When you win back-to-back national championships for the world to see, you’re the talk of the town in college basketball. When you lose three in a row at the Maui Invitational for the world to see, you’re also the talk of the town in college basketball. Such is life for Dan Hurley and UConn.
Even amidst a season marred with injuries, meltdowns, portal whiffs and a St. John’s dilemma that’s not going away, UConn still managed to be on the doorstep of a third-straight, second-weekend appearance and gave eventual champion Florida everything it wanted and then some.
Being bypassed by St. John’s in the Big East pecking order, if only for a season, has seemingly done a number on Hurley. UConn has had one of the best offseasons in college basketball. He kept his entire group of prized assistants, including Kimani Young and Luke Murray. UConn also added a new voice to the staff in Villanova’s Mike Nardi, long a Jay Wright disciple. Freshman Liam McNeeley went pro, and UConn had a few expected portalers, but it retained four key rotation players at massive positions of need: Solo Ball, Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed and Jaylin Stewart. UConn also cleaned up in free agency, bolstering its strengths and plugging the massive holes at point guard.
Let’s dive into the weeds with the 2025-26 Huskies.
At the beginning of last season, the UConn Huskies looked to be one of the favorites to win the national championship. However, UConn’s season was done in the first weekend. With the addition of Braylon Mullens and Silas Demary Jr, the Huskies look to be back to their winning ways. But have they done enough in the frontcourt to win their third national championship in four years? Field Of 68’s Rob Dauster stops by to chat with Gary Parrish in the latest episode of Summer Shootaround.
Projected starting lineup
1. Silas Demary Jr. | 6-5 | 195 | Jr.
Point guard play was a problem for UConn last year, and Hurley is…
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