UConn Has That Championship Look — Again

He’s got a lead two-way guard as good as any at the position in returnee Silas Demary Jr. 

Jayden Ross is ready to elevate himself into a regular contributor on the perimeter and reliable three-point threat. 

Na’jai Hines was a late add to Seton Hall last season, but now given a full summer will immediately step into the Tarris Reed Jr., role and be a space eater, rebounder and rim protector. 

Duke forward Nik Khamenia, who looks remarkably like Mullins, fits in perfectly with Hurley’s crew contributing in a variety of ways. He fills the Alex Karaban role. 

Stanford transfer big man Oskar Giltay steps into the void left by the departure of Eric Reibe, somewhat without a hitch. 

And the two high-profile freshmen — forward Colben Landrew and guard Junior County — are ready to produce on day one. 

Oh, and Hurley isn’t messing with the court system — not one bit. He’s not waiting on some local judge to do him a solid and get him a player. He didn’t mess with any of that nonsense this past summer. 

“I get it, it’s easier to win, it’s a shortcut to pick off a group of players that are ineligible but are older and history says you have a better chance of winning if you’re older,’’ Hurley told Hoops HQ after the Purdue game. “I love the part of this — in a championship pursuit — of development. I love taking an 18-, 19- or 20-year-old and being a part of that. That’s fulfilling. That’s the rewarding part of being a coach. 

“I respect our governing body and who is eligible, but that’s how we put our team together. In the end, will we pay for it? Was that the right thing to do? Who knows, based on what some local judge is going to decide.’’

I watched the Huskies dismantle a rebuilding Purdue in person. The week prior, I was on the call for a Big Ten Plus alt-cast when the Huskies went into Michigan State and won going away. 

Of course, exhibitions have to be judged with a bit of skepticism. Baylor won at Illinois and took down Florida in Jacksonville, but does that mean the Bears will win the Big 12? No, but it does translate into confidence for a group of guards who could be trouble for opposing teams throughout the season. 

Duke dominated Tennessee at home and took down Kansas in Lawrence and looked every bit the part of being the best team in the country. Accepting that as a reality could be a fair judgement. 

There are plenty of other top-10 teams that looked elite while others were banged up and didn’t meet potential. 

But UConn? It’s hard not to fall for this group. The three exhibitions (they also beat Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena) showed that the Huskies are all in on being able to run their disciplined, cutting offensive sets while still getting back to force turnovers and score in transition. Rebounding will still be a work in progress, and how they handle late-game adversity is an unknown. 

Hurley said it’s obviously easier to evaluate if the team is winning, and there are still questions waiting to be answered.

“Does it fit this group?’’ Hurley told me. “Do we have to go back to the drawing board on ball-screen defense? Mostly you are studying cumulatively through the summer, through the exhibitions. Are you in the right direction? We had to see what people could do. Are they transferring their talent, abilities and production when no one is watching to when people are watching? It builds your confidence.’’

Hurley said he had to see if Khamenia could fill the Karaban role. He has. He will. 

Hines didn’t have a full summer in 2025, but as Hurley said, he had the benefit of playing for a coach — Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway — who held him accountable. 

“You also want to have a couple of freshmen that you feel can make an impact and we feel like we got that with Colben and Junior,’’ Hurley said. 

Hurley’s assessment after the three exhibition games is that he has the potential for a great defensive team. The numbers back that up as the Huskies forced 13 Purdue turnovers, as well as 12 at Michigan State and 16 against Syracuse. 

“We don’t have the 7-foot-2 (Donovan) Clingan at the rim,’’ Hurley told the media gathered after the Purdue game. “But we have more better defenders on the perimeter than we did in ’23 and ’24.’’

Those latter two years are when UConn won national titles in consecutive seasons. That’s saying quite a lot with Stephon Castle, Tristan Newton and Cam Spencer in 2024, after the 2023 starting guard lineup had Newton, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr. 

College basketball is no longer a speed run from Oct. 15 to the first game and into conference play. Teams start practicing on June 1 and mold into an early-season project by November. There shouldn’t be any hiccups in the current schedule. 

That’s why Hurley said he had a good feeling about this team heading into the exhibitions, since they had spent so much time together. He has figured out that he has, essentially, six starters with Mullins, Khemenia, Hines, Demary Jr., Jayden Ross and then Landrew off the bench. 

“I believe in this group,’’ Hurley told the media. “You see your team from the summer to this point and it looks like a team that could contend. And I think that’s all you’re hoping to see at this point.

“We have the ability to get much, much better than we are right now because we are youthful,’’ he continued. “We’re not a team of older players that have maxed out and can’t really improve a lot who are who they are as college players. There are so many players who have worn our uniform (in the exhibitions) that are going to improve so much from where they are right now and that’s probably the most encouraging.’’

I’ll say. This UConn team is only going to continue to grow into a contender, not just in the Big East but for the national title.