The UConn Huskies men’s college basketball team not only lost their bid to claim a sixth National Championship, but also lost key players and personnel that helped them get to the NCAA Tournament’s final game.
Specifically, starting forward Alex Karaban departed after playing his four college seasons under Dan Hurley at UConn, and starting center, Tarris Reed Jr., a transfer from Michigan two seasons ago, also ran out of eligbility.
Both players will see how they fare in the upcoming NBA Draft, and based on projections could go in the early second round to teams valuing their basketball skills and contributions.
Meanwhile, Hurley’s coaching staff lost a huge part of the success they’ve seen over the past four seasons with back-to-back NCAA Championships. Assistant coach Luke Hurley departed once Boston College hired him as their new head coach, leaving a major void on Hurley’s staff.
As of Monday, that void is officially filled, as the team has hired Butler assistant coach Mike Pegues to join the coaching staff, per CT Insider’s David Borges.
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Before working as assistant coach at Butler the past four seasons, Pegues had coaching experience as an assistant coach at Louisville and Xavier, and also briefly as interim head coach for Louisville in 2022.
Pegues, 48, played basketball at DeMatha Catholic, among Washington, D.C.’s powerhouse schools. Reportedly, he holds strong recruiting ties within region, including Delware, Maryland, and Virginia.
Hurley’s coaching staff retained Kimani Young as associate head coach, and Mike Nardi, who completed his first season as an assistant coach for UConn. However, Murray was a huge part of how the UConn offense operated, even mentioning he played to implement some of that with Boston College as their new head coach.
It should be interesting to see if Pegues’ implements anything from Butler’s offense to UConn’s, with Hurley considered a mastermind and strategic head coach able to achieve four Final Four trips and two championships in the past four seasons.
The Huskies have a few returning players, and also added key players to their roster this offseason to make up for departures. Freshman phenom Braylon Mullins opted to return to UConn for his sophomore season and likely returns to the starting lineup alongside Silas Demary Jr., with reserve Jayden Ross likely to start.
Solo Ball, who had off-season wrist surgery, will sit out the season as a medical redshirt, retaining his eligibility to play for UConn the season afterward.
UConn landed multiple players from the transfer portal, including former Seton Hall big man Najai Hines, and former Duke forward Nikolas Khamenia. Additional transfers who joined the team include Stanford center Oskar Giltay, center Elmir Dzafic, and guards Nils Machowski (Wofford), Jaye Nash (Jacksonville State), and Isaiah Shaw (Northern Arizona).
Along with that, Hurley has a fully-loaded schedule when it comes to this team’s non-conference games, with rematches against tournament foes, Duke, Michigan, and Illinois, as well as games against Arizona, Ohio State, and Kansas.
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