UConn Adds 6-foot-9 Israeli Hasson
The Story: Dan Hurley is going back to UConn’s old stomping grounds for talent by adding Yari Hasson, a 6-foot-9 forward from Israel, to the roster for this season.
WHO IS YARI HASSON? He was committed to Denver but decided to reopen his recruitment earlier this month and will become the fifth Israeli to play for the men’s basketball team (and the first in more than 20 years.) Hasson also had an offer from San Francisco and looks to join UConn as a depth player. He played as an amateur in the Israeli Premier League and was a member of Israel’s U-18 national team.
• Hasson follows in the footsteps of the legendary Nadav Henefeld, who was the straw that stirred the drink in 1989-90 when UConn won its first Big East championship. Henefeld played only one year but his impact helped start the Huskies’ journey into a national power. The best Israeli player was Doron Sheffer (1993-96), who played for three seasons with Ray Allen in the backcourt and was a second-round draft pick, though he never played in the NBA. The Huskies also had Gilad Katz (1990-92) and Uri Cohen-Mintz (1994-95) in the early 1990s. Hasson opens the door again 27 years later.
WHERE DOES HE FIT? The Huskies need depth and currently have 12 scholarship players with son Andrew Hurley a walk-on. UConn returns Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson to the starting lineup and has brought in a host of transfers with guards Tristen Newton, Nahiem Alleyne, Joey Calcaterra and Hassan Diarra all perimeter players with shooting and scoring ability.
• As far as freshmen, Alex Karaban joined the program in January and 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan is on campus. Hasson figures to be a perimeter forward, which Hurley craves, when he goes to the four-out, one-in offense around Sanogo and Clingan. Karaban, Jackson, Richie Springs and Samson Johnson figure to play the four as the Huskies look to be more mobile, athletic and skilled.
QB Uncertain at This Point
The Story: Jim Mora doesn’t want to tell Utah State who the quarterback is going to be. As nearly 30-point underdogs against Utah State on Saturday, we guess UConn needs all the help in can get, but if Penn State transfer Ta’Quan Roberson isn’t taking snaps, we will be shocked.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Our intrepid beat reporters have gone up to the more open Mora regime this week and made the notable points following practice on Tuesday.
• Roberson took the majority of snaps and was working with the first team.
• Freshman Zion Turner and sophomores Cale Millen and recovering starter Tyler Phommachanh didn’t see a lot of time the first hour of practice.
• OK. We are all for the Randy Edsall lets fool the media and play someone else card (Matt Bonislawski is warming up in the tunnel!), but Mora doesn’t strike us as a guy who would go to that level of subterfuge. It really doesn’t matter who Mora names as starter because there isn’t any kind of film on any of the UConn QBs to get a sense of how things will run. Mora knows who is starting and the starter knows who is starting. He isn’t telling us, and for this week, we will give him a pass.
CAN UCONN GO VERTICAL? Speaking of passing, will the Huskies have a passing attack? Roberson has been called gifted by offensive coordinator Nick Charlton. What does that mean? No idea, but we can’t wait to find out.
• Roberson will run. You have to be a mobile QB in college unless you have an NFL-caliber arm and receivers, and at 5-foot-11, we are expecting him to be on the move in the pocket to help create big plays on the run.
• One part of his game that dogged him this spring was deep throwing accuracy. It looks like that has gotten better since spring practice, per Mora, and hearing that the Huskies’ offense might go vertical has us excited.
• If recruiting offers out of high school matter (they don’t), this is the most highly recruited group of quarterbacks UConn has ever had. But it’s short on experience. Roberson threw 28 passes at Penn State while Millen’s greatest on-field contribution while at Oregon was a special teams tackle. Turner is a freshman and never taken a snap and we just are skeptical that Phommachanh is an option after he tore up his left knee because he has a redshirt year in the back pocket.
SCHEDULE IN FOCUS: UConn is making a trip to Virginia a common thing. It announced home-and home series with James Madison and Old Dominion.
• The Huskies will travel to play at James Madison on Nov. 11, 2023. James Madison, which is moving up from the FCS this year, will play at UConn on Nov. 14, 2026. The Huskies are 1-4 all-time against James Madison, including a 48-14 beatdown in their last meeting in 1999.
• The Huskies will play at Old Dominion on Oct. 31, 2026, and will get a return game on Sept. 25, 2027.
• The games against JMU replace games at Liberty. UConn had a three-game series against Liberty, but it was altered with the Flames joining Conference USA next season.
• UConn’s 2023 schedule is complete, with NC State, Duke, Utah State, FIU, Sacred Heart and USF coming to Rentschler Field.
ANDERSON ON UCONN, AGGIES: Friend of the Daily Jared Kotler and the CT Scoreboard Podcast caught up with Blake Andersen, the Utah State coach.
• The Aggies received votes in the preseason top 25 poll and return 12 starters from last year.
BUILDING THE STAFF: Mora has also had a lot of work to do building a young and diverse staff that includes Charlton, Maine’s former head coach.
• Mora worked hard to find specific coaches to take the job, though with Lou Spanos leaving the team and no defensive coordinator to fill his shoes, Mora is going to have to step in and do some double duty.
Morning Reads
• Former linebacker Darrian Beavers, who transferred to Cincinnati, had his rookie season in the NFL cut short after a knee injury. The New York Giants’ sixth-round pick figured to be a part of the initial 53-man roster. (New York Post)
