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Q&A: UConn beat writer discusses Huskies' retooled roster, keys to Gonzaga matchup

theo lawson, the spokesman-review, spokane, wash.
·4 min read

Dec. 14—The three starters UConn lost from last year's national championship include the 14th overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft who's started nine games for the New Orleans Pelicans (Jordan Hawkins), a second-round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks (Andre Jackson Jr.) and a Final Four Most Outstanding Player who's now on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls (Adama Sanogo).

Despite losing three of college basketball's standout players, the Huskies are back in the thick of the national title race a year later, ranked No. 5 nationally going into Friday's matchup against No. 10 Gonzaga at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (7 p.m., ESPN).

Sixth-year coach Dan Hurley has rebuilt his 2023-24 roster around one of the top returning trios in college basketball: guard Tristen Newton (17.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg), forward Alex Karaban (15.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and center Donovan Clingan (13.2 ppg, 2.1 bpg).

The Huskies have faltered just once this season, in a 69-65 loss to then fifth-ranked Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, and bring back one of the nation's most dynamic offenses, averaging 87.4 points per game.

To help us learn about UConn, we reached out to David Borges of the New Haven (Connecticut) Register and CT Insider for five questions ahead of Friday's game between the teams that met nine months ago in the Elite Eight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Spokesman-Review: Freshman Stephon Castle played 10 minutes in his return against North Carolina then 18 on Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Do you see Castle's workload increasing against the Zags and if so, how do you see him impacting things on Friday?

David Borges: "I would expect Castle's minutes to increase on Friday, probably to the 20-25 range, whether he returns to the starting lineup or not. He's had nearly a week to continue to shake off the rust and getting his conditioning back in practices. If he's back to the player he was preinjury, he'll be impactful on offense, where he is terrific in the open floor and excellent at finding teammates for open shots, and on defense, where he's a disruptive, lengthy 6-6 guard."

S-R: With the exception of a 69-65 loss to Kansas, UConn's scored at least 77 points in every game this season. How were the Jayhawks able to slow the Huskies and do you see it being a strategy other teams can replicate?

Borges: "Kansas played a disruptive, switching defense that threw UConn off its usually ultraefficient offense off track for most of the first half. The intimidating Phog Allen crowd probably didn't help, either. It's not the first time UConn has faced this look, but Kansas' length and size certainly added to its effectiveness. UConn started to solve it better in the latter half, but Castle was still out, and leading scorer (at the time) Cam Spencer hurt his foot early in the game and was hobbled the rest of the way."

S-R: Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan have all had big moments this season. Which of those three will be the X-factor for this UConn team if it's able to make another deep NCAA Tournament run? Or someone else possibly?

Borges: "All three are key, along with Castle and Cam Spencer. The X-factor is probably the bench, particularly freshmen Solo Ball and Seattle's own Jaylin Stewart and veterans Samson Johnson and Hassan Diarra. If the Huskies are able to go nine deep as they did last year, with little drop-off from starters to bench, they will be in the hunt for a repeat."

S-R: Dan Hurley has said last year's UConn team is ahead of this group at this point of the season. It's admittedly a high bar to reach, but what do the 2023-24 Huskies need to do to achieve the level of success last year's team had?

Borges: Again, it's all about depth and what UConn can get from its bench. The Huskies need to guard the 3-point line better, and shoot it a little better from 3, as well.

S-R: What are some of the keys to for UConn on Friday against Gonzaga?

Borges: "Guard the 3, get the ball inside more to Clingan and try to use its depth to overwhelm Gonzaga, whose depth, I believe, is somewhat of a question mark."