Alex Karaban

[bendm]

oh captain, my 24-25 captain.

 

[Peacefrog]

Just had to take a victory lap from my Aug 2021 post​

[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Ricker​

JoinedSep 2, 2011Messages1,340Reaction Score14,468

• Aug 2, 2021
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• #53

OMG!! How do I send a thank you note to Tom Moore and what do I owe him!!

It has been a privilege to be of service. (tongue firmly in cheek)

If Sanogo, Clingan, Karaban, doesn't kick ass, I'm going to have to be man enough to own it on the Boneyard. They gave me ALL of my top targets I wanted to build around as a multi-year core to surround with athletes.

Time to celebrate UCONN IS BACK

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Reactions:Askgreek, bigknight3, UKemba15 and 91 others

Prescient.

 

[Conndog]

Many more knowledgeable bball folks here than me, but it sure seems like Edey fouls a lot on the offensive end. He almost knocked Out AK with an elbow and no call

Not sure why centers are the exception, but they seem to have the right to use their bulk and just push back anyone in their way. At times it looks like a Sumo match. If a guard were backing down the person guarding him and he knocked someone backwards, they would or should be called for a charge. Why are centers and especially Edey able to get away with this? If that is all a center can do, then they should foul out of the game.

 

[TrueBlue22]

AK should be a Wooden Award finalist if he comes back next year. There, I said it.

if karaban comes back, i will believe we have the possibility to threepeat.

feels like there is a world where the offense flows through him as a #1 or #2 option (more inverted pick-and-rolls and mismatch hunting, etc.) and he becomes an all-american.

Naismith POY level player in my opinion, if he returns.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Nice matador D by Edey.

Edey was gassed with 6 minutes in the first half, caught some second half wind and was done with 15 minutes to go. He could do what he does on offense because he knows what he is doing. He had no energy to move or react on defense. UConn knew this and started attacking the rim more.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Not sure why centers are the exception, but they seem to have the right to use their bulk and just push back anyone in their way. At times it looks like a Sumo match. If a guard were backing down the person guarding him and he knocked someone backwards, they would or should be called for a charge. Why are centers and especially Edey able to get away with this? If that is all a center can do, then they should foul out of the game.

Eh. They let Villanova guards do that with Jay Wright as head coach. They'd smash in to the defender time and again and then get a lay up. YMCA trash league stuff. Dixon did it this year for Nova too.

 

[cohenzone]

Love him. Hope he tests the draft. Get evaluated. Come back. Build himself into a lotto pick. Win 3rd championship.

Why are people so anxious to have good players leave after a year or two? Stock in the NBA?

 

[JB75]

He played such great defense all night. Warrior. I’m already getting sad thinking bout how I’m never gonna see some of these guys play again

 

[HooperScooper]

From middle school champion to 2 time college national champion. Guess which one is Alex.

 

[Hoopcrazee]

Love him. Hope he tests the draft. Get evaluated. Come back. Build himself into a lotto pick. Win 3rd championship.

It's a MUST have for next year

 

[Hoopcrazee]

Championship DNA. Winners make winning plays at winning time.

Championship BBall IQ!

 

[uconnfan68]

Not sure why centers are the exception, but they seem to have the right to use their bulk and just push back anyone in their way. At times it looks like a Sumo match. If a guard were backing down the person guarding him and he knocked someone backwards, they would or should be called for a charge. Why are centers and especially Edey able to get away with this? If that is all a center can do, then they should foul out of the game.

Wish we had Adama for him. Would have been epic.

 

[3rdbass]

His 2 blocked shots in first half made me stand up

It was nice to stand up for those blocks after the all the Purdue fans were being so obnoxious in section 112. It was nice to quiet them down with those blocks.

 

[Chief00]

He shot close to 40% from 3 for the year, and a huge percentage of his 3s were not from the line but well behind it. I’d love for every player to get better at every aspect of their game, but his shooting is not near the top of the list.

I love Alex and his boxing out was beyond tough. He did so many things to help us win including hitting a key 3.
I am not sure why so many of his 3 attempts are from further out than necessary? His shot is unorthodox and if it goes in, you leave it alone. If someone tries to rebuilt his shot, it will be tough because it is not an orthodox shot that you need to tweak an elbow or the arch, but rather you would need to throw everything out and start from scratch.

 

[Ricker]

From middle school champion to 2 time college national champion. Guess which one is Alex.

View attachment 99365

Easy to pick out Alex. Which is your son? This has all been a good ride for you.
First was the satisfaction that a person like myself would pick out and love Alex enough to advocate for him to be a husky.
Then the satisfaction that so many Big East and other teams would offer, with the frustration of nadda from us.
Then the seemingly out of the blue interest and commitment to us so you could root for him as a husky
Now he is in select company in history with an important role in 2 natties and NBA sniffing
Your enjoyment of all this must be extra special. Almost no boneyarders know future huskies when they were so young.
I'm happy for you

 

[KembaRunner]

From middle school champion to 2 time college national champion. Guess which one is Alex.

View attachment 99365

Very cool.

How good was AK as a kid? Did he stand out in a “this kids going to win back to back ncaa titles!” kind of way?

 

[87Xfer]

Why are people so anxious to have good players leave after a year or two? Stock in the NBA?

wut?

 

[Kembacity]

The shot wasn’t falling, but my god did he fight hard every play, make every right pass, and defend his heart out.

He is everything that this team stands for.

And I appreciate the hell out of him.

My wife kept saying he was having such a great game, she was shocked when I told her at the end he had 5 pts, but that’s Alex. Even when he has a bad game he’s such a positive asset

 

[jibsey]

My wife kept saying he was having such a great game, she was shocked when I told her at the end he had 5 pts, but that’s Alex. Even when he has a bad game he’s such a positive asset

If you just focus on him on a replay you will see all of the things he does that never show up on a box score that look like a bad game even when not hitting shots. His block outs and positioning end up as rebounds for our guards many times.

 

[cohenzone]

My wife kept saying he was having such a great game, she was shocked when I told her at the end he had 5 pts, but that’s Alex. Even when he has a bad game he’s such a positive asset

If scoring was always the test, AJax would never have seen the floor.

 

[djct1999]

Consummate glue guy and a coaches dream. Also, this poster’s favorite player!!!!!

 

[dennismenace]

Not sure why centers are the exception, but they seem to have the right to use their bulk and just push back anyone in their way. At times it looks like a Sumo match. If a guard were backing down the person guarding him and he knocked someone backwards, they would or should be called for a charge. Why are centers and especially Edey able to get away with this? If that is all a center can do, then they should foul out of the game.

Certain centers and even some guards/forwards in the recent past. You won't see Clingan or Johnson getting anything near that kind of call.

 

[HooperScooper]

Easy to pick out Alex. Which is your son? This has all been a good ride for you.

2nd row middle to the left of the kid with the black shirt. My son is a year older than Alex so Alex was in 7th grade here and my son in 8th grade. It has been a pretty cool ride and exciting every time we hear, "A 6-8 sophomore from Southborough, Massachusetts, Alex Karaban."

 

[Dogdeacon]

Not sure why centers are the exception, but they seem to have the right to use their bulk and just push back anyone in their way. At times it looks like a Sumo match. If a guard were backing down the person guarding him and he knocked someone backwards, they would or should be called for a charge. Why are centers and especially Edey able to get away with this? If that is all a center can do, then they should foul out of the game.

Agree not sure why certain centers are exempt and others named Donovan Clingan are the opposite and called for many ticky-tack fouls whether against bigs or smalls.

 

[HooperScooper]

Very cool.

How good was AK as a kid? Did he stand out in a “this kids going to win back to back ncaa titles!” kind of way?

No way anyone could have told you what he would become. He was always good. On that middle school team he wasn't the best player. The next year when he was in 8th grade he was by far the best player. Funny story, my son went back to watch a game the next year to see the kids a year behind him. He walks into the gym and they're up 32-6. Alex had all 32 points.

The next year he repeated 8th grade at St. Peter Marian in Worcester because there 8th graders were allowed to play on the high school varsity. I heard he was pretty good but not their best player. He didn't like St. Peter Marian so then he transferred back to his local high school, Algonquin Regional, for his freshman year. They had a really good team and Alex was the best player as a freshman (the age of a sophomore). He won Central Massachusetts Player of the Year. But our public high school doesn't send kids to D1 so it was still hard to tell how good he really was. After the season the coach told him and his parents that he needed to go to a prep school and play with and against better talent. That's when he went to New Hampton.

He still is very friendly with the kids who he grew up with. They're all now juniors in college and they get together when he's home. I know some of the parents of his friends and they've all become UConn fans and go to games. Alex has given them tickets to some games and even bought extra ones with his own money when his allotment was already taken (they said he gets 8 tickets to each game). I hope I run into him soon when he's home. Would be good to congratulate him on everything since I haven't seen him since late August 2022.