After Huskies’ latest NCAA title run, changes likely coming to roster
Win or lose in the national championship game, this UConn men’s basketball team is about to look a whole lot different next season.
It’s been a remarkable run for the Huskies during the 2023-24 season. Appearing in consecutive national title games is rare. Winning back to back titles? It hasn’t been done since 2007.
Even that 2007 championship, won by the Florida Gators, had something this UConn team lacked: continuity. The Gators returned much of their team from one championship to another and with the same core players that went on to NBA careers months later.This UConn team? Some piece of the core were consistent. Tristen Newton was a key member of the 2023 championship, but stepped up to All-American status this year. Alex Karaban added consistency.
But after that, UConn needed to create something new, something fresh. Donovan Clingan entered the starting lineup after playing the role of backup last year. Cam Spencer had to learn to gel with his new team. Stephon Castle was a high school senior last year. Samson Johnson was a reserve.
After Monday night, poof. It’s all gone and UConn coach Dan Hurley will have to start over, restructuring and tinkering and building toward yet a new roster.
It’s highly likely Clingan and Castle are gone. Mock NBA drafts have the sophomore and freshmen, respectively, landing in the first round and many in the lottery. Newton and Spencer have exhausted their NCAA eligibility.
How fast things will change for the Huskies after Monday night.
It was never much of a question about whether Castle would head to the NBA, but more of a question of when. If he played well, it was likely the freshman would only last a season.
On a team filled with talent and scoring possibilities, Castle was averaging 11 points per game, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Beyond that, he’s been among the Huskies’ best defenders and consistently positioned to guard the best scorer on the opposition. He’s put himself in position for an NBA career.
“Steph Castle at the end of his freshman year is probably playing like a sophomore,” Hurley said in a press conference, Sunday.
Beyond that, Castle has been the ideal teammate. He has fit in well
with the rest of the team and asked earlier in the Final Four week about next steps for his basketball career, Castle said he was focused on the task at hand.
“The way he handled the recruiting process, it didn’t turn into a fiasco,” Hurley said. “It didn’t go from a ‘I’ve narrowed my list to 20, now I’ve narrowed it to 18, now 12, now 9.’ Like, he was decisive .... It’s just been the perfect situation for him ‘cause his draft stock is
right where (he and his parents) want it to be right now, and he’s won big. You can still do both, and everyone can win.”
“He’s not like any other freshman,” Clingan said Saturday. “He’s out there to do whatever his team needs for him to do to win. He’s one of the best onball defenders that you’ll see. He puts a lot of work in. He’s the most unselfish player on this team.”
What exactly Hurley has to build around will be decided in the coming days and weeks.
Karaban remains a bit of a wild card. He could come back as a veteran
leader of this team. Or he could leave for a pro career. He is projected as a second-round pick in those same mock drafts.
Johnson has eligibility remaining and would be expected back. UConn has also been in touch with players who have entered the portal, including Florida Atlantic big man Vladislav Goldin.
The coaching staff thinks highly of freshmen Jaylin Stewart, who has played minutes during the NCAA tournament at key moments, and Solomon Ball, who played significant minutes earlier this season when Castle
was injured. Beyond that, the Huskies staff will continue to look at how their younger players develop.
UConn also has two freshmen coming in: Isaiah Abraham and Ahmad Nowell, who they are keen on. Then, there is always the transfer portal.
The key to building a program the way UConn has, Hurley said Sunday, is continuity and sticking to the identity they want.
“Obviously there’s a baseline that you need in terms of size, athletic ability, just ability with the basketball to do things,” Hurley said. “But we really hold out to get our type
of people. The staff continuity. We’ve made it so good I think for guys like Kimani (Young) and Luke (Murray) to not take a low or mid-major job. I’ve been able to keep my staff intact by making sure they’re taken care of that way.”
It’s possible both Young and Murray could be in line for opportunities at schools elsewhere. Both have been approached in the past.
“We just haven’t changed a lot,” Hurley said. “Like, we don’t kiss the kids’ (butt) during recruiting. We don’t kiss it while they’re on campus.
We bring tremendous value to our players because we’re old school and we push ‘em to get better and to become better people. We teach ‘em how to become successful.
“I think we try to play modern basketball with the use of analytics,” Hurley said. “I bought more into that. But have really held on to, like, old-school values the way coaches maybe used to be more, where we’re in charge and we hold people accountable. But we play a modern style of ball.”
That approach seems to be working for the Huskies under Hurley so far.