Dan Hurley doesn’t have to sell the standard at UConn. The trophies in the Werth basketball facility do that job for him.
The lobby tells the story immediately: crystal balls, championship hardware, March Madness highlights and the kind of tribute reel that makes the point without saying a word. In Storrs, the expectation is not to contend someday.
It’s to contend now. And after bringing in 10 newcomers this offseason, including seven transfers, Hurley is trying to get a reworked roster aligned with that reality.
“I think a lot of the guys that come in here, they want to be in the hunt,” Hurley said this week. “They want to go to a program that’s in contention every year and they have a chance to strive for that. I think that’s why these guys come to school here, I think it’s why we’ve been able to do it with multiple different teams with all different types of players.
“Sometimes it’s good to have some roster turnover, just bringing in hungry people that haven’t experienced it yet, and they see all these banners and pictures, nets and trophies and everything, and if you’re a new player and you haven’t experienced that, you want to see what all the fuss is about.”
The incoming group is ranked No. 18 nationally by 247Sports, and it comes with some real-name experience from high-major programs. Nik Khamenia arrived from Duke, Oskar Giltay from Stanford and Elmir Dzafic from Arkansas. Khamenia and Dzafic are the ones who have already been through something closer to the pressure that comes with a blueblood program, while Dzafic didn’t see much playing time at all for John Calipari.
Hurley is also banking on growth from a young core. He said six of UConn’s top nine players are freshmen or sophomores, and that means the Huskies are asking for a lot of second-year leaps.
Khamenia, for one, played 19.8 minutes per game last season and averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds as a freshman at Duke. Na’jai Hines is expected to anchor the middle after averaging 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 18 minutes as a freshman at Seton Hall. Giltay, now a rising sophomore, logged 14.6 minutes a game at Stanford and put up 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds.
Hurley also pointed to Braylon Mullins, Colben Landrew and Junior County as part of that youthful group expected to matter right away.
“We’ve got a lot of evidence of players making significant second-year jumps. I think we picked players that were going to be able to fit into our style of play and our culture,” Hurley said.
“We took great culture fits. If you look at the type of center that Na’jai is, he fits an archetype that we’ve gone with at center with Adama (Sanogo) and Tarris (Reed Jr.).
“Nik Khamenia, who we could play in similar ways to Alex (Karaban). Silas (Demery), who we felt like was a Tristen Newton type, and Braylon, who’s got a little bit of Bouk (James Bouknight) and a little bit of Hawk (Jordan Hawkins). Nils (Machowski) has got maybe a little bit of Joey California (Calcaterra) and maybe a little bit of Cam (Spencer), but I don’t want to put that on him.
“But we’ve been working since June, this week is not Day 1 of practice for us. We’ve been practicing like dogs since June, so we feel like we’re going to get the players there because we’ve got evidence.”
The newcomers are meant to fill holes around a group UConn believes can be elite in the backcourt, with Demary and Mullins back, Jayden Ross bringing four years of experience on the wing, and Solo Ball potentially adding even more scoring if he returns from wrist surgery. Hurley said Ball would also provide leadership from the sideline if he is unable to play.
The returning players are still carrying the frustration of last season’s finish. UConn fell to Michigan in the national championship game more than five months ago, and that loss still lingers after the Huskies came up short in two other places where they were one step from another title.
They missed out on a share of the Big East regular-season championship at the last second, then lost to St. John’s in the Big East Tournament title game, handing the Johnnies dual championships in back-to-back years.
“It bothers me a lot,” Demary said. “Figuring out how we can get over the hump and how I can be as a teammate, a leader, a player to help us get over that hump is something I’m searching for every day.”
In Other News...
Jason Candles Ohio Return Gives UConn An Early Road Test
Jason Candles first road trip back into familiar Mid-American Conference territory comes with a little extra edge, and UConn will get a useful early read on where it stands under its first-year head coach. Candle spent a decade leading Toledo, so a matchup with Miami (Ohio) brings him back to a league and a setting he knows well, even if the Huskies are the ones now absorbing the lessons of an early-season test away from home.
Miami, too, offers a clean measuring stick because the RedHawks have been part of the MAC backdrop Candle lived in for years. UConn will be looking to see how it handles the pace, physicality and game-day environment on the road, and Candles own history against this conference adds another layer to a game that already carries some intrigue for a program trying to establish its identity. [Read more 🡒]
UConns Conference Future Just Got A Lot More Complicated
Reports surfaced this week that UConn football is being tied to a football-only return to the American Athletic Conference, a development that would reshape the programs long-running independence without touching the Huskies other sports. The idea comes with Miami of Ohio and James Madison also pursuing full membership, adding another layer to a conference picture that has been anything but static.
But the UConn side of the story is still murky. Athletic director David Benedict said he was never contacted about the report and was unaware of any such plans, leaving the Huskies with no clear indication that a move is actually in motion. For now, football remains independent while the rest of UConns programs continue in the Big East, and the gap between speculation and reality is still wide. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Let A Winnable Road Game Slip Away Late
UConn had a road game in reach before it slipped away late in a 24-21 loss to Miami (Ohio), a result that will sting because the Huskies had enough offense to make it a very playable afternoon. Kalieb Osborne did his part, throwing for 215 yards and a touchdown while adding 68 rushing yards and another score, giving UConn a balanced enough attack to stay in it against a Miami team that kept answering.
The RedHawks leaned on David McComb, who was sharp while he was in the game, completing 19 of 29 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns before leaving injured. Even with that setback, UConn could not finish the job when it mattered most, and the late sequence will linger as the kind of missed chance that can define an early-season road trip. [Read more 🡒]