Borges breaks down UConn’s roster
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Read that this morning. Nothing we all don't know but worth a read since there's nothing else in late August.
Alternate access:
UConn men’s basketball team will be deep and talented this season. Breaking down the 2025-2026 roster.
Alternate access:
UConn men’s basketball team will be deep and talented this season. Breaking down the 2025-2026 roster.
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Just wanna give you props for all the alternate access links. Muchas gracias
Can also view in Reader Mode for those iPhone users 😀
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Always a good read. Because it’s August and I have nothing better to do, here are my thoughts on it all
Malachi: 3 years as a starter (would be 4 if not for injury), coming off a career year and tournament appearance. Big if on his health, but if he’s healthy, we may have the best 2 man PG rotation in America
Solo: We know he can shoot, but what else can he do? If he can come back as a scoring threat off the dribble and just an average defender, that’s a top SG in the Big East and will definitely be my favorite player. If not, well…he can shoot
Silas: surprised to see Borges say he’s a generous 6’4. But he’s the key to our success. Simply put, we need a guy that can take the ball and go make a play on his own. He’s done it at the highest level already. Can he do it within Hurley’s system? Again, he is the key. If Silas pans out, we are title contenders. If he doesn’t, we are not. Simple as that
Jaylin: need a big year out of Jaylin. My money is still on 6th man, but Jaylin needs a breakout year. He’s seemed more comfortable as a backup 4 than backup 3, but we will need him to be a scrappy 2 way threat at both positions
Koroma: he proved he can handle his own against high major competition. Minutes will be scarce, but I feel very comfortable with him as a 3rd string big
Tarris: a lot of this depends on the offensive gameplan and how much we will get him the ball in the post, but Tarris could be a BE 1st teamer. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he should be fighting with Zuby for best C in the conference. He’s that skilled
Furphy: no clue. In theory should be competing in the 8/9 spot on the roster but as Borges accurately put it, a real wild card.
Millender: like Koroma, I feel really comfortable here at the 3rd string. If Malachi stays healthy then I don’t expect many minutes here, but this is a really good option at 3rd string
Rrezon: I’d go Koroma as the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency C role, but he may get a couple minutes here and there if Tarris and Reibe get in foul trouble. He’s 7’2, I’m excited to see how he can develop over time. Not expecting much this season
Karaban: the staff did a great job building a roster to let AK play his more natural role. He’s the leader of the team. He needs to make shots, avoid major slumps, and show continued development on defense. I’m very excited to see what an angry Alex hunting revenge looks like
Reibe: health and foul trouble. Stay healthy, stay on the court, and he’s skilled enough that I think he can be a major contributor even as a freshman C in the BE despite concerns on defense. He’s auditioning for a starting spot in 26-27 this year, so we should have a lot of fun watching him
Jacob Ross: make the guys work in practice! Let’s see what 3rd year Jacob Ross will be
Jayden Ross: he’ll be with Furphy competing for that 8/9 roster spot. 6’7, athletic, allegedly is a beast in practice. He’s an upperclassman now, he has to start putting it together on the court
Braylon: my bet is starter. Between Solo/Braylon/AK, will any team have a better shooting SG-PF lineup? He seems to have a more well rounded game than I thought, but his bread and butter will be to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT
Paunovic: similar to the younger Ross brother, make the guys work in practice! Show them something they aren’t used to seeing in the states. It’ll only make everybody better
Malachi: 3 years as a starter (would be 4 if not for injury), coming off a career year and tournament appearance. Big if on his health, but if he’s healthy, we may have the best 2 man PG rotation in America
Solo: We know he can shoot, but what else can he do? If he can come back as a scoring threat off the dribble and just an average defender, that’s a top SG in the Big East and will definitely be my favorite player. If not, well…he can shoot
Silas: surprised to see Borges say he’s a generous 6’4. But he’s the key to our success. Simply put, we need a guy that can take the ball and go make a play on his own. He’s done it at the highest level already. Can he do it within Hurley’s system? Again, he is the key. If Silas pans out, we are title contenders. If he doesn’t, we are not. Simple as that
Jaylin: need a big year out of Jaylin. My money is still on 6th man, but Jaylin needs a breakout year. He’s seemed more comfortable as a backup 4 than backup 3, but we will need him to be a scrappy 2 way threat at both positions
Koroma: he proved he can handle his own against high major competition. Minutes will be scarce, but I feel very comfortable with him as a 3rd string big
Tarris: a lot of this depends on the offensive gameplan and how much we will get him the ball in the post, but Tarris could be a BE 1st teamer. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he should be fighting with Zuby for best C in the conference. He’s that skilled
Furphy: no clue. In theory should be competing in the 8/9 spot on the roster but as Borges accurately put it, a real wild card.
Millender: like Koroma, I feel really comfortable here at the 3rd string. If Malachi stays healthy then I don’t expect many minutes here, but this is a really good option at 3rd string
Rrezon: I’d go Koroma as the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency C role, but he may get a couple minutes here and there if Tarris and Reibe get in foul trouble. He’s 7’2, I’m excited to see how he can develop over time. Not expecting much this season
Karaban: the staff did a great job building a roster to let AK play his more natural role. He’s the leader of the team. He needs to make shots, avoid major slumps, and show continued development on defense. I’m very excited to see what an angry Alex hunting revenge looks like
Reibe: health and foul trouble. Stay healthy, stay on the court, and he’s skilled enough that I think he can be a major contributor even as a freshman C in the BE despite concerns on defense. He’s auditioning for a starting spot in 26-27 this year, so we should have a lot of fun watching him
Jacob Ross: make the guys work in practice! Let’s see what 3rd year Jacob Ross will be
Jayden Ross: he’ll be with Furphy competing for that 8/9 roster spot. 6’7, athletic, allegedly is a beast in practice. He’s an upperclassman now, he has to start putting it together on the court
Braylon: my bet is starter. Between Solo/Braylon/AK, will any team have a better shooting SG-PF lineup? He seems to have a more well rounded game than I thought, but his bread and butter will be to SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT
Paunovic: similar to the younger Ross brother, make the guys work in practice! Show them something they aren’t used to seeing in the states. It’ll only make everybody better
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You're welcome. Nice to know I'm good for something on here. 😂
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I have been solidly in the camp of wanting a third true center. Now that we have a guy, I do agree it is most likely we will play small ball at center. It's a lot to ask to have a kid acclimate to a new culture, acclimate to academics, learn a sophisticated offense, and be game ready in 2 months to even justify getting any game experience against 'buy' game squads. Extra hard when so many other players also need to get their feet wet quickly in early games to build chemistry. Additionally, its clear he will need to build up his body which takes time. With that said, by late winter, he only needs to defensively be able to alter shots, and offensively be effective rolling to the rim, to justify a cameo appearance. I hope he develops because I love 7'1+