Author’s Note: This article makes the assumption that Dan Hurley does not take a job with the Lakers. The chaos associated with him departing could be seismic, but until there is concrete information, we will assume the status quo prevails.
In the current era of college basketball, the trendy thing to talk about in the preseason is transfers. Over 1,000 players have entered the portal each of the past few seasons and it has been a big part of UConn’s recipe for success. Tristen Newton, their most recent Final Four MOP, was under two years removed from a stint at East Carolina when he won the award. Cam Spencer, arguably UConn’s second most important player on the 2024 team, was effectively a one-year rental. Even last year, bench pieces Nahiem Alleyne from Virginia Tech and Joey Calcaterra from San Diego played a big role in the championship in their first year out of the portal.
That’s UConn alone, and there are other teams that only further the point of how impactful transfers are. But what about homegrown talent? Not every star spawns as an instant-impact player out of the portal. Take someone like R.J. Davis, who was recruited out of high school and developed into an All-America selection through his four years at UNC. An equally good example is Zach Edey, who wasn’t a star when he first arrived, scoring fewer than 10 points per game as a freshman before winning two national POTY trophies.
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UConn may not have an Edey or Davis in their backyard waiting to emerge, but this team goes a lot further than their transfers. While part of their answer for who steps up in lieu of the four players in the NBA may come from the portal, far too many people are overlooking Solomon Ball and Jaylin Stewart, sophomores who are ready to make a tremendous jump.
Neither garnered a ton of playing time this year, and for good reason. The team won the national championship and they were freshmen. No big deal that they didn’t play much, since they stepped up when needed and kept their patience. This year, they won’t need patience.
Starting off with Stewart, it’s not difficult to see where he can step up immediately. Yes, his career high for minutes played is 16. However, he was forced to sit behind Alex Karaban, who made himself very tough for coach Dan Hurley to remove from the floor. This year, the two will have the chance to play alongside one another. Along with that, Stewart has a full calendar of practices under his belt and no late arrival to hold him back.
Among the four freshmen, Stewart was at the biggest disadvantage from the time he arrived in Storrs. His late graduation forced him to arrive after everyone else, which caused him to be playing catchup from early on. It made minutes tough for him to come by not in garbage time, but he worked his way into the rotation during practice. And once he did get his chance, he thrived.
Stewart played over 10 minutes in four straight games from early to mid January, the time when he established himself as Karaban’s backup, rather than a benchwarmer. His playing time wasn’t super consistent for the rest of the year, but he was getting in most games. This was especially true as the team needed someone to step up in Donovan Clingan’s absence.
Stewart’s season peaked during the Big East Tournament, when the Huskies needed to go a bit deeper while playing three games in three days. Across the last two against Marquette and St. John’s, the freshman was on the floor for 22 minutes, posting 17 combined points on 7-9 shooting. He hit a trio of three pointers in the finals that gave UConn the separation they needed to beat Marquette.
As UConn blew opponents out in March Madness, minutes in real time were difficult to come by. That’s why Stewart managed just 9 points across those six games. Though his success in the BET run should give fans confidence he’s ready to take on the spotlight. At 6-foot-7, he has the size to be successful at either forward slot. His shot looks great off his hands and is surely better than the 27% that he made on a 37-attempt sample size. Stewart is also athletic, able to rise up for some great dunks.
All the tools are there. He’s had a year in the UConn system and there’s no reason for him not to come out firing early on in his sophomore year. Freshman Liam McNeeley is a trendy pick to start, but don’t count Stewart out. He’s had a year to ripen and could even be a day one starter.
Moving onto Ball, many people like to forget how impactful he was for the team during Castle’s six game absence and even as Castle got his feet back under him. The combo guard scored 10 points against MVSU and followed it up with 16 points across two games at the Empire Classic.
Though the playing time peaked in those six matchups, the contest at MSG versus North Carolina was Ball’s best outing. Even with Castle back in the fold, Ball commanded 29 minutes and hit 3/6 threes en route to 13 points in the 11 point victory over the Heels.
From there, playing time dwindled. Castle displaced Ball from the lineup and there was no more room for another guard. Ball is a good shooter who didn’t play to his abilities, like Stewart, in a small sample. Aside from his shot that did begin to fall as he got more reps, he did a bunch of other things well too. There were a few instances where he finished a putback slam and he passed the ball well for a two-guard. Ball also had no games with more than two turnovers, though not racking up assists either.
We didn’t see a ton from the freshman, but he’s shown the capability to be a starter on a great team in his limited minutes, just as he was in Castle’s absence. In a larger sample size, Ball projects to be a 35-40% 3-point shooter. Hurley has raved about his shot, which pairs nicely with his athleticism and long wingspan.
If given Castle’s minutes for the whole season, Ball could have been one of the best freshmen in the country. The circumstances didn’t allow for it and as a result, people are forgetting how talented he is. It shouldn’t shock anyone if he starts from the jump and ends up as a top player for a team competing for a three peat.
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