UConn’s Alex Karaban returns for another national title run.
Karaban announced Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the 2024 NBA draft and would return for his redshirt junior season. Karaban is expected to be the lone returning starter for the two-time defending champion Huskies.
Karaban has started all but one game for the Huskies after redshirting in 2021-22. He was the team’s third-leading scorer in 2023-24, averaging 13.3 points per game playing 31 minutes per game. Over his career, Karaban is shooting 39% from behind the three-point line and is averaging almost five rebounds per game.
Center Donovan Clingan and guard Stephon Castle could both hit the lottery in June. Castle averaged 11 points per game and shot 47% from the field while immediately becoming an impact defender in his lone season at UConn. Clingan was a shot wiper off the basket for much of the NCAA Tournament, as he had 19 blocks during the Huskies’ run to a second consecutive national title.
Only Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer averaged more points for UConn than Karaban in 2023-24, and both were playing their fifth seasons of college basketball. Newton spent two seasons with the Huskies after transferring from East Carolina, and Spencer played one season at UConn after three seasons at Loyola (Maryland) and one season at Rutgers.
UConn adds Michigan center Tarris Reed Jr. through the transfer portal for next season, along with St. Mary’s point guard Aidan Mahaney. The Huskies also have the nation’s No. 10 recruiting class for 2024, with a group of three players that includes five-star forward Liam McNeeley. The Florida native committed to the Huskies in April after re-committing from Indiana and is ranked as the No. 16 player in his class.
