UConn’s transfer wings might end up being the quiet hinge on another big season.
The Huskies have spent the buildup to their Boston matchup with No. 11 Michigan talking about the frontcourt, the returnees and the freshmen.
But if you’ve watched this program through its recent run, you know the connective tissue often lives on the wing. That was true with Andre Jackson, then Stephon Castle, and even when Liam McNeeley tried to keep the pattern going before injuries and roster issues got in the way.
Last season, UConn managed without that kind of true connector. This year, the position looks loaded.
Colben Landrew and the Ross brothers already fit into that conversation. The other names in the mix are Nik Khamenia, Isaiah Shaw and Jaye Nash, who isn’t technically a wing but belongs in the same discussion so he doesn’t get stranded in his own category.
Khamenia is the most intriguing of the bunch. The sophomore Duke transfer has been compared to “Alex Karaban on pre-workout,” though that comparison has its limits.
Karaban was a stretch four who lived more on spacing and steadiness. Khamenia is an off-ball wing with a much more frenetic feel, but it’s controlled chaos, not empty energy.
He can guard multiple spots, help start the offense and punish defenses with real shooting. He already showed how quickly he can make an impact by matching his season-high from last year with 16 points in one game, doing it on just 11 shots.
There will be nights when UConn needs him to hunt points and nights when it needs him to blend in and connect the pieces. That flexibility matters.
So does the fact that he looks comfortable sliding into whatever the game plan asks for. There are some questions against bigger lineups - Illinois’ David Mirkovic and Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov are already on the worry list - but UConn’s help-heavy defense gives him a cushion.
He also looks sound positionally and ahead of schedule in the way he uses angles to cover for athletic gaps.
Shaw brings a different kind of value. His fifth and final college stop is going to look nothing like the role he had at Northern Arizona, where he averaged eight points in 22 starts last season.
The 6-foot-8 Phoenix native can still stretch the floor, and he did it well enough to hit 46% from three last year. He began at Grand Canyon, spent two seasons there, then moved on for one year each at Valparaiso and NAU.
For a bench piece, that kind of shooting is never a bad card to have in your pocket.
Nash is listed here for practicality as much as anything else. The 6-foot-3 junior from Jacksonville State isn’t really a wing, but he has the athletic traits and point guard feel to make him worth mentioning with this group. He averaged 5.4 points, 4.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 25 minutes per game last season, after beginning his career at Tulsa, where he played 6.8 minutes per game as a freshman.
For now, he’s a depth option for UConn, with a chance to fight for a bigger role next year. Junior County is looking way ahead of schedule, so Nash has mostly shown up in mop-up duty.
Still, he has a useful skill set and he defends well enough to keep the door open. It wouldn’t be shocking if he earned some run.
In Other News...
Former UConn Coach Is Back In College Football Again
Paul Pasqualoni is headed back into Division I football, landing on the Florida State staff after a long coaching career that has taken him from head coaching stops at Syracuse and UConn to assistant jobs in both college and the NFL. For UConn fans, his name still carries the memory of a difficult stretch in Storrs, where his three seasons as the Huskies head coach were defined by losing records and little momentum.
Now 77, Pasqualoni is re-entering the college game in a different role, one that keeps him around the sport even as the landscape shifts again in Tallahassee. Florida States staff has been in transition since Mike Norvell was fired, and Pasqualonis arrival adds another experienced voice to a program trying to reset itself while filling out its defensive side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Gets A Huge Early Test In A Rematch Fans Will Feel
UConn is getting an early measuring-stick game in a place that should feel familiar to plenty of fans, with Michigan waiting at Bostons TD Garden in an upcoming rematch that carries real juice. The matchup brings together two programs with recent history and plenty of recognizable names, including UConns Braylon Mullins and Michigans Elliott Cadeau, while the backdrop adds a little extra edge for a Huskies team that will be looking to make a statement.
Dan Hurley has already made clear he is looking forward to the game and respects what Michigan brings to the floor, which is part of what makes this one stand out this early in the season. The series history adds another layer, and with both teams having gone through changes since they last met, this is the kind of test that can reveal a lot before the calendar has even settled into conference play. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Gets An Early Read On Its New Look In A Huge Rematch
UConn gets an early chance to see where its new-look roster stands when the Huskies step into a high-profile nonconference test this week in Boston. The No. 4 team in the country is coming off a strong season-opening win and has already strung together three straight victories, but this one carries a different kind of weight as part of a demanding schedule that will tell a lot about how quickly the pieces are coming together.
Michigan arrives with its own opener in the books, and the stage at TD Garden should give this matchup the feel of a major early measuring stick. It is the kind of game UConn circles because it offers more than a resume boost, with the national spotlight and a familiar opponent adding extra edge to a November night that could say plenty about where the Huskies are headed. [Read more 🡒]