I noticed the article this morning and felt is was a nice read.
I always rooted for him to succeed, but could tell early on that he was not a good fit for what Hurley brought him in for. He struggled executing the multi-action motion offense. Being decisive, knowing where to pass it, where to move and cut, is critical, especially for the both guard positions. He struggled often with his shot, and he was not quick or strong enough to prevent players front driving right by him, which was a problem with all of our guards throughout most of last season.
Note, none of this was his fault. He always worked hard and never seemed to complain, though you could see his confidence took a big hit in Maui and carried over throughout most of the season. Hurley kept on putting him out there, but eventually had to ride Diarra for excessive minutes which wore him down, even playing hurt the latter part of the season.
As for Mahaney being a bad fit, I don't think anyone saw that coming. Everyone was excited he chose UConn, including me. If Hurley was asked if he'd do it again, zeroing in on Aidan to fill the role he envisioned him for, he'd probably say no, or evade that question.
I don't know what lead guards were available when the staff was able to turn their attention to 2024-25 roster after winning the back-to-back NC. If they could have landed a Silas Demary type player, not necessarily as talented one, but one with his type of skill set, we might have three-peated.
Aidan just seems like a nice kid and good teammate. Hurley keeping in touch with him, shows he's a class act. It's simply unfortunate it didn't work out for him or UConn last year. I chalk it up as a learning experience based on the roster building decisions for the 2025-26 and the 2026-27 seasons.