Every year, it seems like UConn men’s basketball just gets more and more talent. In college basketball, the rich tends to only get richer and the Huskies are no exception. Whether the talent shows up through the transfer portal like Tristen Newton, or an impact freshman like Stephon Castle, there always seems to be more players than coach Dan Hurley knows what to do with.
Even the bench guys who are barely touching the floor have shown an ability to help the team in serious ways, like Jaylin Stewart did last year. A player who could find himself in a similar situation to Stewart is Isaiah Abraham, a freshman wing from Virginia.
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Abraham, of Paul VI, is 6-foot-7 and joins a loaded wing room in Storrs CT. Once a primary dunker, Abraham’s game has grown considerably in the time since his commitment to UConn. He’s as athletic as anyone on the team, with an incredible vertical that gives him the ability to jam it in over anyone.
He isn’t shy about using his hops either, flying in for poster slams and putbacks. If he’s on the floor and getting minutes, there’s a guarantee he’ll end up on Sports Center Top 10 at least once this year.
Lately though, he’s become much more capable outside of the paint. Abraham was better from three point range during his senior year than previously, frequently finding himself open and making the opposition pay. He has a sense of where to go in space, which will be very helpful for the Huskies, whether the ball handler elects to kick it out or penetrate.
Abraham's stroke from deep is easy on the eyes and it’s not hard to imagine it translating to the next level. His midrange game is also serviceable, but that hasn’t been an area of focus for Hurley’s offense lately.
Defensively, Abraham is solid. The way he moves has shades of Andre Jackson Jr., one of the top players on Connecticut's 2023 championship squad. He almost has too much athleticism at times and could be at risk of picking up a few too many fouls early in his career as he learns the speed of the game. He likes swatting shots and making hustle plays, exactly the type of attitude that helps freshmen find time early on at UConn.
Unlike Jackson, Abraham is not much of a facilitator, something that the team already has plenty of. The Huskies will benefit from Abraham’s shooting abilities much more than they would have enjoyed passing prowess. Having more shooters has been the key to success for Connecticut and it’ll play to his favor.
STORRS IMPACT
As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of wings in the fold for the Huskies. Jaylin Stewart figures to see a massively increased role in his sophomore season, while Jayden Ross could be prioritized over Abraham. Ross saw virtually no real minutes last year, but was rated well out of high school.
Having the year to grow in the UConn system and playing against national championship-caliber players every day will help, an advantage he has over Abraham. Comparing Ross and Abraham based on their quality from the moment they stepped on campus, Abraham is more polished, but Ross already has a year under his belt.
Also returning is Alex Karaban, one of the most important pieces from each of the past two championship teams. That’s a non-negotiable 32 minutes per game. Liam McNeeley, a late commit from Montverde Academy, is slated to be a one-and-done. He’ll get priority over Abraham.
As good as Abraham is, there are not many minutes available for him when looking at the roster. At best, he projects as the 10th or 11th man in the rotation, which likely wouldn’t be enough.
The good news for Abraham is that he’ll have the year to ripen. Even if he’s not able to carve out a role for himself right now, next year is a possibility, especially with Karaban, McNeeley and Stewart all projected to get drafted.
With UConn, not every player who deserves to play will play. There are only 200 minutes in each game and too many players to play them. If the Huskies are unfortunate with injuries then Abraham will be a great option to look to, but if not then he’ll be in good shape to help out in 14 months.
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