Aidan Mahaney

[TheHorde]

Newton wasn’t gonna be drafted in really any case. AK will for sure be drafted. Just depends where.

He would get drafted. The projections are all over the map but I’ve seen second round in multiple mocks. I don’t think he’d hurt his positioning at all by foregoing the draft for another year. To me he’d have a better chance of improving his stock, and would also likely have his degree by then.

 

[Scottobot]

He would get drafted. The projections are all over the map but I’ve seen second round in multiple mocks. I don’t think he’d hurt his positioning at all by foregoing the draft for another year. To me he’d have a better chance of improving his stock, and would also likely have his degree by then.

Karaban is a better shooter than his stats this year because of that slump at end of season. I think he easily increases 3P % by 5 to 7% if he comes back, and seems like that would help draft stock. It is really hard to make it in NBA if you don’t get pick in first round.

 

[ec33]

He would get drafted. The projections are all over the map but I’ve seen second round in multiple mocks. I don’t think he’d hurt his positioning at all by foregoing the draft for another year. To me he’d have a better chance of improving his stock, and would also likely have his degree by then.

Would Andre Jackson have hurt his position? Adama Sanogo? At some point it is "will you help your draft status by staying a year?" And the answer for Alex is "no, he won't." He will have the same limitations next year and next year's draft class appears better - so odds are he will hurt his stock by staying a year.

But it is also possible the draft stock isn't there and he is a four-year player. Not too bad in these NIL days.

 

[husky429]

But it is also possible the draft stock isn't there and he is a four-year player. Not too bad in these NIL days.

This is probably the answer IMO. He's going to get more in NIL than he would with a two-way or g-league contract. And he can get either of those as a junior anyways. If this was 5 years ago, I'd probably say go and get professional money. But with NIL, I think he may just stick around.

 

[bjc42]

This is probably the answer IMO. He's going to get more in NIL than he would with a two-way or g-league contract. And he can get either of those as a junior anyways. If this was 5 years ago, I'd probably say go and get professional money. But with NIL, I think he may just stick around.

Isn’t it also true that he promised his grandma he would get a degree or something along those lines?

 

[TheHorde]

Would Andre Jackson have hurt his position? Adama Sanogo? At some point it is "will you help your draft status by staying a year?" And the answer for Alex is "no, he won't." He will have the same limitations next year and next year's draft class appears better - so odds are he will hurt his stock by staying a year.

But it is also possible the draft stock isn't there and he is a four-year player. Not too bad in these NIL days.

I think Andre and Adama had their stock at about the highest levels they could a year ago. Adama was a MOP caliber player that dominated in the postseason. Short of Andre coming back and revamping his jump shot, I don’t think his stock could have gotten much higher. It would be Alex’s team if he were to return. I think most would agree that Alex didn’t have the postseason or ending to the year he was capable of having. If he got in the gym and added size and strength, then showed more consistency, would his stock improve? Imo yes.

 

[WinnersCircle]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1783515609101140054?t=4dIZHKQIV8FhHscg5jj3Pg&s=19

 

[KemBuckets21]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1783515609101140054?t=4dIZHKQIV8FhHscg5jj3Pg&s=19

Lets goooo. Reel him in boyz.

 

[husky429]

Isn’t it also true that he promised his grandma he would get a degree or something along those lines?

There's a lot of ways to get a degree.

 

[ec33]

There's a lot of ways to get a degree.

It isn't widely known, but you don't have to be involved in college athletics to enroll at a university.

 

[TheHorde]

Karaban is a better shooter than his stats this year because of that slump at end of season. I think he easily increases 3P % by 5 to 7% if he comes back, and seems like that would help draft stock. It is really hard to make it in NBA if you don’t get pick in first round.

Plus he’s an outstanding student. He’d have his degree by then I think. And it would finally be his team. He’d be the face of the team. With a chance to get a third ring, something nobody has done since the early ‘70s UCLA teams. That might count for a lot in his book. I guess we will see. But if he were to return and show that he is capable of carrying this team as the star, that would only increase his value.

 

[Scrutineer]

Assuming everyone who we think is staying stays (eg Ball, Stewart, SJ, Diarra),
With Karaban, Mahaney, Brea, and McNeeley if we
1 of these guys on next year’s team - we have a sweet 16 team
2 of these guys …elite 8 or final 4 team
3 of these guys … championship caliber team

I don’t see a scenario where we would get all 4.

So we can't be better than a championship caliber team?

 

[Scottobot]

So we can't be better than a championship caliber team?

I think if we were lucky enough to sign 2 of these guys and and a third was interested in signing, Hurley would reach out to Karaban and get a feeling if he was coming back so that he could be honest about playing time for the third guy, and if Karaban wa s leaning towards returning that honesty to the 3rd guy would probably deter the 3rd guy from signing.

that’s why I don’t think we could get all 4. I would be happy with 1 or 2 and estastic with 3.

 

[That Guy]

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

I love that we cant quite fit all the banners into one photo!

 

[UCTitleTown]

Isn’t it also true that he promised his grandma he would get a degree or something along those lines?

Sorry, are you talking about AK? He's a red shirt junior, so it's his 4th year in college. He could already be close to graduating without staying another year. His parents are highly educated and his Mom's has a PhD. To me that long thank you post was a clear sign he's gone. I think even if he's a 2nd rounder he's gone.

 

[djct1999]

Marciulionis was their alpha but Mahaney's a hell of a player and would absolutely be a stud surrounded by the talent we could put around him.

Talent wise, Mahaney has a higher ceiling than Cam. Until now, he has always been catered to and had offenses built around his style of play. From someone I know, he really struggled last summer at these nba player camps. That was a wake up call. If he is willing to play outside of his comfort zone and allow Hurley to coach him up, he can be a star at UConn. He has lottery ability but lacks the intangibles Cam had.

 

[pj]

I love that we cant quite fit all the banners into one photo!

The 999 championship was my favorite.

 

[jojipoji]

Sorry, are you talking about AK? He's a red shirt junior, so it's his 4th year in college. He could already be close to graduating without staying another year. His parents are highly educated and his Mom's has a PhD. To me that long thank you post was a clear sign he's gone. I think even if he's a 2nd rounder he's gone.

Pretty sure he’s a redshirt sophomore.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

The 999 championship was my favorite.

Clearly we invented basketball as opposed to Kansas.

 

[Gurleyman]

The 999 championship was my favorite.

I prefer 2004. The 1005-year wait was exhausting.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Talent wise, Mahaney has a higher ceiling than Cam. Until now, he has always been catered to and had offenses built around his style of play. From someone I know, he really struggled last summer at these nba player camps. That was a wake up call. If he is willing to play outside of his comfort zone and allow Hurley to coach him up, he can be a star at UConn. He has lottery ability but lacks the intangibles Cam had.

I'd like to grab him, he's a winner, and is a heady player. But "lottery ability" and "higher ceiling than Cam" seem like slightly over the top statements

 

[HooperScooper]

Sorry, are you talking about AK? He's a red shirt junior, so it's his 4th year in college. He could already be close to graduating without staying another year. His parents are highly educated and his Mom's has a PhD. To me that long thank you post was a clear sign he's gone. I think even if he's a 2nd rounder he's gone.

He's been in college 2.5 years. He's played 2 seasons and he came to UConn for the semester in January 2022 when he redshirted. FWIW I've been told he doesn't have enough credits to graduate next month.

 

[djct1999]

I'd like to grab him, he's a winner, and is a heady player. But "lottery ability" and "higher ceiling than Cam" seem like slightly over the top statements

Make of it what you want. This isn’t coming from me but a guy who knows Aidan well and whose son played w him since the seventh grade. My guess is you are someone who barely seen him play. Same for the guys who liked your post!

For the record, I’d rather get Aidan than Liam!

 

[bigknight3]

Sorry, are you talking about AK? He's a red shirt junior, so it's his 4th year in college. He could already be close to graduating without staying another year. His parents are highly educated and his Mom's has a PhD. To me that long thank you post was a clear sign he's gone. I think even if he's a 2nd rounder he's gone.

That's an impressive rant for being off by 1.5 years!

And in the end you have no better insight than the rest of us into what AK was thinking when he posted that he'd put his name in for the draft.