournament as national champions
Head Coach: Dan Hurley (Seventh Year; 141-58, with four NCAA Tournament appearances and two national champions)
Projected Starting Lineup
PG Hassan Diara – 6’2″, 195 5th-year Senior
G Solomon ‘Solo’ Ball – 6’3″, 190 Sophomore
W Liam McNeely – 6’7″, 210 / 5-star recruit
F Alex Karaban – 6’8″, 225 Junior
C Samson Johnson – 6’10”, 225 Senior
Experienced Reserves
G Aidan Mahaney – 6’3″, 185 Junior
F Jayden Ross – 6’7″, 205 Sophomore
F Jaylin Stewart – 6’7″, 215 Sophomore
C Youssouf Singare – 6’10”, 230 Sophomore
C Tarris Reed, Jr – 6’10”, 260 Junior
Freshmen
G Ahmad Nowell – 6’0″, 195 / Top 50 recruit
F Isaiah Abraham – 6’7″, 205 / Top 100 recruit
They play some hockey out east in Connecticut. Think UConn can make it a hat trick of natty’s?
Making a healthy, upset-less run through March Madness is one of the toughest things to do in all of sports. It’s incredibly difficult to constantly adapt game plans and keep your own schemes flowing while others pick them apart. Sometimes you achieve all of that and still catch someone who’s on more of a heater than your team. The past two Marches, Connecticut has been the fire itself.
Led by the always-stoked mind and boundless perfectionism of head coach Danny Hurley, UConn has made two consecutive runs to the national championship, and they’ve done so in truly dominant fashion. Over their past 12 NCAA Tournament wins, UConn has defeated their opponents by an average score of 22.5 points per, and none of the games was closer than a 13-point margin. Such incredible superiority seems almost impossible to keep up, but here we are.
With a handful of key pieces back, some rising stars lured from other teams, and of course, another infusion of exceptional freshman talent, how could anyone begin the 2024-25 season by picking against the Huskies?
If Hurley chose to, he could simply start the top five minute-getters coming back from last year’s champs. And even if all they had was a lineup of Hassan Diara, Solomon Ball, Jaylin Stewart, Alex Karaban, and Samson Johnson, UConn would be a quality NCAA Tournament team. Since Hurley and his staff have brought in so many new talents to support the guys who have already won it all, though, Connecticut’s ceiling seems much higher than that. Again.
After redshirting his first season in Storrs, Karaban was expected to jump to the pro’s following two terrific years. Instead, his return is huge for the Huskies. Karaban is a stretch forward who is as dangerous from the perimeter as he is near the cup. He knocked down 66 triples as a rookie and then 81 more of them last year, and Karaban is a career 38.9% shooter from downtown. He went for 20+ points eight times a year ago, switching off with his outstanding teammates as a primary scoring threat. Now, with his comfort level working inside or popping out to the wing for good looks, Karaban has the makings of a feature scorer who can lead these Huskies.
A slick and aggressive cutter to the rim when he sees the opportunity, Karaban has also shown some post moves and is patient with the ball. Karaban can shot-fake himself open or use his footwork to set up an opponent and step through, and with added strength, he should be that much more effective this winter. He converted at a 73.6% clip near the rim last season – fantastic efficiency from a guy who’s considered a shooting forward. Karaban is also a good and aware passer who will find guys moving to good spots themselves. He has real potential as a playmaker and ‘hockey assist’ guy out of the high post or as a secondary facilitator on the wing due to his great awareness of teammates’ movements, careful ballhandling and willingness to share. Karaban is active and aware defensively, but does not possess overwhelming strength or elite foot speed. He’s shown more of that great awareness on the other end, too. Karaban switches smartly and helping well as a secondary rim protector. If he can make some more strides in guarding the variety of other players who occupy their teams’ 4 spot, Karaban should truly emerge as a star in his junior year.
Upon his arrival in Storrs from Texas A&M a couple years back, Hassan Diara was a talented but pretty inefficient player. Over the past two years he’s transformed his game in every possible way. Once a guy who flashed quality but was highly inconsistent, Diarra hugely refined all of the facets of his game and turned in easily the best season of his career as UConn’s 6th man last winter. A graduate of Connecticut hoops powerhouse Putnam Science Academy, Diarra chose to join his older brother, Mamadou Diarra (who serves as UConn’s Director of Player Development), for the Huskies’ title run two years back. A physical and athletic playmaker, Hassan Diarra’s primary impact thus far has come on the defensive end. Despite never averaging more than 19.6 minutes per game, Diarra has 61 steals in his 76 games at UConn so far, and he’s every bit as effective in denying opposing scorers decent looks as he is operating as a defensive playmaker. Diarra is effective at getting into the paint off the dribble, but upon arrival in Storrs would chuck in the occasional off-balance or hurried look – not acceptable to Hurley.
Diarra came to UConn having coughed up four more turnovers than he had handed out assists as an Aggie. Since joining the Huskies, Diarra has posted a strong 161:81 assist to turnover ratio, and last season the rest of his game came into focus, too. He finished fourth on the team in made triples, and Diarra – a career 29.4% shooter from deep through the previous three seasons – hit them at a solid 35.7% rate. His free throw percentage rose from 65.4% to 78.0%, and Diarra gained Hurley’s trust as a trustworthy operator of the team’s offense when Tristen Newton needed a breather. This year, Diarra has a chance to be this group’s point guard, and he’s not going to be resting on any laurels.
“The program is all on the same page about what’s at stake and what we want,” Diarra explained at Big East Media Days this fall. “We don’t have no fat rats. There’s a couple guys on the team that haven’t gotten championships and there’s a couple guys on the team that want to have a bigger role in a championship so it’s mutual.”
“Hassan Diarra, he’s just a UConn guy, just hard-playing, did I say UConn guy? Just a bulldog type of guy,” Hurley told the Hartford Courant this fall. While he’s going to need to prove that he can translate last year’s great efficiency to something closer to 30 minutes per game, Diarra seems ready for the challenge.
Do you like dunks? Samson Johnson does, too. Rated a Top 50 recruit by some sources coming out of high school, Johnson has largely been logjammed for playing time or injured over his first few seasons. That began to change in a big way last winter. Tall and long, Johnson is a very mobile big who can range around the lane to block and alter shots, chase reload rebounds, and stuff home good looks. He’s particularly good at that last bit; of the 100 baskets Johnson made last year, 77 of them were dunks. That elite efficiency constituted fantastic backup production behind star pivot Donovan Clingan. This year, Johnson would love to be on the floor a whole lot more; like, starting big guy in his own right more. He can really get from end to end, and Connecticut’s guards know that any lob they toss in Johnson’s direction will be flushed home. Adept in transition already, this year Johnson will look to show off some more refined post-up skills and a move or two near the rim when the Huskies are in the halfcourt. If he can avoid foul trouble or fumbling the ball when closely guarded inside, Johnson can make an even bigger, more consistent impact.
With his wiry strength and explosive quickness inside, Johnson will be the sleek, swift complement to UConn’s new model of classic, physical presence in the middle. Michigan transfer Tarris Reed is a unique combination of things: he possesses tremendous size, nimble feet, and the coordination to use both in concert. With the growing poise to take his time and plan his attacks, Reed can make exceedingly difficult and precise plays for such a wide-bodied dude. If he can avoid foul trouble more efficiently, the third-year man from St. Louis may evolve into a one-man wrecking crew in the middle.
There’s a couple guys on the team that haven’t gotten championships and there’s a couple guys on the team that want to have a bigger role in a championship so it’s mutual.”
– Hassan Diarra
At his best, Reed uses his nearly 7’5″ wingspan to corral rebounds that most players wouldn’t get to or acrobatically finish near the rim. Reed is still a bit unrefined offensively, but he has quickness and occasionally, excellent footwork to utilize in the paint. He’s worked hard to get into the best shape of his life this summer, and Reed knows that Hurley will demand consistency, not just hints and flashes of his true potential. As a rookie, Reed played opposite now-Kansas star Hunter Dickinson at times and locked down the post for the Wolverines. It’s not a certainty, especially given that these Huskies should otherwise really space the floor, but if Hurley can trot out Reed and Johnson together at key moments UConn will have a unique tag team. The team’s third big guy, Youssouf Singare is still raw, but he’s an intriguing youngster. With more than a year’s practice with the team, Singare might still be in a crunch for genuine minutes, but he may be a great long-term play in years to come.
Joining Diarra in the backcourt will be a host of young guards looking forward to a breakout. Solomon ‘Solo’ Ball was a Top 50 recruit a year ago whose elite athleticism was difficult to keep off of the floor even on a veteran team. With the scoring instincts and audacity of a go-to guy, Ball has the aggressiveness and confidence to succeed as this team’s newest primary scorer. He can really shoot the ball, and Ball’s growing threat as a marksman will open up the halfcourt for his drives. With an explosive first step, he knows how to make unwary closeout defenders pay dearly for flying at him on the outside, and Ball has added the muscle to finish through contact. He possesses nearly a seven-foot wingspan which helps to spin the ball up for two even when his drives get cut off, and that length also helps out defensively. Ball is already a genuine problem for defenders to impede on the break, and whether popping for a jumper as he approaches the lane or sailing through it to the rack, Ball is wired to get buckets.
There will be real competition at the scoring guard spot, as Aidan Mahaney shook up the portal by swapping one coast for another. The former Saint Mary’s shooter was named first-team All-West Coast Conference in each of his first two seasons, and now that he’s made the jump to Storrs, it’s expected that Mahaney will truly take off. Especially last winter in assuming the mantle as leading scorer for the Gaels, the knock on Mahaney was inconsistency as a shooter. With a quick and smooth release off the dribble or receiving passes coming off of screens, Mahaney had already proven to be a dangerous marksman. Thing is, when thrust into the #1 role this year, Mahaney struggled a bit. Mahaney is not a ball-dominating volume scorer; he’s a sniper who’s growing into a complete lead guard.
“Aidan has started to play I think his best basketball as we’ve gotten closer to the opener. Stylistically, there’s a lot of adjustments that he has to make,” Hurley explained in October. “I think he’s ready to get out and play against somebody else.” When he’s on, Mahaney can light it up like few others in the country. He’s also a smart and savvy passer whose overall offensive instincts were steeped in Randy Bennett’s extremely efficient system at SMC. Mahaney can handle the ball and initiate offense, and he’s just as effective a playmaker while operating off the ball as any other time. He knows that everyone on the floor will be playing him to shoot, and thus Mahaney has developed a very good sense for moving the ball towards open teammates when coverages shift or he’s getting extra attention. With more consistency from the outside and less pressure to carry his team’s offense, Mahaney should flourish for the Huskies.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 49.7% – Team FG Percentage (5th) |
| 39.2% – Opponent FG Percentage (7th) |
| 18.7 – Assists Per Game (2nd) |
| 10.0 – Opponent Assists Per Game (2nd) |
| 9.6 – Turnovers Per Game (13th) |
This team might not be as dominant in the post as the past couple of UConn crews, but their perimeter shooting at virtually every spot on the floor will carry the Huskies. Adding further marksmanship to the rotation will be 5-star freshman Liam McNeeley. He’s not rated among the nation’s top ten freshmen because he’s bigger than everyone else or a rare superfreak of an athlete. Rather, McNeeley is an extraordinary shooter whose feel for the game is beyond his years. McNeeley moves without the ball like a veteran pro and passes crisply whether in transition or moving around the halfcourt.
He’s very aware of what his guys and the opposing defense are doing, and McNeeley can help out offensively even without shooting the ball. When he does shoot, he can pull defenses apart from the land of trey or shot-fake and step into mid-range jumpers with equal fluidity. Once he’s hit a couple of outside shots, McNeeley becomes truly devastating by sharing the ball and, increasingly, putting it on the deck and creating nearer the rim. While he will need to prove himself as a defender and continue adding to his drive game, McNeeley has immediately translatable skills plus the vision of a maestro, and he should step straight into a valuable role for the Huskies.
The second incoming rookie expected to help out right away is Ahmad Nowell. A prospect who never stopped rising throughout his prep career, Nowell is an intense, relentless competitor at both ends of the court who backs down from absolutely no one. With all of the toughness and bravado expected from a Philly-bred guard, Nowell knows how to get his own shot in creative ways and powers through traffic to score whenever he wants. He’s also increasingly adept at setting up his buddies. His aggressiveness shows up all over the floor, and Nowell channels his enthusiasm in helpful ways. With his expanding repertoire as a passer, Nowell should be able to help out in almost any combination of guards that UConn trots out. He generates turnovers and live-ball opportunities on the other end, and with the shooters that UConn has brought together, Nowell should be able to find his guys when they’re ready to launch against a disorganized defense.
This year’s third freshman, Isaiah Abraham, will battle sophomore forwards Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross for minutes on the wing. Together, they will also give Hurley the versatility to use Karaban as a small-ball 5 at times. In those moments, Connecticut’s opponents will have to contend with a full lineup of dangerous outside shooters.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| N Gonzaga – December 14 |
| vs Baylor – December 4 |
| @ Texas – December 8 |
| N Michigan State/Colorado – November 26 |
| N Memphis – November 25 |
A versatile young forward who can play the 4 in a flying lineup or slide out to the wing to utilize his superior strength and length against overmatched perimeter guys, Stewart improved throughout his rookie year. Though the numbers didn’t always show it due to the difficulty of getting double-digit minutes last winter, Stewart showed toughness inside, positional awareness and some helpful aggressiveness outside, and quick feet wherever he roamed. As a stretch scorer who doesn’t mind the rough stuff, Stewart will be valuable in a bunch of lineup combinations this season. Ross, who played with Ball in high school, didn’t see the floor much as a freshman, but offers more length plus good shooting range and a willingness to take on a variety of defensive assignments. Abraham is a 4-star talent with a similar build to Stewart and Ross. He might be more of a drive threat than a shooter at this point, but Abraham is ready to grow his game the same way his predecessors did last year.
The great lineup versatility of this group will be an advantage even if UConn is missing a genuine go-to scorer near the basket. Additionally, the ability to use prime minutes as a goad towards this bunch playing its best ball will help Hurley and his staff have put together another team that can hang with anyone in the nation.
“You can’t hide from this opportunity,” Hurley told John Fanta for Fox Sports this fall. “If we don’t win three in a row, what are people going to say? That you suck as a coach because you could only win two in a row? But we realize the magnitude of this. You have to be a champion at UConn to be remembered and celebrated.” His methods occasionally seem pretty outlandish – even unreasonable. Even so, Hurley gets results, and players have begun trusting his process and committing to it, secure in the knowledge that he will lead them to the promised land.
With a great cast of improving players and relentless approach from the coaching staff, UConn is a very worthy contender for the national championship – again. Given this team’s talent, the things that have already been proven, and the complete understanding from all involved that playing for Hurley means giving all you’ve got at all times, Connecticut has become something very special even among America’s best programs. Until someone else proves that they can knock the Huskies off of the mountaintop, they will remain there, hungry to hang another banner.
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