UConn men’s basketball position preview: Wing

One of the strengths of this year’s UConn team will be its size and athleticism on the wing. The Huskies were one of the biggest teams in the country last season, and while now-retired 7-foot-1 Donovan Clingan contributed to that figure, their size at defense and forward made them a matchup nightmare. The quintet of players filling in from off-ball guard to perhaps even center if head coach Dan Hurley opts for small-ball for maximum spacing will be a strength of this team as it advances deep into the NCAA Tournament again wants to advance.

Isaiah Abraham – Freshman, 6-foot-7

Abraham comes from a basketball family as his father played basketball at Marquette. The Virginia native was a consensus top-100 player, ranked as high as No. 61 by ESPN, and was UConn’s first-round pick for the Class of 2024 in July 2023. At 205 pounds, he doesn’t bring that much Weight with, but will still be able to use his size to dominate smaller players both offensively and defensively.

After signing, Adam Finkelstein tweeted about his strength, athleticism and performance level, making him the perfect recruit for Hurley. He’s probably fifth on the depth chart at the start of the year on the wing and won’t be a big factor unless there are injuries, but he could use his defensive skills and driving ability to get in outside of injury time as well to come to the lineup.

He played only four minutes in the exhibition game against Rhode Island but recorded one block. He didn’t shoot or register any assists or rebounds.

Alex Karaban – Redshirt junior, 6-foot-8

Karaban is the most important player on this team. He is one of three players, along with Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson, who were part of both national championship teams, and the only one to play significant minutes in each of those seasons.

Hurley has urged the Southboro native to be more vocal within the team and make a bigger impact since he was left off the preseason All-America teams despite being named to the U.S. Player of the Year watch list earlier in the year Naismith was set.

Karaban has developed significantly since his first season and has become a better ball defender as his strength has increased. This has significantly bolstered his strong offensive game, as he was No. 23 in the country in KenPom offensive rating last season and was in the top 100 in both effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage. He’s also a good rebounder and averaged 5.1 boards per game last year.

With a career 38.9 percent 3-point shooting percentage, Hurley was one of UConn’s most trusted shooters. He often planned plays at the end of the half to get him open on the wing and convert to hit those shots. He also shot 64 percent on two-point shots last season, ranking No. 71 nationally.

Despite this efficiency, he didn’t have the volume, averaging 13.3 points per game. That number needs to be increased, especially with the lack of a pro center manning the middle.

Liam McNeeley – Freshman, 6-foot-7

The final and most highly touted player in the 2024 class, McNeeley is a top-10 player in the class and has the potential to be a differentiator by giving UConn players like that in back-to-back years. He committed late and transferred from Indiana in late April.

The Florida native comes to Connecticut fresh off an MVP nomination in the McDonald’s All-American Game and is one of the best shooters in the freshmen class. According to Adam Finkelstein in his scouting report, he shot over 40 percent from distance in both the NIBC and EYBL seasons, which Adam Finkelstein said in his scouting report had clean mechanics and a compact shot, which bodes well for his ability should be to be a shooter right away at the college level.

That wasn’t necessarily the case against Rhode Island, as the freshman was given the starting role and went 1-for-4 on 3-pointers for 24 minutes, second on the team despite picking up four fouls. However, he is also considered a good passer and has a high basketball IQ. He should be someone the Huskies can rely on once he returns from his calf injury. Hurley expects to get much better quickly once he gets game reps, similar to what Castle did last season.

Jayden Ross – Sophomore, 6-foot-7

Ross played mostly garbage time as a freshman, scoring 0.7 points and grabbing 0.7 rebounds in 4.4 minutes per game. He appeared in 23 games, including all six in the NCAA Tournament. He shot 6 of 22 from the field and had most of his minutes before the start of Big East play, scoring 17 against Mississippi Valley State and grabbing four rebounds on 0-2 shooting. The Virginia native was just outside the top 100 in the class of 2023.

He uses his length and athleticism to be disruptive and make outside shots, but has been rougher than Solo Ball, Castle and Jaylin Stewart, which is one of the reasons he was limited to a reserve role as a freshman.

However, Ross showed improvement in exhibition and will be part of the rotation in year two. He played 17 minutes and was 2-for-3 from distance, grabbing two rebounds despite turning the ball over four times.

The wing will be crowded, but if Hurley wants to get bigger and start one of those players in the two-man defense, Ross will be able to find plenty of minutes.

Jaylin Stewart – Sophomore, 6-foot-7

As the season progressed, Stewart managed to carve out an increasingly larger role for himself, playing 37 of 40 games as a rookie. Overall, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. He has a basketball pedigree, as his father played at USC and professionally overseas.

He had a reputation as a goalscorer and was an efficient shooter even in limited opportunities. He shot 47.4 percent from the field as a freshman and showed potential as a 3-point shooter in a 3-4 win over DePaul on Feb. 14, although he couldn’t be counted on to score consistently.

The bright spot of last season was undoubtedly the Big East Tournament. He didn’t score in 10 minutes against Xavier, but scored eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in the semifinals and had a nine-point performance on 3-4 from distance in the championship game against Marquette.

Stewart has the potential to make a second-year jump with more room in the rotation as he has the size to play alongside Karaban as a small-ball center. He played 19 minutes against Rhode Island and shot 3 of 7 from the field.