College hoops insider names top two standouts from Dan Hurley’s UConn practice sessions during offseason
Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies are heading on to what could be a historic season. The program has won back-to-back titles and is striving to become the first to three-peat since UCLA in the early 1970s.
While the Huskies retained Hurley from making a big league leap to the Lakers, their current challenge is to replace last year's standouts, Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan and Tristen Newton.
Nevertheless, from what Jon Rothstein sees in Huskies' practice sessions, the program might have already found their star players for the 2024-25 season. The insider praised the fresh transfer Tarris Reed Jr. while labeling sophomore Solomon Ball as a potential wildcard due to his versatile scoring.
Moreover, Rothstein radiated that Hassan Diarra could be a glue guy for the roster while appreciating his self-awareness and ability to finish through contact.
Ball played huge minutes for Dan Hurley at the beginning of last season but was caught into the packed minute rotation after the first 15 games. He will have his chance at earning action minutes again this season.
Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. was a consistent player in the Wolverines’ 8-24 record last season, averaging 9.0 points in 51.9% shooting.
Hassan Diarra knows when to pick his on-court battles, making him an impact player behind a career-best 48.3% field goal efficiency from 30.1% in the 2022-23 season. He has also more than doubled his boards (3.0 rpg) and scoring (6.1 ppg).
Dan Hurley has formed a shooting unit
Alex Karaban returns as the only starter from Dan Hurley’s last season roster. Taking 7 to 10 shots per game while shooting north of 45% in both of his seasons, he will continue to be a crucial aspect in UConn’s 2024-25 run.
Regardless, as the program features new additions like Aidan Mahaney and Liam McNeeley, Rothstein believes that Hurley’s roster can be a top-shooting team in the league.
"This has a chance to be Dan Hurley's best shooting team at UConn. Tailor made for the Huskies' inverted offensive concepts. Major floor spacers in Liam McNeeley, Alex Karaban, and Aisan Mahaney," the Insider tweeted to conclude his statements from UConn's practice.
While UConn was not a great all-around shooting team last season, they were able to do a lot of damage from the three-point line.
They converted 36.7% of their three-pointers last season and made 49.6% from the field. Additionally, they restricted 32 teams to less than 40% three-point shooting while putting the clamps on 37 teams to restrict them to under 50% overall shooting.