The Huskies are blessed with long and athletic wings.
One of the strengths of this year’s UConn team will be its size and athleticism on the wing. The Huskies were among the tallest teams in the country last season and though the now-departed 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan helped this figure, size at guard and forward made them a matchup nightmare. The quintet of players that will fill in from off-ball guard to perhaps even center if head coach Dan Hurley opts to go small-ball for maximum spacing will be a strength of this team if it wants to go deep in the NCAA Tournament again.
Isaiah Abraham — Freshman, 6-foot-7
Abraham comes from a basketball family, as his dad played basketball at Marquette. A consensus top-100 player who was ranked as high as No. 61 by ESPN, the Virginia native was UConn’s first commit for the Class of 2024 back in July 2023. He doesn’t bring as much heft at 205 pounds but will still be able to use his size to dominate smaller players, both offensively and defensively.
Upon his commitment, Adam Finkelstein tweeted about his strength, athleticism and effort level, which makes him a perfect recruit for Hurley. He’s likely fifth on the depth chart on the wing to start the year and won’t be a big factor unless there are injuries, but could use his skills defensively and ability to drive to get into the lineup outside of garbage time.
He played just four minutes in the exhibition against Rhode Island, but did record a block. He didn’t take a shot or register any assists or rebounds.
Alex Karaban — Redshirt Junior, 6-foot-8
Karaban is the most important player on this team. He’s one of three players, along with Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson, to be a part of both national championship teams and the only to play significant minutes in each of those seasons.
Hurley has called on the Southboro native to be more vocal within the team and promote himself more as he was left off of preseason All-America teams, though he was named to the Naismith Player of the Year watchlist to start the year.
Karaban has grown significantly since his freshman season, becoming a better on-ball defender as he’s gotten stronger. This has nicely augmented his strong offensive game, as he was No. 23 in the country in KenPom offensive rating last season and in the top 100 in both effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage. He is also a decent rebounder, averaging 5.1 boards per game last year.
One of UConn’s most trusted shooters at a career 38.9 percent on 3-pointers, Hurley would often draw up end-of-half plays to get him open on the wing and convert, sending his team into the locker room with momentum and he always seemed to hit on those shots. He was also a 64 percent shooter on 2-pointers last season, which was No. 71 in the country.
Despite this efficiency, he didn’t have the volume, at 13.3 points per game. That figure will need to go up, particularly with a lack of a pro-level center to man the middle.
Liam McNeeley — Freshman, 6-foot-7
The final and most-heralded player in the class of 2024, McNeeley is a top-10 player in the class and has the potential to be a one-and-done, giving UConn such players in two consecutive years. He committed late, flipping at the end of April from Indiana.
The Florida native comes to Connecticut fresh of an MVP nod in the McDonald’s All-American game and is one of the best shooters in the freshmen class. He shot above 40 percent from beyond the arch in both the NIBC and EYBL seasons, according to Adam Finkelstein, who said he has clean mechanics and a compact release in his scouting report, which should bode well for his ability to be a shooter right away at the collegiate level.
This wasn’t necessarily the case against Rhode Island, as the freshman got the starting nod and was 1-for-4 on 3-pointers as he played 24 minutes, which was second on the team, despite four fouls. However, he also has a reputation as being a good passer and having a high basketball IQ. He should be someone on which the Huskies rely once he returns from his calf injury. Hurley expects him to get much better quickly once he gets game reps, not unlike Castle last season.
Jayden Ross — Sophomore, 6-foot-7
Ross mostly played in garbage time as a freshman, scoring 0.7 points and grabbing 0.7 rebounds in 4.4 minutes per game. He played in 23 games, including all six in the NCAA Tournament. He shot 6-for-22 from the field and got most of his minutes before the start of Big East play, recording 17 against Mississippi Valley State, grabbing four rebounds on 0-2 shooting.The Virginia native was just outside the top-100 in the class of 2023.
He uses his length and athleticism to be disruptive and hit outside shots, but was more raw than Solo Ball, Castle and Jaylin Stewart, which is part of why he was limited to a reserve role as a freshman.
However, Ross showed progress in the exhibition and will be part of the rotation as a sophomore. He played 17 minutes and was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, grabbing two rebounds, though he did turn the ball over four times.
The wing will be crowded, but if Hurley wants to go larger, putting one of these players at the two-guard, Ross will be able to find plenty of minutes.
Jaylin Stewart — Sophomore, 6-foot-7
Stewart was able to carve out more of a role for himself as the season went along and played in 37 of 40 games as a freshman. Overall, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. He comes from basketball pedigree, as his father played at USC and as a professional overseas.
He came in with a reputation as a scorer and was efficient as a shooter, even in limited opportunities. He shot 47.4 percent from the field as a freshman and had flashes of potential as a 3-point shooter, going 3-4 against DePaul on February 14, though he wasn’t relied upon to score consistently.
The bright spot last season was unquestionably the Big East Tournament. He didn’t score in 10 minutes against Xavier, but scored eight in the semifinal on 4-4 shooting and followed it up with a 3-4 night from beyond the arc in a nine-point performance in the championship game against Marquette.
Stewart has the potential to take a sophomore leap with more room in the rotation, as he has the size to play small-ball center, along with Karaban. He played 19 minutes against Rhode Island and shot 3-for-7 from the field.