Decisions Loom for Huskies
The Story: The UConn men’s basketball team is still basking in the glow of a national title, but it’s going to have to return to reality soon as major decisions are imminent.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: When you’re successful, opportunities arise. That’s the case for players and even coaches in the men’s basketball program. And no, the opportunities aren’t to leave school to work at Raising Cane’s.
• The first order of business is head coach Dan Hurley. It’s no secret that Kentucky wants him, and there’s a bottomless pit of money in Lexington for him. That said, Hurley has laughed, denied, and given no indication he’s willing to listen, but the Kentucky rumor mill persists. What does that mean? We fully expect Hurley to be the Huskies’ coach for a long time, and he’d be nuts to leave, but UConn is going to have to pony up — something even Gov. Ned Lamont is willing to support.
WHO STAYS? WHO GOES? Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban must figure out if they want to return for another year. Please, no emails or tweets saying Player X is not ready. NBA teams draft on potential, skill and fit. It’s a much more developmental league now than in past decades. A player is “ready” the moment an NBA team considers him draftable.
• Clingan showed glimpses of elite defensive play late in the season. He looks to be a top-10 selection and could even make his way to No. 1 if a team falls in love with his ability to protect the rim. There are no hot prospects in the draft who are considered franchise changers, and Clingan is the best of the bunch from the college ranks, especially after his performance in the NCAA Tournament.
• Our prediction: Clingan reluctantly declares because he’s a nearly guaranteed to be a top 10 pick.
• Castle is the other candidate who’s considered a lock to be a first-round pick and is a potential No. 1 pick as well. He, along with Clingan, are likely to be among the first five college players taken, with projections have him at worst a mid-first-round pick. He averaged a shade over 10 points per game but showed he’s very good on defense and can be explosive driving to the rim and finishing. Castle, who is 6-foot-6, is also a good ball handler with terrific passing skills. When he improves his 3-point shooting — and it is when, nor if — he has the potential to be an All-Star-caliber lead guard. The worst case is he’s a Marcus Smart-like defensive player who can score inside and hound an opponent’s top player.
• Our prediction: Castle will declare for the NBA Draft in short order.
• Karaban is a bit more of an interesting case. He into the season looking like he might be the team’s top scorer, but due to the rise of Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton, he took a more reduced load and worked on his defense and rebounding. He has NBA 3-point shooting range and size and showed he can also take it to the basket and score in traffic. His shot remains streaky and questions about his athleticism are going to persist. He’s in the second round in several mock drafts, making this a difficult decision. That there’s NIL money and he’s a two-time starter on a national championship team gives Karaban incentive to return, work to guarantee a high draft slot, earn money and become the face of UConn hoops next year.
• Our prediction: Karaban is going to test the waters, but we think when all is said and done, he’ll return for another year.
• Spencer has exhausted his eligibility and is headed to the pros. His shooting and surprising play-making ability has vaulted him into second-round consideration. When he joined the Huskies, we thought he was just a shooter, but that’s far from the case. His competitiveness, shooting ability and playmaking are going to keep him in the NBA for some time.
• Our prediction: We are bullish on Spencer and agree with mock drafts that he’s likely to be a second-round pick. Watch an NBA game and tell me that he wouldn’t fit.
• Newton is a weird case. Of the Huskies’ five starters, he’s the first-team All-American and the only one not projected to be drafted. We get it: Newton’s game is almost complete, and in draft parlance, he’s already “near his ceiling.” On the plus side, he’s 6-foot-5, can shoot from deep and is a point guard and facilitator who projects well as a scorer and defender.
• Our prediction: Newton goes undrafted but signs a two-way contract, much like Adama Sanogo did a year ago.
• In case you’re counting, when we said UConn played like a pro team, it was because it is. We watched a team with five NBA-caliber players on the floor this season. Samson Johnson also figures to return as he’s penciled in as the top center before we see what Hurley can pull off in the transfer portal.
DIARRA’S CHOICE: Hassan Diarra, the backup guard and Big East Sixth Man of the Year, participated in Senior Day in March. He can opt to turn pro and try to pursue his dream, can return for one final year, or could go into the transfer portal and latch on with another team that will give him major minutes as a starter.
• Our prediction: Diarra needs minutes, and with Newton and Castle leaving, the Huskies can give him what he craves — a major role as a starting point guard.
FRESHMAN ROUNDUP: Outside of Castle, we’ve only seen glimpses of the top-five class Hurley brought in.
• Jaylin Stewart became a rotation player at the end of the season and played some minutes in the national championship game. Solomon Ball saw time early in the year, but when Castle got healthy, he fell out of the rotation. Stewart and Ball both showed scoring and athletic ability, however, and could be key contributors next season.
• As for Jayden Ross and Youssouf Singare, we didn’t see much of either this season.
• Our prediction: Someone is going to transfer because that’s how college basketball works these days. Players leave for a variety of reasons, and even two-time national champions aren’t immune.
BOTTOM LINE: Hurley has cracked the code in regard to high school recruiting and the transfer portal to become the best team in the nation. The Huskies are going to fill any size, shooting and ball-handling gaps it feels it has in the portal. We think having Diarra at point guard and Karaban as a wing scorer will provide a strong start to next season as we expect the Huskies to remain a top-25 program. Can they win their third straight national title? We have no idea what the team will look like, but for the last two years, Hurley has constructed a team that was clearly superior. Are you betting against him?
— John Silver
Morning Reads
• Red-hot St. John’s is in town to face the baseball team this weekend as the Huskies host a three-game set beginning tonight at Elliot Ballpark.
• The softball team hosts a weekend series with Creighton starting this afternoon.
Top photo: Donovan Clingan drives to the rim during UConn’s game against Georgetown. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
