A happy return

Good morning! We’re almost to May, which means things should start to start down a bit in college hoops. Probably.

Let's get to Tuesday’s news.

1. Karaban’s return cements UConn as a title contender

The biggest impact of NIL isn’t the transfer portal.

It’s ensuring college basketball players stay in college, rather than always jumping to the NBA. The latest example? UConn junior forward Alex Karaban.

This was an equally important decision last year when Karaban returned after UConn won back-to-back titles. This season didn’t have the same result — the Huskies lost to eventual champion Florida in the Round of 32 — so that became one of the drivers of Karaban’s decision. “I pride myself in accepting challenges and holding myself to the highest standard,” Karaban in his statement. “Last year, we didn’t achieve what we set out to do and I am not running from a chance to make that right.”

(There’s no mention of NIL, but that also helped.)

He’ll almost certainly end up as one of the program’s most distinguished players, with a chance to win more than 120 career games and more titles. To do so, he’ll need to be better. As a junior, Karaban averaged a career-high 14.3 ppg with 5.3 rpg and 2.8 apg. But his 43% shooting and 34% from deep hurt his overall efficiency.

That should change with the improved talent around Karaban.

The Huskies retained sharpshooting guard Solo Ball and big-man Tarris Reed, along with wings Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross. The addition of point guards Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia) and Malachi Smith (Dayton) should ensure the offense stays potent — and place the Huskies firmly among the teams to beat in 2025-26.

2. 10 players facing crucial NBA Draft decisions

There were only 106 underclassmen who submitted their names into the NBA Draft, the fewest since 2015. That’s a good thing for college hoops.

Even better would be if any of these 10 guys elected to return for another season.

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