A 7-foot-1 center from Minnesota spent Thursday in Storrs, and that alone makes Jack Thelen worth watching for UConn.
Storrs Central reported that Thelen, a Class of 2027 prospect from Maple Grove, Minn., was on campus for an official visit. The four-star big man is a fresh name in Dan Hurley’s orbit, but one that carries some real intrigue given how late the power-conference chase started.
Wisconsin was the first major program to jump in, offering Thelen on June 10. Before that, his scholarship list was made up of Miami (Ohio), Montana and Murray State. He wasted little time after the Badgers extended the offer, accepting it on June 13 and giving a verbal commitment.
That relationship didn’t last. Four months later, on Oct. 14, Thelen decommitted.
Thelen’s summer work with D1 Minnesota on the Adidas 3SSB circuit gives a better picture of the player UConn is evaluating. He averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds against elite competition, production that doesn’t jump off the page but still suggests upside for a 240-pound left-hander.
At this point, there is no public record of UConn offering him.
Still, the recruiting services see plenty to like. The 247Sports composite has Thelen as the No. 15 center in the class, the top player in Minnesota and the No. 110 prospect nationally.
UConn’s frontcourt future is also worth keeping in view because of another rising name in the 2027 class. Nigeria native Lewis Uvwo committed Wednesday to Providence, a Big East rival, after taking official visits to Cal, Baylor and Kentucky.
Uvwo’s path has been a quick one. He didn’t start playing basketball until age 15, moved to the United States last season to play at Prolific Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and has risen rapidly with the help of NBA Africa. At 6-foot-11 and 225 pounds, he is the kind of center who could matter across the conference if the hype holds up.
For UConn, the big-man picture on the roster is already built around sophomores who arrived via the transfer portal: Na’jai Hines, a 6-11, 265-pound transfer from Seton Hall; Oskar Giltay, a 6-11, 242-pound Stanford transfer from Belgium; and Elmir Dzafic, a 7-footer who weighs 275 and came over from Arkansas. Dzafic is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Uvwo’s commitment also made him the highest-ranked recruit in Providence history, topping Ricky Ledo and Kris Dunn, both from the 2012 class.
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UConn Heads Into A Road Test That Could Expose A Lot
A late-October trip to Colorado Springs already asks plenty of a visiting team, and UConn is staring at a road game that could reveal a lot about where it stands. The Huskies will face Air Force on Oct. 31, with Jason Candle spent time this week discussing how to blunt the Falcons run game and how the altitude adds another layer to the challenge.
Air Forces quarterback situation only adds to the uncertainty for UConn, which will have to prepare for a different look than usual and make quick adjustments once the game starts. For Candle and his staff, the bigger test may be handling all the variables at once: the Falcons option-heavy identity, a crowded quarterback room and the thin air that makes every series feel a little longer than the last. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Defense Faces Its Toughest Test At The Perfect Time
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Air Force brings the sort of challenge that can expose every missed assignment, with a rushing-heavy attack that demands patience, leverage and constant attention to detail. UConns defensive players say they like the aggressive mindset theyve built, and this week will show whether that edge holds up when the pressure shifts from stopping a conventional ground game to dealing with one of the toughest looks in college football. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Karaban Just Gave UConn Fans A Real Reason To Watch Sacramento
Alex Karaban finally gave a small but meaningful glimpse of why UConn fans have been keeping tabs on Sacramento. The former Huskies standout, now a rookie with the Kings, got into the action against the New Orleans Pelicans and posted six points in 12 minutes, a much livelier showing than his first four NBA games combined.
For a player who arrived in the league with the kind of rsum that made him the winningest player in UConn history, the early pro adjustment has been slow, especially on a Kings team mired in a rough stretch. But the more interesting part for Huskies fans is the path ahead, because Karaban is expected to keep earning more run as the season goes on, and Sacramento could soon give him a bigger stage to build on what he showed in this one. [Read more 🡒]