UConn #7 in The Athletic's Top-25

[Husky68]

This years team will be better than previous two years. To start those years:

Jackson couldn't shoot, Karaban was a 2nd choice at power forward, SJ hurt, Hawkins couldn't dribble, Sanogo couldn't pass, Newton wasn't a point guard, Joey couldn't defend and Hassan turned the ball over and couldn't shoot.

Lost Jackson/Sanogo/Hawkins. Clingan gets hurt, too heavy, can't shoot fouls, misses bunnies; SC can't rebound and always fouls; Newton still the non point guard point guard; Spencer can't guard; Castle can't shoot; do we have to play Hassan, he'll kill the offense; Karaban can't guard big 4's.

This year have legit 9 deep (Ross, Singare, Abraham could push too). Lot of potential there and plenty of games to make it work with the coaching staff that gets it.

I want to see a final four with Karaban vs. Flagg. My money is on our guy/team.

 

[awy]

uconn offense has slow pace but they do generate quite a lot of open 3s. it's just that they also are dominant at generating high conversion 2s and those tend to be less variable. this is a far more stable strategy esp in a tourney format.

 

[DMIL]

Let's enjoy this UCONN team coming together, establishing chemistry and a rapport with each other. They will earn it once again and make us proud. The Preseason poll really doesn't matter. Coach HURLEY love "CHIPS" literally.

 

[aburks41]

7. Connecticut​

Hurley’s offense hums when the Huskies can hunt early 3s and they have optimal floor spacing. That’s not the specialty of sophomores Ball, Stewart and Ross.

I mean this is just a flat out wrong analysis from this author. These guys are going to be high 30% 3pt shooters. If Solo shoots 40% this year I wouldn’t be surprised at all, I almost expect it. Sometimes it takes a year to get used to the flow of the game, our offense, and the speed of the college game.

 

[nomar]

I mean this is just a flat out wrong analysis from this author. These guys are going to be high 30% 3pt shooters. If Solo shoots 40% this year I wouldn’t be surprised at all, I almost expect it. Sometimes it takes a year to get used to the flow of the game, our offense, and the speed of the college game.

I mentioned above that 72 of Ball's 115 shots were from 3. Stewart also took a very high percentage of 3s: 37 of his 78 shots. And although Ross only took 22 shots, half of them were from 3. So clearly that is their specialty, or they wouldn't have been allowed to do that.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I mentioned above that 72 of Ball's 115 shots were from 3. Stewart also took a very high percentage of 3s: 37 of his 78 shots. And although Ross only took 22 shots, half of them were from 3. So clearly that is their specialty, or they wouldn't have been allowed to do that.

I don’t think it was because it was their strength per se.

They didn’t have much leash to make plays and put the ball on the floor. One of the few things they had the freedom to do was shoot. So that’s what they did.

 

[TheChamps990411]

7. Connecticut​

We’re at the point now where you just assume Dan Hurley’s plan will work. He has nailed roster construction the last few years and built offensive and defensive schemes ideal for his talent. Adding shooting this spring with Mahaney and McNeeley was huge, and Karaban decided to return for a run at a three-peat. Hurley’s offense hums when the Huskies can hunt early 3s and they have optimal floor spacing. That’s not the specialty of sophomores Ball, Stewart and Ross. For UConn to hit its ceiling, Mahaney needs to play to his potential. Diarra is more of a complementary guard, and Mahaney basically replicated his freshman season this past year when it was expected he’d make a star’s leap. He replaces the off-the-dribble playmaking from Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, and that’s why his success is so important. Hurley has again set it up so his centers can split time and give opponents two different looks. This roster doesn’t appear as talented as the last two, but underrating UConn early has also become a yearly tradition.

Men's college basketball Top 25: Alabama, Gonzaga, Houston lead updated rankings

With the NBA early-entry withdrawal deadline passed and the transfer portal mostly settled, we finally have some clarity on rosters.

www.nytimes.com

We were unranked before the season in 2023 and #6? to start 2024. Now going into 2025 Hurley himself has said this may be his deepest team talent wise and he and his staff are the best in the country and as the last two tourneys has proven its not even close. Its crazy to think that Uconn `24 was several injuries away from running the table. There are three teams that right now on paper have separated themselves from the country and its Uconn, Bama and Kansas and thats my top 3 going into next season.

 

[navery12]

I mean this is just a flat out wrong analysis from this author. These guys are going to be high 30% 3pt shooters. If Solo shoots 40% this year I wouldn’t be surprised at all, I almost expect it. Sometimes it takes a year to get used to the flow of the game, our offense, and the speed of the college game.

I expect it from Ball, granted it was a small sample size but he shot 45% from 3 during conference play. He should be putting up 5 3's a game minimum next year

 

[husky429]

Huh. The team with one of the longest average possession lengths in the game "hunts early threes". What an odd take.

Also, the offense isn't driven by "optimal floor spacing", but intricate offensive sets.

Intricate offensive sets don't work unless you have dangerous shooters.

 

[awy]

spacing helps with scheming for efficient shots. not a contradiction.

 

[Dove]

7. Connecticut​

We’re at the point now where you just assume Dan Hurley’s plan will work. He has nailed roster construction the last few years and built offensive and defensive schemes ideal for his talent. Adding shooting this spring with Mahaney and McNeeley was huge, and Karaban decided to return for a run at a three-peat. Hurley’s offense hums when the Huskies can hunt early 3s and they have optimal floor spacing. That’s not the specialty of sophomores Ball, Stewart and Ross. For UConn to hit its ceiling, Mahaney needs to play to his potential. Diarra is more of a complementary guard, and Mahaney basically replicated his freshman season this past year when it was expected he’d make a star’s leap. He replaces the off-the-dribble playmaking from Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, and that’s why his success is so important. Hurley has again set it up so his centers can split time and give opponents two different looks. This roster doesn’t appear as talented as the last two, but underrating UConn early has also become a yearly tradition.

Men's college basketball Top 25: Alabama, Gonzaga, Houston lead updated rankings

With the NBA early-entry withdrawal deadline passed and the transfer portal mostly settled, we finally have some clarity on rosters.

www.nytimes.com

If you told me that after losing all 5 starters, UConn would be #7 preseason, I would be shocked. And excited. Now, with Alex back...whoa.

 

[Incursio007]

These glory days are wonderful. We’re all up in arms about being preseason #7 after going back-to-back and losing 80% of our starting lineup. Really summarizes how amazing this run has been.

That said, #7 is too low and we’re easily a preseason top 3 squad

 

[DaMuttzNutt]

Keep up the disrespect. Underrate us. Overlook us. You’re literally pouring jet fuel on a Hurley fire

We are coming

For histor7

 

[ConnHuskBask]

This years team will be better than previous two years. To start those years:

Jackson couldn't shoot, Karaban was a 2nd choice at power forward, SJ hurt, Hawkins couldn't dribble, Sanogo couldn't pass, Newton wasn't a point guard, Joey couldn't defend and Hassan turned the ball over and couldn't shoot.

Lost Jackson/Sanogo/Hawkins. Clingan gets hurt, too heavy, can't shoot fouls, misses bunnies; SC can't rebound and always fouls; Newton still the non point guard point guard; Spencer can't guard; Castle can't shoot; do we have to play Hassan, he'll kill the offense; Karaban can't guard big 4's.

This year have legit 9 deep (Ross, Singare, Abraham could push too). Lot of potential there and plenty of games to make it work with the coaching staff that gets it.

I want to see a final four with Karaban vs. Flagg. My money is on our guy/team.

Both the 23 and 24 teams went on big winning streaks to start the season and won their MTE. Not sure how you would define being better than that.

 

[huskeynut]

The last thing that concerns me is all these "way way to early" prognostications. I could care less if Kansas is ranked #1. They had that ranking last season and look what happened. It will all play out on the court starting in November.

As for UConn, let Danny and company do their thing. Recruitment has been excellent. Portal pickups have been amazing. Luke will have his offense adapt to the talent available. No one last season, except for Seton Hall and Kansas (early on) could figure out how to defend it. I expect no less this coming season.

Hurley's teams play defense. The names may change but the defensive intensity will not.

And if the team plays with a little chip on their shoulders, good for them.

 

[Bonk]

Only thing that concerns me at the moment is our depth at Center. Low on Singare, and idk if Samson/Reed can defend at a high level without fouling. The rest of the roster is bleeping gorgeous.

 

[Samoo]

I mentioned above that 72 of Ball's 115 shots were from 3. Stewart also took a very high percentage of 3s: 37 of his 78 shots. And although Ross only took 22 shots, half of them were from 3. So clearly that is their specialty, or they wouldn't have been allowed to do that.

That's as much a team strategy as individual skills.

If you remove DC, SJ and SC from the stats, the rest of the team took more than half their shots from beyond the 3 point line.

 

[bendm]

We should be top 4 with Bama, KU, Houston. I think there’s a slight drop off to the next tier of Duke, Zags, ISU, UNC, Baylor, Zona

 

[REB1094]

Solo started ice cold from 3 (6-29 in November), but steadily got better

• 7-19 (37%) in Dec
• Was mostly out of the rotation after that but 6-10 (60%) in Jan
• 3-5 (60%) in Feb
• Rough to end the season (1-8 in Mar + April)

I’d be surprised if he didn’t shoot at least 35% from three next year

Stewart is not a good three point shooter. His form is good so maybe it’ll get better with reps, but other than the Marquette BET game I didn’t love it when he took threes

Ross was recruited literally to be a shooter. He’ll make shots if he gets consistent minutes (assuming he’s adjusted to the college game)

 

[awy]

duke does have high ceiling if coached well and the parts play their role.

 

[AllHusky]

I hope not too many threes . Hes streaky shooter and not really great at that

he probably won't improve from frosh to soph years

 

[AllHusky]

"You better get us now"

 

[UCFan1513]

duke does have high ceiling if coached well and the parts play their role.

You lost me at “coached well”

 

[dingaling]

These glory days are wonderful. We’re all up in arms about being preseason #7 after going back-to-back and losing 80% of our starting lineup. Really summarizes how amazing this run has been.

That said, #7 is too low and we’re easily a preseason top 3 squad

Shows how spoiled and arrogant we are

 

[Spaceman213J]

I think it is a fair ranking. Again, it's going to come down to everybody on the team buying in, Hurley & staff developing players and guys producing. Stewart and Ball look like players, but now they have to go out and consistently give some double figure games. The new guys have to be ready to play right away and SJ has to learn how to stay on the court. I know Reed is there, too, but SJ"s athleticism could offshoot some of the intimidation Clingan provided just with his presence on the floor.
I like Diarra a lot, but I think there may be some growing pains with the loss of Newton. I think people are going to appreciate Tristen even more next year. He didn't have the quickest feet but he challenged on the defensive end, and he was a handful for opposing players on UConn's offensive end. His physicality helped wear some guys down. He absorbed a lot of contact, but he dished some out, too, on his drives.