UConn Hoops secures commitment from Saint Mary's G Mahaney
On Monday, the UConn Huskies kept the offseason rolling with a key commitment from Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney. Mahaney, a California-native, transferred off the West Coast after a successful year for the Gaels and will provide some key backcourt depth for Connecticut.
The sophomore enjoyed a nice year for Saint Mary’s, averaging 13.9 points and 2.6 assists per night. His team was consistently in the top 25 nationally and he was arguably their best player.
Mahaney isn’t the best player in the portal, though he is among the top echelon, but he does offer a lot of solid attributes and is well-rounded. A workhorse guard, he played more than 83% of the team’s minutes while taking over a quarter of their shots. He was a much more efficient player as a freshman, with a 40% mark from distance, but he was still solid as a sophomore as he was asked to do more.
He eclipsed 35% from deep and took 13 FGAs per game. He was one of the team’s primary ball handlers–though not the only one–and managed to keep his turnovers below two per game. As he comes to Storrs, his efficiency should improve a fair bit, closer to what we saw his first year. That’s because less pressure will be on him to do it all and the Huskies will let him help out in the best ways he can. He can focus on his defense and three-level scoring game, without having to worry about the team living and dying by his contributions.
STORRS IMPACT
Mahaney projects to be a key bench piece for a team that keeps on getting deeper. He has average positional size at 6-foot-3, but is sturdy. The Huskies are swimming in guard talent, now with Solo Ball, Hassan Diarra, Ahmad Nowell in the fold, along with wings Liam McNeeley, Jaylin Stewart, Isaiah Abraham, Jayden Ross and Alex Karaban if he elects to return.
Though a great pickup, it’s difficult to truly determine what Mahaney’s role looks like. If Ball and Stewart make huge jumps this offseason and the Huskies grab any other transfers, the minutes start to get slim. We could be looking at a Husky lineup that resembles the 2023 national championship squad, with nine different players talented enough to be starters.
Aside from Karaban, who isn’t even a certain returnee, Connecticut wouldn’t have a returning starter from either title squad. Mahaney could thrive in a sixth or seventh man role on a team that goes as deep as nine on a nightly basis.
The Huskies are ready to compete for a third championship, with most of the pieces in place.
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