Connecticut Huskies

2023-24 Result: 37-3 (18-2 Big East), National Champions

Key Additions

Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s)

Tarris Reed Jr. (Michigan)

Liam McNeeley

Ahmad Nowell

UConn saw the bulk of their team leave for the NBA or graduate after their second consecutive national championship. They also saw Coach Dan Hurley entertain a move to Los Angeles to coach the Lakers, but ultimately came back and signed an extension with the Huskies in pursuit of their third straight title. This will be a tall task, but Hurley did a nice job trying to fill the holes by bringing in Aidan Mahaney from St. Mary’s and Tarris Reed Jr. from Michigan. He also brought in 5-star freshman from Montverde Academy, Liam McNeeley, and 4-star guard, Ahmad Nowell. These guys being added alongside returning starter Alex Karaban, who withdrew from the NBA Draft at the last minute, and role players, Samson Johnson and Hassan Diarra, should put the Huskies in a great position to compete with the top teams in the country once again.

Defensively, this UConn team will look far different than last year’s team. With Clingan gone to the NBA, the back line of defense will have to be held down by Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. That does not bode well for Dan Hurley’s squad. Johnson, who is slated to start, is not much of a rim protector, and also was regularly in foul trouble despite coming off the bench last season. He averaged just 16 minutes per game, yet he averaged an even 3 fouls per game. Based on that statistic, he will likely be in foul trouble again this season since he will be tasked with guarding the other team’s best big men for more minutes per game. The backcourt will also be much weaker defensively with the departure of Castle, who many viewed to be the best defender in this year’s NBA Draft, and Newton. They provided constant pressure on the opposing team’s guards. While Diarra will do a fine job, and Mahaney comes from a team in St. Mary’s that historically plays in slow-paced, defensive-minded games, they are no Castle or Newton. The Big East will be far different than the level of guards that Mahaney was asked to guard in the West Coast Conference, and he is more of an offensive guard anyway. The loss of Cam Spencer will also be crucial, as he was a physical guy who wasn’t afraid to get his nose dirty, averaging 1.5 steals per contest last season. The wing defense will be the strength of the team with Karaban and McNeeley, but it is unlikely that they will be able to cover up the other defensive blemishes. The heart of the Huskies’ defense is gone, but with Dan Hurley at the helm, they will be well-coached defensively, but the talent on this end just isn’t there this season.

Offensively, this team will look much different as well after losing four of their top five scorers from last season. However, Hurley is such a great coach and runs actions that get his guys great shots, they will be completely fine on the offensive end. Aidan Mahaney is an offense first guard coming from a slow paced offense averaging 13.9 points per game last season. With Hurley, expect Mahaney’s offensive potential to be fully unlocked and a significant increase in efficiency with the quality of shots that he is going to get playing in the UConn offense. The go-to scorer this season will be Alex Karaban, although it will probably be done by committee most nights. Karaban averaged 13.3 last season, and will be asked to take (and make) and a lot more shots this season. The big get for this offense is 5-star freshman Liam McNeeley, who was originally committed to play for Mike Woodson at Indiana. The Huskies are going to run him off all kinds of screens as he is a great three-point shooter, but also don’t be fooled by that part of his game because he is a great athlete with bounce too. Diarra, who was last year’s Big East 6th Man of the Year, will run the show with the ball in his hands, which he did a great job of in a bench role last season. Hurley will trust him to get the ball on time and on target, but will also be asked to do a bit more scoring this season as a steadying piece of the offense. Losing Clingan will be a big loss down low, as Johnson and Reed are not near the same level of an interior presence. They won’t be feeding the ball in and asking them to go one on one this season, but they will be nice ancillary players to the guards. Expect UConn’s offense to be really good this season because of the guards, wings, and Dan Hurley’s coaching, but not nearly the same level of elite play that we saw with the Huskies for the last couple of years.

UConn should be right in the mix at the top of the country again this season. With the turnover of the roster, there may be some growing pains, but the expectation is that the greatness of Dan Hurley can make up for that and bring the team along quicker than people might anticipate. The defense will have its struggles, which might hinder the team in certain matchups, especially come tournament time, but their offense should have them in a spot to be at the top of the Big East yet again and primed for a deep tournament run yet again as long as they have the right path for their defensive personnel.