Last year, Alex Karaban led the national champion UConn Huskies in minutes played. That’s not an easy feat for any player–over 3,000 tried–yet alone a freshman who didn’t even draw a start on opening night.
Months later, Karaban sat at the interview tables at the 2023 Big East Media day at Madison Square Garden. One may have expected the forward to get a good deal of recognition. After all, players with solid freshman years under Coach Dan Hurley have a history of breaking out in year two. Instead, Karaban was met with something else: disrespect. Not only was he tabbed a conference honorable mention, his Huskies were picked third in the preseason conference rankings. A player who has long thrived on proving others wrong, the fact that he’s using this as fuel to the fire shouldn’t be a surprise.
“It motivates me a lot,” noted Karaban on the all-conference team snub. “To continue to have that chip on my shoulder, I’ve always felt like I’ve been underrated in a sense in every level I’ve played basketball at. It’s something I’m going to remember for the season–especially when Big East play starts–where I was listed, what people think of me and just to prove it out there on the court.”
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The forward also believes UConn is in position to outperform the projections.
“The league’s going to be a monster this year, so you can give credit to the league,” Karaban said. “We’ll use it as ammunition to have a chip on our shoulder this year. That’s something we want, to continue to prove people wrong. We can only go up from here.”
A likely reason for the lower ranking is the attrition the team faces. Though they do bring back a lot, their three best players went to the NBA. The returners–especially Karaban–will need to fill in the holes in a big way to accomplish their goals.
“Last year’s team was headlined by Andre [Jackson], Jordan [Hawkins] and Adama [Sanogo] and they really led the way for us,” Karaban said. “Myself, Donovan [Clingan] and Tristen [Newton] did a great job supporting them. Now that they’re gone, we’ll have to step up and fill their roles. People may not think we’re capable of doing it, but I believe all three of us are. [It’s] the work we put in, the belief the coaching staff has in us, the desire to have a successful season again.”
To get to that spot, Karaban has picked up the slack on improving in a number of different ways. The first is taking strides in his personal development on both ends of the floor.
“I think I can be better in every aspect of the game,” mentioned Karaban. “Coach [Hurley] has really pushed me on the defensive end. I think I’ve gotten better defensively. Just have to get tougher on the glass still. Offensively, just being able to put it on the deck more, attacking the close-out and posting up smaller guards when they switch my screens is something I’ve been working on a lot. Mainly trying to develop my offensive game, and more importantly, my defense.”
Along with his game, becoming a focal point of the team involves establishing himself a key leader, even though he’s just a sophomore.
“I have to take on a leadership role,” Karaban said. “Myself and Donovan, we have to use our voice, we have to really help out the guys this year. We were huge components of the national championship last year, so [we’re] trying to show [the younger players] what the standard is, what coach’s expectations are and to try to lead them in the right direction.”
It can often be tough to find the balance between leading by example and being more vocal, but Karaban has been doing his best to work that balance.
“You mentor them by showing them how hard you play on the court and showing them the level of intensity you have to go at to be ready for when college games start,” Karaban noted, discussing the different ways he helps the freshmen. “Off the court, always being by their side, always boosting their confidence up, always telling them the right stuff they’re doing and critiquing them here and there. The coaching staff can get hard on us, so [it’s important to] know to keep their heads up, keep going and we need them to be successful.”
In particular, Karaban has been focusing on taking freshmen Jayden Ross and Jaylin Stewart under his wing, UConn’s future at the power forward position. Karaban especially had trouble managing opposing power forwards defensively early in his season, so his leadership is invaluable to the newbies.
“I’ve tried to mentor [Ross] and Jaylin Stewart,” mentioned Karaban. “Those two freshmen, they’re going to play a similar position as me and I know they’ll help us out. Just trying to show them the ropes of the Big East, because the four position in the Big East, you can play against a physical four or a crafty four. There’s a wide variety in this league and you have to be ready.”
His words of wisdom to them? It’s more mental than physical.
“Be ready for the ups and downs,” Karaban advises. “I was always so up throughout the season, so when I hit that down, I really started to get down on myself. Trying to stay even-keeled, there’s always going to be positives and that’s what I tell them every day.”
His ability to lead these freshmen could be the deciding factor in whether his Huskies reach their goal of winning the Big East championship, regular season or the tournament.
“It would mean everything,” said Karaban of winning the conference. “I think from the Big East season we had last year it didn’t go as we expected it to. We want to win a championship, we want to win as many championships as possible and the Big East is up there on that list.
Though Clingan may be the person on the team getting the most national attention, there’s no one more important to the team’s success than Karaban. If he’s able to do his part as a player and a leader, Connecticut has a shot to become the first repeat champs since Florida did it nearly two decades ago.
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