We’re nearly in November, which means that we’re also just about one week away from the start of the UConn men’s basketball season. It also means that this is our last chance to speculate about what will be before we talk about what is. All we have to go off is the exhibition against Rhode Island, plus everything last year. Let’s take a look at what each of the top 10 players’ biggest questions is heading into the year, from the stars to the fringe rotation players.

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We saw very little from Ball last year, largely due to the talent in front of him. Stephon Castle was a top four pick in the NBA Draft, a tough player to supplant. Ball was a huge reason why the Huskies beat North Carolina last December, scoring 13 points on 3/6 shooting from deep. His 18 points in the exhibition was a welcome sight for fans, perhaps an indication that he can take the next step. He has the talent, but has yet to fully show it in legit games.

Many people have been upset at Alex Karaban missing out on many of the major preseason All-America lists. He’s been a starter on each of the past two championship teams, but has never been better than a fourth option on either of those teams. He surely has the skillset to be an All-America selection and Hurley has said he will be this year, but he often defers to teammates, which has worked. There’s nothing stopping Karaban from becoming a top player in the sport, but he has to show it as a true leader on this squad.

Castle was an awesome freshman last year, starting consistently and helping out as an elite defender and facilitator. McNeeley might not be as impactful as Castle, but if he gets anywhere close then the Huskies will be in great shape. He has a fantastic stroke from beyond the arc and nice length, holding all the tools to be the Huskies fourth lottery pick in three years. Hurley also knows how to maximize players’ strengths, so it’s not hard to imagine McNeeley playing at a similar level to Castle, even with their different strengths.

Diarra was a starter for Texas A&M during his freshman and sophomore years, then falling out of the starting lineup before transferring to Storrs. His junior year, he gradually fell out of the rotation as the season went and the rotation tightened. Last year, Diarra was the Big East sixth man of the year, bringing hustle and a spark to the national champions. Now, he's going to be tasked with the starting PG role on the favorites to win the championship. That’s definitely a jump. He’s not going to be Tristen Newton, the All-America selection, but he needs to be a commanding force, more so than ever. His 9 assists against URI was a nice demonstration of an ability to do that.

Last year, Clingan went from playing 13 minutes per game as arguably the most efficient player in college basketball to becoming one of the sport's best centers and the NBA Draft’s seventh pick. Johnson wasn’t quite as efficient as Clingan, but he’ll need to make a similar jump and play exceptionally. Part of that is not fouling like he often does, committing 7.4 fouls per 40 minutes, per KenPom. There’s plenty to improve on, but he does have the tools to be another great UConn center.

As noted, the backup centers on Connecticut teams have been crucial, whether it was Clingan behind Adama Sanogo or Johnson behind Clingan. Reed was on a very poor Michigan team last year and was solid. Him and Johnson play very differently, just as Clingan and Johnson did. Their skills are varied enough to compliment one another nicely, but they both need to play well to get there.

There’s been much preseason discussion about Mahaney, but very little consensus. The voters for awards think he’s a shooting guard, naming him to the preseason Jerry West Award Watch List, for the nation’s best shooting guard. Others think he’ll eventually take some sort of on-ball role, especially in the case that Diarra can’t answer “yes” to his question listed above. That leaves us with little clarity on what Mahaney will actually do. He looked more like a SG against URI, scoring 9 of 11UConn's points during a stretch and 17 overall. He also came off the bench. Is this something that stays constant, or will he emerge as a starter? The player that Mahaney becomes could be the biggest factor in how Connecticut does.

We haven’t seen much from Ross so far thanks to the loaded lineup the Huskies were blessed with last year, but Ross appears poised to take a role in the rotation this year. He came in as an athletic wing who could do eye-popping dunks, with a developing shot. His defensive intensity is there, as is his athleticism. His shooting will be a big question. He made 2/3 against the Rams, but that’s about as small as sample sizes come. If he’s able to hit at a good clip, it could spell a big role for him this year and even more so in 2025.

Last season, Jaylin Stewart scored 91 points in 37 games. He had a very muted role, but was dubbed the next great thing because of his excellent showings in the Big East Tournament semifinals and finals. He scored 17 points (7/8 shooting) in 22 minutes across those two games, a huge spark in each win. As impressive as it was, there is the question of how real these numbers were. Did he have a good 30 hours? Or was he finally given the chance to show what he can do? Though unlikely as a starter this year, he’ll have a chance to show off just how for real he is. And if he’s really good, he could be playing in the NBA next year, as projected by some mocks.

A top 30 recruit rarely has to ask whether they’ll even be able to find minutes on their team, but UConn is not a typical team. Nowell is a great player–and will likely be a fan-favorite in future seasons–but will struggle to find playing time this year because of all the talent ahead of him. He had one of the worst sequences in the past few years against Rhode Island, throwing a lazy pass to a Ram defender and following it up with a bad foul. However, he then nailed a pair of threes, a true showing of what it’s like to have a freshman in the rotation. Talented, but not polished yet. He’s going to be great, but won’t be given the chance to show much outside of the practice facility, barring injuries.

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