Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Two-time national champion UConn in mix for several elite guards
By ADAM ZAGORIA
UConn could lose its entire starting five to the NBA, and is busy working on building a roster that can compete for a three-peat in college basketball.
In terms of the transfer portal, the Huskies are hosting 6-foot-3 Saint Mary’s transfer Aidan Mahaney, who averaged 13.9 points and shot 36% from deep last season as a sophomore for the Gaels. UConn head coach Dan Hurley is familiar with Mahaney since the Huskies beat the Gaels, 70-55, in the 2023 NCAA Tournament while holding Mahaney to 9 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
Mahaney previously visited Creighton and Virginia and will also visit Kentucky, a source confirmed.
UConn will also host Dayton transfer Kobe Brea from Friday-Sunday, he told ZAGSBLOG.
He is also considering Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. The 6-6 Brea averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds as a junior at Dayton.
Earlier this week, UConn also hosted five-star Montverde (FL) Academy shooting guardLiam McNeeley,who was coming off a 25-point performance in Sunday’s Jordan Brand Classic and who recently decommitted from Indiana.
The Huskies this week signed former Michigan big man Tarris Reed Jr., who will help offset the loss of projected NBA lottery pick Donovan Clingan Jr.
The Huskies plan to return Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson and freshmen Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross as the core going forward.
Sophomore forward Alex Karaban is also testing the NBA Draft waters.
“I think for us, we want to keep intact obviously as much as the roster as we can to obviously hold on to a championship culture with people that know what it’s all about,” Hurley told ZAGSBLOG during a Zoom last week to promote his partnership with Bai WonderWater.
“I see us like we have in the past just being strategic, looking for one or two additions to fortify some positions. We’re excited about some of the young players that we’ve got coming back. We’re excited about Hassan and Samson Johnson, two key players from last year’s team, coming back.”
He added: “There’s a lot of moving parts for us right now, but hopefully we’re not in total overhaul mode.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
